Of Lunch Breaks and more...

He sits there behind an old, rusty, over-used billing machine, spectacles perched on his nose, his eyes tired yet darting around to check on each and everyone seated in front of him.

He slouches over his little chair all day, quietly taking his plate of food to a corner of the small hall before the crowd comes in each time. He looks up at the tiny TV set fixed high up on one corner of the wall as he polishes his meagre portions of dal-chawal-sabzi, wipes his mouth and gets back behind the counter.

He has only two people helping him serve the many hungry employees who come in for a bite, a meal or just a few conversations over some wafers and biscuits.

Anna, as we call him, (at most times with irritation) is our man at the canteen. Ask him for a plate of steamed rice and he would have rattled off the entire menu that could (or could not!) be eaten with it. It really did not matter that you only wanted some chawal! Tell him you want 2 chappatis and he would ask his man to give you 4. You finish your meal at last and go over to settle the bill and he would suggest a hundred things to have for dessert!

I was never one of his favourite customers as I found one too many occasions to give the old man a tough tough time. I either grumbled about his not-so generous portions, or his watery dal, his stingy jam sandwiches, or the runny maggi.

I silently smirked with my colleagues and friends as he, with some level of exasperation, would try to find a way to shut me up. He confidently uttered 'Ho jayega.. Chaka-Chak' as if that word would do magic and transform the abysmal dish to something utterly beautiful!

But soon enough my tantrums grew on him. He got used to and even prepared himself for the many trials my friends and I put him through.

He stopped rattling off the additions to our plate, but after suggesting I indulge in a piece of the plum cake next to his cash register, he would also remind me the next day of my gaining weight - chuckling with the rest as I seethed. So the old man was finally retaliating..!

That did not stop us from troubling him. As we left after lunch, we would at times sneak up to the huge white board with the day's menu written on it and re-create our own menu. So that COLD COFFEE became OLD COFFEE, STEAM RICE became STEAM ICE, CHICKEN CURRY turned into CHICK CURRY and BADAM MILK was now BAD MILK..!

He would never realise it till the canteen broke into titters, leaving Anna all flustered and miffed.

To give him some credit, Anna learned to laugh with us and lighten up a bit.

There were many times when we skipped meals due to our shoots or ate out instead. He would then enquire about me.

We had given our old man Anna, a slice of humour to spice up his bland canteen!

Tirupathi.. The hills are alive!

Travelled to Tirupathi with my parents. Learned a lot of things and cherished some moments :

1) Travelling with parents can be fun at times. Unless of course you end up arguing there as well. In which case you have the three of us (mum, dad and I) walking our own ways up the hills, until dad cracks a joke to lighten the mood (as usual).

2) Glucose water is good.

3) There is no difference between Goli Soda and Paneer Soda.

4) People never grow up (yes ranj hard as it may sound ;)). Even if they are at a temple. We were walking up the hills as you know and there is a stretch of the road (towards the end) winding up to the temple. Now, the road is mainly used by the buses that transport people (who have already climbed the hill) back down to the foot of the hills. So as we were walking along the pavement, a van passes by with a bunch of guys in their late 20s and as they cross us poor souls walking in the heat, they scream and point out as if to say - "oh look! People climbing still!! We finished! Yay!!" And I was muttering - "Obviously you morons! We are still climbing. People still will climb. And even after I finish I know people are still climbing!!"

5) There is a huge diffrence between buying stuff, like water or even a chocolate bar at ground level and buying the same stuff at thousands of feet above. Yes.

6) You do not lose a lot of weight climbing 7 hills (hard to believe).

7) There is a second golden temple in a place 12 hours from Mumbai!

8) Kids have it easy at Tirupathi. All they need to do when they are tired of climbing steps, is stop, drop and roll.
9) If you need to get to any place in Tirupathi you have to, I repeat, have to climb atleast a two flights of stairs.

10) Karma doesn't work here.

11) The deer is very greedy. (O yes, there are lot of those along the hillls)

12) Basically you are travelling in circles. I remember starting out with windmills at my back. And when I reached the temple I saw the same bunch of windmillls right in front of me, on top of a hill.

13) All roads leads to the sanctum sanctorium. The only difference is the cost it takes. Pay a 1000 and you can take the shortest route.

14) Once inside the temple, everyone looks the same. Shaved heads is all you get to see standing in the queue.

15) Men and women are extremely immature when they visit temples.

16) People like to strike up conversations, which will lead to the topic of comparing the different temples. That's when you act as if a sudden lightning struck out of nowhere, leaving you speechless.

17) Riding down a curving multiple hair-pin road in the night, with the breeze hitting you is just an awesome experience.

18) Curd rice at Kalyan Residency - with finely chopped chillies, grape pieces... is yummy!

19) When you are checking your weight, be absolutely certain that you are not carrying a 100 Kg bag! I realised it after i read my weight slip and almost fell in shock.

20) After climbing every step, you will somehow be forced to take out your wallet and pay.. for something or the other.

main zorro banna chahta hoon!

Want to watch a Bollywood movie in English?? No no. Not dubbed at all! This one is for real and it won't take you much at all. Just head to Satyam and buy the tickets for the 'Legend of Paaro'..oops.. Zorro. Trust me. If you ever wished to see the heroes of the past return; if you ever wished to see a wounded Bachan clamouring the temple bell and hanging onto it for dear life crying out - "ma! mein aa gaya ma!";if you want to see Rajnikanth's (not only the heroes of the past) gravity-defying acts, then you have simply got to watch the 'Legend of Zorro'!

For those of you who did not watch the prequel, let me brief you on the story so far. The hero,(played by Amitabh Banderas)is a Lawaris and a petty thief in Spain, until he is completely transformed into Zorro. He also has a horse that always disobeys his commands. But the good thing about the horse is that it was trained by Rajnikanth himself, who helped it master the art of defying gravity.

So Amitabh / Zorro rides out to save his home town and in the process also manages to fall in love with the heroine (played by Parveen Zeta Jones). The only way in which the movie deviates lies in the fact that there is no running-around-the-trees dance. Instead they do a bit of salsa. The Zorro saves the people and hence becomes a Shehensha. He marries his love and the two live happily ever after.

Cut to the sequel. The Zorro now has a family. He, his wife and his son (played by Dharmender Junior), are living away from the town. Junior does not know that hs father is the great Zorro that he has always admired. The Zorro is meanwhile a house-hold name. everyone respects and loves him. But the wife (parveen zeta jones) feels that Zorro is neglecting his family. So she announces to her husband that they should separate. Furthermore, his son thinks he is a softy and that he cannot even throw a towel (let alone a punch)! he even goes out to show his father how to fight the goons.

The Zorro is hurt and depressed. So he becomes a Sharabi. What will happen to the home town and the people. Will Zorro return and save the day?? Will the family get back together and live happily ever after?? Find out what happens in... the 'Legend of Paaro'