Author: farooq Page 30 of 45

Lessons from the wild

On November 23, 2014

The eyes just looked red, before I opened up my eyes to see the sun striking down on my face. Sid was just lying around me at that time.

“Wake up, you lazy bum” was what I said while giving a nice kick to the area in question.

He woke up and just stared at my face, as if I’ve done some cardinal sin, by waking him up.

“dude???!!!, what’s wrong with you ? Can’t you just let me sleep for God’s sake!!”

“I would have, had we been in your cushiony bed instead of somewhere in the middle of nowhere, trying to complete the exploration, so get off your ass and get ready”. I felt like some coach of a sports film, giving a lecture to motivate the lads.

Only I wasn’t.

Sid, laughed hard on my face, seeing my “seriousness” but anyways got up.

Both of us had taken part in this competition for exploring the forests of Jharkhand, along with a few other crazy kids from all over India. We were supposed to collect items from a list and find our way to the other end of the forest before the other teams. On paper it was adventurous and super fun. Instead, it was scary and highly uncertain.

The first day, we were able to collect just “satavari”, which is an anti-oxidant and increases memory and is found to be beneficial for the eyes. This was our third day inside the forest, the second day had ended without much luck to complete the lisy. We both were already out of food, except a few pieces of biscuits. The list provided to us, not only had the names of the items but also what they are used for. Having read that this “satavari” can be beneficial for our health too, we tried this too. I’m not sure whether that helped, or it was just pure luck that we were able to spot “gaduchi” , “bala” and “vidarikand”, each of them help in building the immune system and also rejuvenating strength.

We needed strength and taking these things was more of a necessity now. The good thing about trying out these things is that, being herbs, they can only give more of benefoits, rather than the fear of harming us in any which way.

The only thing we needed to complete our list was Ashwagandha and Amla. The day had almost ended and we were unable to locate these. It was almost close to dusk that we finally found these, but to get to these plants, we needed to cross a natural bridge of tree, which might have fallen due to some storm perhaps.

“Come on Raj, we have to get it” cried aloud Sid after half-way going across the way. I am not a fan of heights. Not a fan as in, I’m a little scared. So, I kept my steps very carefully. Hardly, halfway through it, and Sid screamed and fell, and I almost peed. He held onto the branch and shouted. I was reminded of a scene from the movie ”Ishq” (for the uninitiated, the movie starred Amir khan and Ajay devgan in a very similarly funny scene). Funny, in a movie, but it was scary here. Sid, could actually fall and die. And so could I.

But I slowly went ahead and pulled him up, without any more filmy drama. Went ahead to get the other items in the list. Finally, making our way out of the forest.

We did not win. Some other team, completed it in 2 days itself, while we took an extra day altogether. Had something to blame each other knowing very clearly that this trip inside the greens of the forest was better than any other prize, which in this case was a huge bounty.

We were all given big boxes of Chywanprash along with the participation certificates. While coming back, Sid read aloud the list which we were searching for, in the forest.

dabur 3x immunity

I was about to say, “stop, it” for rubbing our loss again. But then I saw him reading it from the contents of the Chywanprash box.

We were surprised and amazed to think that things which gave us strength to stay put and survive in the forest are more easily available in these boxes.

At a time when germs like bacteria and viruses are everywhere, your immunity system needs strengthening to be able to cope with various infections and diseases.

This post was written in association with Indiblogger for 3x Immunity contest for Dabur Chyawanprash

Interstellar: My Review

By farooq

On November 16, 2014

In Movies & Entertainment

Cast: Mathew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain

Director: Christopher Nolan

Runtime:170 Minutes

There are movies. And then there are Nolan’s movies.

Watching Interstellar is like layers of detailed awesomeness, which you peel off slowly. You get to see some and you go, Wow!! But wait, you get more of it repeatedly, one after the other. That is Nolan’s magic for you, wrapped up beautifully. Opening in front of your eyes.

Interstellar is about a lot of things. It is about space-time travel. It is about promises. It is about the quantifiable power of love. And it is about faith. All of this scattered across the plot, finally shaping up to be one fine storyline.

The story is about a engineer-turned-farmer, Mathew McConaughey(Playing Cooper), apparently in future we ran out of food, and how a quest for life outside the earth leads him to abandon his family to go for the mission. Accompanied by a few others, including Anne Hathaway, for the voyage across a newly discovered wormhole to ascertain life outside the dying Earth. But is this so simple? When it’s a Nolan movie, it doesn’t end there.

There is the ultimate father-daughter bond which is the most pivotal part of the movie. Apart from space exploration, it is also about exploring grey areas of personal sacrifices and how it translates across individuals.

It would be wrong to assume that this was an out-and-out entertainer; it slags in a few scenes, mostly in the first half and takes an effort to fully grasp the 5^th dimension realities towards the audience. But then again, this is a Nolan’s movie and the audience is of the same kind.

Mathew McConaughey is brilliant in the portrayal of Cooper, the engineer. Murrph played by Jessica Chastain is a class act as well. The film is detailed, not just in its physics (a lot of it) as well as the portrayal of the galactic and space realities involved.

I’m going with a 4/5 for Chritopher Nolan’s Interstellar, it isn’t a movie but an experience of excellence. Don’t miss this.

Gone Girl: My Review

By farooq

On November 11, 2014

In Movies & Entertainment

Cast: Ben Afleck, Rosamund Pike

Director: David Fincher

Runtime: 149 Minutes

Watching Rosamund pike in Gone girl will shatter all previous images of the actress, be it as a bond girl or as the Queen Andromeda in Wrath of the titans. Gone Girl belongs to the Girl, the gone girl. The story is poetically dark and leaves an aftertaste of bewilderment.

You might gasp at the pace with which the movie takes off initially and might get a little anxious too, but wait it out because you’re in for a blast. And believe me; you won’t have to wait too much. The story (Would not reveal anything, so don’t worry), is about a missing wife of Ben Afleck, in a very difficult marriage. Shows you two sides of the story in a rather interesting manner and how psychopathic tendencies are resulted and affect love-hate relationships. The movie is based on the thriller novel by the same name by Gillian Flynn. Good part about casting Ben in movies like these is the smug-face that he does so well (read he has one), makes you wonder whether he is really innocent or not ?

You also get to see Neil Patrick harris too, in a very non-barney-non-funny way, in a very important role. David Fincher, no doubt has always made sure you are hooked till the final scenes of his movies, and you remain in a state of amusement once the ending credits are rolled down as well. From Fight club to even a few episodes of House of cards, you get to travel to the dark human psyche and be back to reality through his films. This one is just another great addition to that awesome list of many.

I’m going with 3.5/5 for Gone Girl. Go watch Gone Girl, and be blown away. Rosamund Pike, I’ve become your fan.

Travelogue: The Mangalore Chapter

By farooq

On October 31, 2014

In Travel & Food

Mangalore Travelogue 1: October, 2015

There’s no better way to experience an Indian state than a Road Trip. This travelogue is about places explored in Mangalore as well as the nearby towns.

Usually I prefer travelling via train. First because, its cheaper and second, I hate travelling in buses. This time we opted for a convenient option of hiring a Car for us. Expensive, yes, but convenient.

Our anchor point for this trip was Mangalore and that’s where we had booked our stay. A late-night start which allowed us to enjoy the view of the Ghats during dusk.

Breakfast comprised of sandwiches, omelette, Scrambled eggs and Coffee at Diesel Cafe.

We visited to the church of St. Aloysius, which is around 130 years old. Carved with intricate pictures explaining the life of Jesus Christ and other saints.

It was indeed a wonderful experience. The church complex comprised of a college and nursing home.The chapel is an architectural marvel in itself, built by Italian Antonio Moscheni. We weren’t allowed to click photos inside the church and hence…

It was almost time for lunch, but the place we had bookmarked for our lunch was closed. Reason being “Dry day” (2nd Oct) and since the restaurant comes along with a Bar. Instead we ended up having our “lunch” in an ice-cream parlour, called Pabbba’s Ice cream, with only Ice-creams.

If you ever visit Mangalore, this is a not-to-miss place.

Evening was reserved for a trip down to the beach and enjoy ourselves.

The Day-2 of the trip involved a lot of travelling as we moved from Mangalore to Udupi, after finishing our breakfast. We opted for the nearby Diesel Cafe (again) but instead of the English breakfast, we delved for a little taste of Mangalorean food (Sort of). It was Neer dosa and rice rotis.

We also made a stop at the 1000 pillar temple.

as well as the nearby Neminath Basadi Temple in Karkala, overlooking the Gomateshwara statue. Post and finally climbing the stairs to see the Huge statue.

The best part of the trip was yet to come, and like every trip you take, there remains that one place which stands out. Malpe beach was that place for me. I’ve never been on a beach with rain for company, but with this visit even that has been accomplished.

There were cocnuts lying around the beach, and one of my friend even broke it up for us to eat.

Dead fishes were thrown across with the incoming waves and so was garbage.

But we enjoyed the fishes. No, not those of course, but these. I always prefer the river ones over the Salt water fishes, but these were damn yummy.

While the fish was being fried, we indulged in some Gola and bhutta eating.

Although we went to Malpe beach with the hope of going over to St. Mary’s island, but thanks to timing, we just missed the ferry that takes people to the island. Sad part is, we had to watch the ferry leave in front of our eyes.

Consoled ourselves with the view of the dockyard and the crazy smell of fishes all over the place.

Finally it was time to head back to Mangalore and finish of the trip.

For me, the trip ended here at the beach with the taste of the fish still amalgamated in my mouth.

Must say, although I love travelling alone, this one with friends was very relaxing. Agreed that I missed out on lots of places to visit, authentic food to be tried, getting to know the locals or travelling in public transport while interacting with them. But this had a certain charm in itself.

Here is the youtube video of the Mangalore trip:

Also, if you are planning a trip to Chikmagalur, Kochi, Varkala, Allepey, Mumbai, Pondicherry, Chennai, Kodaikanal you can read my Travelogues by simply clicking on these.

Social media Bootcamp: My Experience

By farooq

On October 16, 2014

In Others

It is not every day that you get to sit, talk and most importantly listen to people having the same interests as you. I was literally bubbling with excitement, after getting to be there in the Social media bootcamp in Bangalore, on Wednesday, 15th October.

The camp was organized by Helen Issar, who runs the Social media Management group called Penny Lane Social. Coming with a vast experience in this domain from the dawn of social media, she has a profile to be envy of. Making things happen digitally, making brands come alive and register themselves in the consumers mind, is what she had been doing. Oh Yes, I am envious.

The 3-hour long, with a little break of amazing biscuits and cakes in between, session started with basics of Social media. It would be rude of me to simply say that this part was boring, as this was basics, but it was. Nevertheless, it was nice to start this off to ease everyone in, on the big elephant everyone is looking to tame, i.e., Social media.

As the session went on, things got interesting. From nitty-gritties of social media to tips on how to take care of twitter/facebook/Youtube to stats detailing how the full scope of Social media in India is yet to be explored completely.

Targeting: The target user profiling on each of these social networks vary. The stats throw up a beautiful picture on how this can be done effectively. Filtering out your target is a very important step in starting off your campaign.

Content Generation: The content generation requires empathizing with the reader and customizing it to their liking. Different rules apply on different social media platforms. While the 80:20 Rule of Curated: Created content works for Twitter, a 70:20:10 rule of Created: Curated: Promotional content works best for Facebook. The correct proportion will aid in making the recipe of engagement on these platforms better, and give the ultimate dish a great taste.

One size does not fit all, and hence content tone varies across platforms. While a blog reader is expected to at least read 300+ words, a tweet message has to be contained within 140 characters. (Makes me wonder, are you still there reading this “more than 300 word blog”? 😛 )

Pictures work wonder on all the platforms and so, a picture + quote + small description is ideally the correct syntax to be used to code for Social media success.

Create stories: The most effective way to capture an audience is to tell a story to them. This can be in the form of a picture flow chart (A How-to guide?), making your users share experience of their use or sharing your knowledge about what you do best to the world.

Read insights and statistics: Tailor the social media content through insights and analytics gathered from user behavior.

Brand all your content, make it your own. Pictures/Videos/pdfs should all bear your logo, wherever you share them.

It all boils down to one very important fact, Create content to build a community with an expectation to build it into a marketplace.

Important question is not why to use Social media? Question is How to use it to our advantage?

In search of Clarity..

By farooq

On September 28, 2014

In Random Philosophy

Clarity.

A clean glass container filled with water, clean water, you see bubbles. That represents clarity. Nothing explains it better. You drop even a small pebble, a small part of anything which doesn’t dissolve and it simply wanders. You watch it, move around, forming symmetries and asymmetries all along. That small pebble disturbs your view of the clear water. A distracted view and missing clarity.

Imagine more of those pebbles jumping in. More distractions. Less clarity. Life is not very different. Unwelcome guests knock on your door and there’s simply no choice for you but open the door.

Pebbles or problems keep jumping in from time to time. We jostle for space to get back that view. That very same clarity.

Alas! there’s no one way to actually achieve this. The inflow of unwanted pebbles will never stop. But this does not mean we never try. The quest for clarity is the single most important things we should be running after.

Life through its various facets gives us that chance to seek answers. It is not necessary to go to the Himalayas to attain the same. You can find it, in between a very crowded market, or a park where all you hear are the birds chirping. You can find it while traveling, standing on the door of a train or bobbing your head out of the window in a moving bus or even while riding a bike too.

Answers are everywhere. Clarity too is somewhere there. It’s there if you want it to be.

There are lots of pebbles and probably lots of questions to be answered to. But hopefully, at the end of it, we can look back and say, yes!! We tried.

Clarity.

…just straight out of my pen…

By farooq

On September 26, 2014

In Random Philosophy

It suddenly strikes. The zeal to write again, to immerse yourself in the beauty of the words. Words, written words, have a way to let you express yourself. They never disappoint.

A lot happens. A lot of ideas to write on, flows along the way too. but the effort required to open up the word document after coming from work, seems more hectic than the session in gym. At least, there’s a trainer to push you, to put those muscles to work. Back in home, that laziness won’t let you do anything apart from clicking on the play button on the VLC player while watching a random TV series. Such is life. Work life.

Although, I should add, it is just my attempt to throw the blame of this whole thing onto something. It has always been like that, getting into a shell where writing something which I want, get pushed away. Procrastination sweeps in and makes you sleep with it. and believe me, it is only the time when we are with it, it feels good, but just when we wake up next day, the intense hangover of having done nothing fills up the head.

I’ve been trying hard to get life a little disciplined. Starting to manage time a little better, and do a lot of other things that will just give me space and time to do things that I like. And yet, this ardouous process never seems to take off. But then, one should keep trying right ?

And so, here’s a start to a better disciplined life. Maybe it is too late, or maybe it is not. Heard somewhere, Your “rest of the life” starts now!! So, I’m making a start. To start writing again, just for the pure love of it, without any obligations to cater to. Just simply write. To express.

Daawat-e-Ishq: A dawat you should definitely miss

By farooq

On September 20, 2014

In Movies & Entertainment

Review of Daawat-e-Ishq: Go and enjoy a plate of biryani at a Hyderabadi joint near you, instead of qubooling this daawat.

Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Anupam Kher

Director: Habib Faisal

Runtime: 125 Minutes

Hyderabad and Lucknow. What do these two cities have in common ? Well, apart from many other things, it’s food. Now, a story which moves between these two cities and has a tagline of a “mouth-watering love story” just fits the description, right? Only, Daawat-e-Ishq does Not.

The biggest flaw of the story is the way it has been captured. The Cinematography is just painstakingly boring even with a story concept as such. The Instagram food pictures on my profile look far better than how the mouth-watering dishes appear in the movie, that too when the hero (Aditya Roy Kapoor) runs a restaurant!!!

Definitely, the foodie in me was deeply hurt. As far as the story is concerned, it definitely tries to delve into the menace of Dowry. It tries to capture how even the padha-likha youth of our country still doesn’t see it as the evil that it is.

Conceptualization aside, there’s hardly anything that goes right for Dawat-e-Ishq. It makes you wonder, whether you are watching the unedited and still unpolished version of the movie.

Anupam Kher puts in a solid performance as Habibullah and that is probably the only character you’ll remember once this boring saga ends with another watched-it-thousand-times-before-and-got-bored climax.

Although a lot of detailing and effort has gone into using authentic dialects, be it hyedrabadi or lucknowi, supporting characters, location and food details, yet it all seems like a punishment when you have to pay to watch this.

This happens to be Parineeti’s worst performance to date, while for some strange reasons Aditya Roy Kapoor manages to make a little mark. Of course, giving those terrible song-and-dance routines would have been better. There are moments and typical Hyderabadi dialogues that do make you laugh, but unless you have an association with it, it won’t matter.

Daawat-e-Ishq is an opportunity gone wasted to highlight the terrible plight of the dowry system. What it does however is boring you out with something that is not even close to mediocre. Sadly, it doesn’t bring out the simplicity of Do dooni Char not catches up with the flamboyance of Ladies vs Ricki Behl by the same director, Habib Faisal.

I’m going with 1/5 for the movie. Go enjoy the biryani at a Hyderabadi joint near you, instead of qubooling this daawat.

Finding Fanny: My Review

By farooq

On September 13, 2014

In Movies & Entertainment

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Dimple Kapadia, Arjun Kapoor

Director: Homi Adjania

Running Time: 102 Minutes

A rare occasion for Bollywood to indulge in an off-beat, mad and tragic comedy and that is what makes Finding Fanny special. It eases you into the story as if they have all the time in the world, to give it a perfect ending.

The story is about Finding Fanny. Fanny, who? The love of Fernando’s (Naseeruddin Shah) life, which leads to a road trip for all. For finding fanny and for answers for their own lives.

Performances are all gems. No points for guessing, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor, steal the show. The ensemble of cast perfectly suits the story as well as the setting. While the first half eases you into the story, the second half shows the characters seamlessly exploring each other’s characters. So, while the first half shows an Old-child in Naseeruddin shah, the second half showcases his emphatic and sensible nature. While the crazy-perv-looking painter brings his own nuances.

Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia fit perfectly into their roles, but the film definitely belonged to the two veterans.

An important part of the story is how it has been shot. More than the fact that it has been shot in the not-so-thronged part of Goa, the cinematography is brilliant. Capturing details, focusing on visuals as well as characterizations, it has been nicely done.

I’m going with 3/5 for Finding Fanny.

It is not for the average-masala-fare-expecting viewer, but if you ease yourself into it, you’ll love it. It’s more like forgetting about the world while reading a book in your balcony.

Travelogue: The Mumbai Chapter

By farooq

On September 12, 2014

In Travel & Food

A 3-day trip to Mumbai, a city which is magical and perfectly fits as the commercial capital of India. There is so much to do in mumbai and I had so little time. Even Rain didn’t spared me. (Although, surprisingly I enjoyed that too there 😛 )!! From Travelling in locals, to being stuck in platforms, really helpful Taxi drivers, great choices for food, sight-seeing, hangouts and simply strolling around, it has it all.

Couldn’t take many pictures due to rain, but whatever have taken, posting them here in collages. I enjoyed my stay there, hope you enjoy them through these pics too.

Khandala

Khandala: Lucky enough to catch a few glimpses of the place before entering Mumbai. Pics taken while during running train, and hence doesn’t capture the full beauty that the place offers.

Gateway of india

Gateway of India. Visited this marvel during early evening, the crowd, the liveliness and just the structure is gigantic. Of course, you get to see The taj hotel just on the opposite side, horse-carts around for rent, a statue of Chatrapati Shivaji and photographers 😛

Bandstand!!

band stand, Mumbai

Things to see (apart from the creepy couples 😛 ), the Bandra-worli sea-link, amazing view, lots of bungalows of filmstars. I got one-clicked near SRK’s Mannat, although the security wasn’t allowing even that!!

Mohammad ali Road, Mumbai

Muhammad Ali Road!! The place to be! Street food: Awesome. This includes, kebabs, rolls, and all sorts of non-veg, also are places for sweets (Suleman Usman is a must), and all of this is dirt-cheap. Old bombay and the muslim food, makes this place amazing.

Racecourse, Mumbai

Racecourse: This was my first visit to a racecourse, and even though there were no race in progress, one in Pune was in progress and Live in the big screens over there. The best part was to see how people, bet ,get excited when they win and disheartened when they lose.

Haji ali, Mumbai

Haji Ali: Dargah of Sayed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, a place which is always crowded. Even though it was raining, and the pathway over the sea was continuopusly gushing waves, the numbers were still high. Just went there to take pictures, but the rains made it really difficult.

On the outside, there is the famous Haji Ali juice centre. Must say, this is one of the MOST hyped joint, I’ve ever visited. terrible service, juices are decent but really over priced!! Had two, for the sake of it.

Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus: One of the busiest stations in India

CST!! Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, this Italian gothic-cum-mughal architecture inspired station, which runs long-distance as well as suburban station is a Sight!! The area in and around is even more amazing.

Dhobi Ghaat, Mumbai

Dhobi Ghaat: Very close to Racecourse road, a trip down to these lanes is sure to make you experience something different. This sure is bound to make you understand a lot of things, including being a little more humble.

Bade Miyan, Mumbai

Bade Miyan.. This place is famous for its non-veg food. Although general recommendations were to come here after midnight, I ended up going a lil early. Gives you the feel of old-muslim hotels, with a going-big approach!!

Art gallery, Near Jahangir art gallery, Mumbai

Art, Creativity and simply off-beat stuff. Along the Jahangir Art gallery, a place place the Kala ghoda festival takes place, these gems can be seen.

Near Colaba causeway, Mumbai

Near Colaba causeway, away from the market, you get to see this sight. I’ve never seen ships, so close. Even noticed the helipad in between the huts, when one landed just in between them.

Fort Area, Mumbai

Fort area!! This area simply vows you with British era buildings sprawled around. Its classy, pleasing and Mumbai!!

Food in Mumbai

Food!! YES, that’s one of the most important part of my trips anywhere.

Sadly, due to the rains, it was tough to explore the street food for which Mumbai is famous for, and the ones I did, couldn’t take pics of. Some of the lucky ones, which got clicked are here!! Must add, the options for food of all kind, are unlimited!!

Me, Rains and Nariman Point

Rains all around, wind cheater and a cap on, I strolled around!! This one is from Nariman point. Rains, Bhutta, sea-side and Me. Best moment of the trip.

Mumbai Police busy in their phones :P

Jokes apart, they seemed to be really helpful. I asked about a particular location and where I can get a cab, he told me in marathi (which i understood somehow :P), its near only beta, go take a walk!!

Security seemed pretty tight in most places, and just like you’ll see CCD’s at every nukkad here in Bangalore, you get Police station there!!

Magic of Mumbai

The magic of Mumbai, cannot be captured in just 3 days. It needs a lot of time to sink in, immerse and enjoy the whole of it. I’m pretty sure that this place will be visited again, very soon.

So, until my next trip, the travelogue will get a little rest now.