I’ve been wanting to watch Being Cyrus and finally caught it this week. An interesting movie. Shot in a style we’re not very used to seeing in this industry, Adajania deserves a few cheers for coming up with a film, that if not totally captivating, has enough to keep you involved.

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It’s been on my reading list for a while and I finally managed to finish it!

The Kite Runner is about two boys Amir and Hassan who grow up in Afghanistan. While Amir is the son of a businessman, Hassan’s father is a servant to Amir’s father. Yet, they forge a friendship when they are really young (they are also nursed by the same woman). Inspite of their closeness, Amir finds it difficult to acknowledge Hassan as a friend because of their class differences. Once particular incident seals their fate and Amir can never reconcile to what constitutes a rather cowardly act.

Soon after the families are torn apart and Amir lands up in America as an immigrant. By a turn of fate, after a 20 year absence, he has to travel back to Afghanistan and relives his childhood and tries to atone for the way he treated Hassan. In his journey, he uncovers another secret that leaves him even more shameful.

Khaled Hosseini’s first novel is a page-turner and I managed to get through it quite quickly. It’s provocative, interesting and the well-fleshed out characters hold you by the scruff and pull you into the pages.

I enjoyed the book immensely. There are not so many descriptive novels based on life in Afghanistan and Hosseini paints a fascinating picture of life in the country before and after Talibisation, Russian occupation and the Mujaheddin. War, politics, betrayal, friendship, relationships and the class system in Afghanistan forms the backdrop and keep your occupied.

Khaled Hosseini now works as a doctor and received political asylum in 1980.

A must read, folks!

Have you folks read or watched ‘Message in a Bottle’? I loved the book and cried dollops watching the movie. And unbelievable as it was, you still tend to cling on to the fact that maybe these things happen. Just as the protagonist of the novel sets out (even against everyone’s advice) to find the man whose message she found in the bottle, she is filled with a determination that cannot be explained.

It was with a sense of déjà vu that I listened to Usha narrating the story about what happened to her. I could hardly believe it.

She had posted about a note she found inside a book somewhere in 2004. Nearly a year later, she got a reply in the letter from the owner of the note, who had found her post on the Internet. Even more amazing is that Usha, with her amazing perceptiveness, was right about most of the things that she had surmised about the author (based on the note)!

Read it to believe it! Such stories are rare but heartwarming…

Marketplaces never cease to fascinate me. I can sit and watch the going-ons for hours. There’s so much action. Buying, selling, haggling, transporting, cutting, trimming, sorting, cleaning - it’s all there.

Saturday morning, I made a trip to Russell market. After two years in Bangalore, I thought it was high time. I reached around 6.30 am in the morning. Vendors were busy sorting through mountains of vegetables. Saturday mass was starting at the church nearby. Flower and candle sellers had already set up shop for the day.

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So apparently the name of this new-age matchmaking company is Marrygold – a take on the flower marigold used for weddings and auspicious ceremonies.

When I got this email, I was tempted to laugh it off. But then I read it once again and it made more sense the second time round.

Isn’t it true that many young people today are looking for the man/woman of their dreams but don’t have the time/energy/means to find someone suitable?

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Is also happening. So come along, participate & make it happen!

So far, the first BarCamp in India was held in Delhi and Amit Ranjan has details on how it was all put together. Next are Chennai and Hyderabad and how can Bangalore be left behind?

If you want to know more, here’s where you can get all the details…

Heh! Fooled you didn’t I? No, ladies and gentlemen, I am not going into launch into a monologue on the important of having faith in these troubled times. I thought I’d share some interesting facts about the vodka, one of world’s most popular spirits, instead:

- It is distilled from fermented grain or potatoes

- Alcohol content ranges from 35 – 70 % (ouch!)

- According to the Vodka Museum (St Petersburg, Russia and definitely on my to see list if I make it there!) the perfect percentage is supposed to be 38%

- Some well known vodkas include Chopin (Polish), Stolichnaya (Russian), Helsinki (Ukranian), Absolut (Sweden), Finlandia (Finland), Grey Goose (France), Skyy & Smirnoff (USA)

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodka)

Anyway, after that gyaan on vodkas, how can you not want to pour yourself a peg (unless you’re the teetotaller kind)? Ferrari & Co have organized a Vodkathon on April 1 in Bangalore and promise it’s not an April Fool’s joke so here’s another opportunity to indulge in your favourite spirit!

If you want to know more about BarCamp, you can read about it here. They’re happening all over and if you want a glimpse of what’s in store, you can log in to BarCAmp.org. I’m hoping to make it if my work schedule allows it.

BarCampChennai is next. It’s happening on 8th and 9th April and among the presenters are Kiruba, Dina, Ravi, Natarajan, Toufeeq amongst others.

“BarCamp is about passionate sharing of knowledge, camaraderie, and sheer learning of what the other guys are doing on the WEB 2.0 scene. One head is never as good as a 100 intelligent heads. If you are into any web technologies, this is the place you want to be” - from Kiruba.com.