TALKING BOOKS

Long overdue thanks to Zafar for this.
He talked books with me a long time ago and the interview appeared in India Se.
Read it all on his blog.

WILL WE INHERIT THE EARTH?

Not by the looks of it.

World Wide Web of Words - the panel of literary blogs which brought together old friends and new faced tough competition. The contest was from Bei Dao. The Chinese poet was exiled in 1989, his award-winning work has been translated into 25 languages and he has been repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature. There were queues snaking all the way to the entrance of the Arts House.

The Blue Room may have been packed, but there was no trouble at all right across, in The Living Room. We started off with about 12 people in attendance and would have ended with an audience of anything between 20-25. For those of you who spared your time, I hope it was useful.

Ivan aka the Rambling Librarian was busy punching stuff and I did for a moment think he was live blogging. Turns out he was taking notes. Wish I was that smart.

I was too busy hearing the stories. Isolation, connectivity, content, how the online world made us one happy community, I knew Sharon, the blogger way before Sharon the person. With Zafar, it was the other way round and Ivan, whose blog I hadn't discovered till before the panel discussion was a real revelation. It's one of my must reads now and as it always happens when bloggers sit together, there are so many more places to visit and learn from.

I have been inspired along the way by many, many insightful bloggers. As always, I was quick to roll the credits.

Sharon remains one of my inspirations. It's wonderful to see her move into the top 20 list of Malaysia's top bloggers, to see her and her blog quoted extensively. When you watch her in action, see her eyes light up when she delves into stirring thoughts, arguments, you know why she is up there with the very best.

It's always nice to sit Zafar down for a chat. It was isolation, he said, that drove him to the world of blogging and it sure has helped him break his silence and form a community of friends in Singapore and beyond.

Ivan's already explained his side of the story. If you haven't visited his blog yet, book mark it and read the rest of the stimulating blogging conversation there. We'll all be happy to repeat it real time, should there be enough listeners out there.

P.S.: Was running the spell check. Found out bloggers isn't recognised. The alternatives are:
- Blogger
- Loggers
- Floggers
- Blockers
- Logger's

Take your pick.

EKLAVYA

Is disappointing. Mercifully, clocking a little less than two hours it's short. After all there's only so much of slow mo's, zoom ins, zoom outs, eye frames that the audience can take before sleep beckons. The setting may be stunning, the framing of the shots perfect from start to finish, but the movie lacks a strong script which manifests itself in the weak plot that unfolds.

The first half is a backgrounder. You spend the second half hoping things will get better. They never do. The palace intrigues hardly pull you to the edge of your seat, Amitabh Bachchan as Eklavya maybe shedding tears, but there is no sobbing to be heard in the hall. Instead its the whisperings: 'Is it going to get better?' followed by 'Is it going to get over?'

By the end of it all, the line of kids sitting in the row in front of us and my twosome exclaim almost in unison 'that was the most boring movie I've seen.' Wonder who Vidhu Vinod Chopra would want to slap now - the critics, the adults or the baba log?

I, though have only myself to blame. Had I listened to Zafar's words and read this review by Khaled Mohammed, I'd have saved myself the grief and been mildly satisfied with the DVD. It would have meant the luxury of forwarding at least half the movie. As Khaled rightly points out about the characters - "All of them are as unbelievable as apple trees in Andheri."

Now, if the selectors for the 'O' list still don't get it, here is the plea. Please don't even think of sending it to the Oscars. Never mind the setting and cinematography....Boman Irani aka the King's rendition of the Shakespearen sonnets are enough to wilt even the rosiest of roses. And that's just the start. Best to keep those daggers drawn.