Thursday, March 27, 2008

What to do in the next 10 years

Archana tagged me to write about my plans for the next 10 years. So, here is a list of 10 things I would like to do in the next 10 years, in no particular order.

1. Buy a house.
Hopefully I will have money saved up for it soon :-)
I would like to have a room where I can play my violin (so that no one complains).

2. Travel to Europe.
This is something I always wanted to do. I happened to watch a lot of Rick Steves travel shows recently and am inspired to travel to Europe more than ever. While on the topic, I would say I love his travel shows the best followed by samantha brown on travel channel.

3. Learn to Swim.
This has been on my list of things to learn for a long time, hopefully I learn it this summer. I love being in the water, sadly, never learned to swim.

4. Play in an orchestra.
As a child, whenever I heard violin concerts on the radio, I would aspire to play in a western orchestra. I still feel the same, hopefully with my baby steps, in learning western classical, I will achieve this goal.

5. Be fit.
Last year, has been very erratic and I've neglected the gym. I am making amends now and trying to get back to something I really enjoy. I hope to lose weight and be fit soon and continue being 'fit as a fiddle' over the years to come.

6. Career and Personal Growth.
Well, I just started working and hope to grow in my career. I've a few certification exams I am planning to take soon. Hopefully I will pass them hehehe. I also want to learn a foreign language and take some formal dancing classes with my hubby. I also want to learn to paint, don't know if I have the skills for it, but want to definitely give it a try.

7. Be a better person.
I've so much to improve and change in myself. I hope to be a better daughter, a better wife, a better friend and a better person each year. I hope to make new friends, keep in touch with my old friends, and share new experiences with the ones I love.

8. Spiritual Growth.
I've so many plans in this area, and I hope to achieve them. Someday, I would be able to dedicate atleast 10 minutes of my time to just meditate.

9. Enjoy Life.
In today's busy lifestyle, we sometimes, forget the simple pleasures in life. I hope to balance all the elements in life and enjoy the ride ! I would like to continue enjoying all outdoor activities, travel, hike, dance, enjoy good food and take life as it comes. I want to have a beautiful garden and a dog :-)

10. Be more organized.
I like being organized and am not happy over many of my current habits. I hope I improve and find time for all the things I want to do !

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Violin Blues


I was 10 years old when I had my first violin lesson in carnatic music. I don't really remember much about it, except that my teacher was a very patient lady. I had classes every weekend and I used to find them very boring. I stopped after a year due to reasons I don't remember now. Then, I began to learn again after when I was a teenager; this stint was longer for about 3 years. I was one of those students who was quick to learn but practiced very little. My parents always encouraged me to practice and get better at it. By now, I enjoyed playing the instrument but was still lethargic about practicing.

After a gap of a couple of years, I decided to give it my shot again. It was back to sarali varisai and the usual path; this time I reached varanams (songs). It was a good achievement for me; just because of my sheer laziness. My mother always used to say that I would miss it later and I used to be amused. I quit playing when I was in my engineering and hardly touched the instrument after that.

Fast forward a few years, I am in the US and I begin to miss playing my violin; especially when I hear any song with a violin in it. My mother was right (aren't they always?). I did think about enrolling in a class but never got around to it.

All that changed today. I went to the violin store and picked out an instrument to rent. I figured that I would start playing and then buy my own instrument later. I also found an instructor and would start my first western classical lesson in a couple of weeks. Till then, I am going to try to play all the carnatic music lessons that I can pull of the web. I am very excited about playing a violin again. It would be interesting to learn a different style of playing.

I only hope my neighbors don't complain :-)

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Ash hears a Boo

Over the last couple of days, I watched two interesting period movies, both approximately in the 16th century.

The first one as this title suggests, stars, the actress I love to hate, Ash. Frankly, I did not want to watch the movie, Jodhaa Akbar; but V wanted to and his friends were waiting for us in the theater. Surprisingly, the movie was not bad at all. This is one of those few where I could bear, Ash's acting. She looked beautiful and sleep-walked through the role. Hritik looked good too. The movie was shot well, the palaces were just beautiful. There is a scene, when Jodhaa comes to her new palace, and she is shown to her room. It was so grand ! She had a room just for changing clothes that was bigger than my whole apartment! The jewelery was gorgeous, in fact, I was surprised at some of the styles, as they resembled the popular costume jewelery of today. I have seen very Bollywood movies with huge war scenes, this was one of the few. It was not fantastic but good for desi style. Watching one of the war scenes, reminded me of a game of chess, complete with soldiers, horsemen and powerful people of elephants. The songs were also good. The only thing bad about the movie was the length, it was too long and tended to just drag. But, looks like it is not very popular at the box office; especially for Ash. Interesting fact I learned during the movie, did you know that Akbar the great was an illiterate? That did not stop him from being one of the greatest rulers though.

The second movie, the other boleyn girl, was also very interesting (spoilers below). The story is based on the rivalry between 2 sisters, Anne and Mary, over King Henry VIII. Mary becomes the King's mistress first and gives birth to a son. Then, her sister has an affair with the King; she drives the King to divorce his wife, Catherine. His marriage is on the rocks because the Queen cannot give birth to a son, so in order to divorce her, he even makes up his own law and goes against the church ! Tut, tut ! Men ! The King then marries Anne Boleyn, she gives birth to a girl. She then succumbs to pressure for giving birth to a son, gets desperate and almost cheats with her brother !! This is seen by the brother's wife, and she reports to the King. Needless to say, the King, who is already unhappy by now and overcome with regret, charges the Queen and her brother. They are both sentenced to death. Phew ! Quite a story, eh? Now, comes the most interesting part, Anne Boleyn's daughter, becomes the greatest Monarch of England, Queen Elizabeth I !! Yes, folks, all this is a part of history.

It was interesting to see both these movies, and the role of women in those days. It seemed to revolve around, giving birth to a male heir; combined with politics, manipulation, power, lies, etc....somethings never change eh?