Ramblings..

Friday, February 15, 2008

Say Cheese....! :)

** All smiles for the camera. Children at the migrant school in Mae Sot, Northern Thailand

Interiors of the airport at Sukhothai, Thailand

The interiors of the airport....the seating area probably seats not more than 50-60 people and there is just one guard in the entire building. Open on three sides with a wooden roof and orchids blooming in a riot of colours, the ambience is just too good to be true!!!! The landing strip is amidst fields dotted with lillies and other flowers of a vibrant hue....

The airport at Sukhothai, Thailand...

*It resembles more of a resort than an airport. One of the best airports I have been to ...small and very personalized...a wonderful experience....

A veil of mist on the River Salaween...

River Salaween is the longest free flowing river in the Mekong region and is the subject of much debate currently owing to being a proposed dam site. The river flows between Burma and Thailand. The mountain on the far end is in Burma, while the photo has been taken standing in Thai territory!!!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Observations of life in Bangkok on the first day.....

The place where I am putting up is within the university campus. The University is centrally located with the financial district running parallel to it. Crossing roads here are a bit like India. The cars don't seem to wait for anyone. One just has to take the chance and cross it. Other than buses and the sky train, the most common means of transporation is the 'tuk tuk', which is a modified auto rickshaw, with a larger seating capacity. The streets are relatively clean, lined with trees.

The youth are quite fashionable...mostly with punk hairdos, earrings and coloured hair in mohawk style!!! Many a times, its difficult differentiating between a boy and a girl..truly unisex clothing is the fashion statement here!!!

Will update on the observations....

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Waves of new phenomenon hitting Guwahati....

Guwahati is hit by several waves of new phenomenon which take the Guwahatians by storm. The first thing to hit Guwahati was a wave of PCOs....everywhere one could see a plethora of PCO booths, with xerox and fax facilities in tow. But one must confess that the frequency with which PCOs are found in Guwahati are difficult to replicate anywhere else!!!! Then with the advent of the mass surrender of the ULFA , there were loads of wine shops (liquor vends ...saying 'cold beer , sold here') that were set up. Then in the late 90s, it was the phenomenon of cyber cafes and pool parlours. And now, all of a sudden it is Lounge Bars and these huge buildings with glass facades dotting the town. Many of these lounge bars look rather seedy , with equally seedy names....

Born to be wild....

Born to Be Wild....

by Steppenwolf

Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die

Born to be wild
Born to be wild

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Plays, Movies and weekends.....

Its been sometime since I last wrote in a post....sheer laziness I guess...

All I can really write about is the time well spent over the weekend . Watched Chak De India last Sunday and the movie rocked. It was one great movie I had seen in a long time. It spoke about several relevant issues and dealt with them so subtly , that it wasn't preachy at all!! In addition to that it was fast paced....one wasn't provided the space for boredom. The interplay between the different characters too was well represented...on the whole i thoroughly enjoyed the movie....

Today, we went out for a play at a local auditorium. It was a theatrical presentation of a play written by Mahesh Dattani. "30 Days In September" dealt with the issue of Child Sexual Abuse and Incest, commonplace in every household cutting across all class, caste and language barriers. Yet, it is one issue that is considered so taboo that it is seldom ever allowed to be out in the open for public debate. Narratives of victims are usually frowned upon, pushed to the vestiges of private memories...to be forgotten. The pain and trauma lingers on and it can have a telling effect on the person's growth and subsequent interpersonal relations.

The play was directed by Satyakee D'com Bhuyan and he did a fine job with it. The music was composed by Mayukh Hazarika. The actors did a great job. I particularly liked the performances of the victim and the perpetrator ....absolutely stellar performances!!! On the whole it was a great show and a wonderful evening...

Wednesday, August 15, 2007