Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Watch Japanese today!

We are all inexorably programmed to be who we are. Mostly, that who is in total harmony with the greater majority of who’s around it. Sometimes, it’s like it is with me: I tend to effortlessly alienate myself from all common experience pools around me. I do not do it on purpose. I feel so lonely and wish I could like all the things which all of you around me do so we can meet and talk of shared interests.

In that vein, I find myself liking cinema from countries like Korea and Japan. While the infatuation with Korean dramas and films lasted it was relatively alright. Quite a few Indians also enjoy K dramas and films. However, I had to go and fall in love with J doramas and Japanese films.

It’s not as bad as all that because I do have a handsome hunk (my husband) with whom to share the joys of watching Japanese. There is another silver lining to the cloud: I get to bond aseptically with other weirdoes on line: random bloggers and others who share such exclusive likes.

Thus, I have begun to collect lists of Japanese films to watch based on blog and other reviews on the Net. Last week I hit on gold when I stumbled upon 
HamsapSukebe. Based on this blogger’s recommendations I've bookmarked the following:




2.       The Longest Night in Shanghai (2007)-see how the Japanese and the Chinese see each other, untainted by “White” visions. It’s very romantic.

3.       An Encyclopedia Of Unconventional Women (2009) A set of 6 excellent films. An absolute must see.

Yesterday I did some more niggling of the Net and shook down another excellent bunch of films.



 

and




 Admittedly, it will be a little more difficult for you to find these films and watch them. But it will have been worth it.

Japanese cinema has the gift of taking human experience and abstracting it so that there are moments of absolute Zen. 

I started with watching Korean before bedtime and now I've drifted to Japanese: it builds for a beautiful night's sleep and dreams.








Sunday, November 23, 2014

Thiruvananthapuram, mostly MG Road, November 2014

I had to kill a lot of time and so I walked around endlessly, mostly up and down MG Road and, eventually, in and out and up and down various little lanes in Thampanoor.
I popped into almost every shop on that road and the photo above is from a Khadi Gramudyog or some such there.
This man is making banana chips. The process smelled very good indeed.
There are innumerable Ayurvedic pharmacies and some of them have all kinds of plants waiting outside.
Ate here a couple of times. 
Although it's November, Thiruvananthapuram can be sweaty and hot. And so I'd eventually head for the splendid Pothy's to cool my heels for a bit. This lady in uniform, a rare sight here, makes herself useful.
The Indian Coffee House. Great coffee, always full, and the food smells delicious.
Gent's Beauty Parlours abound. And lottery ticket sellers.
A movie ticket costs Rs. 80.
A common menu at many an eatery.
Dinner at Kovalam was not Sushi. The cook was from Sikkim.
Now, is it or isn't it?