Movie Mania

It's been a long, long time since I've actually had the time or energy to do this. But during this Christmas/New Year break, I watched at least one movie a day and somedays, two.

It was on the cards. Haaving concentrated exclusively on Tamil and Hindi movies during the past year, I did have to catch up on English movies as well.

I thought I'd make up a list of the movies and books I've managed over past fortnight or so (not to mention various outings with kids to Te Papa, swimming pool, botanical gardens etc (all of which I will visit again with my Periamma/Periappa, when they land here next week). This way, I will at least know what movies I've watched *wink* And I can also be impressed with myself!!

Sliding doors (Both heroes were such losers, no wonder the film didn't do well)
A Knight's Tale (so-so, I saw only bit and pieces of it)
Troy (whew, brilliant sets, costumes, etc, but very hollow characterisation)
Under the Tuscan sun (perfect art movie)
Laws of Attraction (it was a nice, light, frothy romance)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (man, it was so weird, but interesting)
Charlie's Angels: Full throttle (Yawn!)
Gosh, I've already forgotten the rest! (no that's not a movie title)

Books:

Bridget Jones' diary
One book of Jeff Archer (forgotten the name, it was short stories though!)
Ruth Rendell (too depressing)
One Asterix comic!!

I think I will put in the rest when I do remember. Which may be never.

Well, I for one, learnt the art of relaxing this break. And it was a good lesson to learn. Really, I feel heaps happier and contented. And my weighing scales are telling me something too!

The Pohutukawa

For as long as I have been here, Shiv, my husband, has been raving about the Pohutukawa. And no one be put off by the title, this isn't a botany lesson.

It is a very kiwi tree and the name is from the Maori language (Maoris were the original inhabitants of NZ, long before James Cook hoisted the Brit flag here). And as to why Shiv raved about them, that's not very hard to tell. They've got gorgeous deep red blooms and they bloom only in our summer, just in time for Chirstmas.

In fact, I now know that you can now tell what kind of a summer you are going to have here by looking at when and how the pohutukawa flowers. If it is an abundant flowering, and quite early on in summer, say by mid-December, then it's going to be a long warm summer (we should be so lucky!!). That has hap only once after I started living here, when temperature reached the late twenties in summer.

It's because of this that they are the kiwi Christmas tree. The first White settlers used pohutukawa blossoms to decorate their homes at Christmas time, using it as a New Zealand substitute for holly, and they called it the Christmas tree.

http://www.opotiki.com/data/pictures/tunnel.jpg

This year though, the trees have only just started blooming in plenty. Any surprise then, that today is the first day in our summer, when the maximum temperature promises to go upto 20C? And this, when summer is officially half over!! The discount sales on summer clothes are already on. Retailers are grouchy, as they hardly sold any of their summer clothes _ it was so cold, hardly anyone bought any!!!!

But still, looking at the tree outside my window now, and watching the red blooms (Only half the tree is red, showing that blooming is still not complete), I can't help feeling cheerful. The red blooms make a lovely contrast to the silvery grey/green leaves of the tree. It is a mild balmy day, there have been no slugs in my kitchen the last couple of days (fingers crossed) and I have a nice two-day weekend to look forward to.

And even better, us Indians apparently, as doing a good self-reliant job of tsunami recovery that even the US is jealous (at least, that's what the net tells me). And what's more, we are being very neighbourly and helping Sri Lanka. I say, good on us!

Life does go on.........in 2005

So much has been said by so many of the tsunami, there is nothing left to be said, especially by someone like me who lives thousands of miles away.

And yet, it haunts me. I am unable to get away from it. It pervades the atmosphere at home. And at work. It gives me nightmares.

When we friends talk, it is only about this. With Indian/Sri Lankan friends, we talk about places and people we know and hope they are safe.

With Kiwi friends, it is the same, only in a more general way. They are very kind, for they all know that I am from India. Many even know that I am from Madras (as it is still known as here).

Aid relief collection is on here. We have done all we can. Yet a sense of guilt _ is that all there is to it? Just flinging some money? How about those who are actually doing the work _ working with the homeless babies, the rotting corpses? I know I can't do it. But still........

All our squabbles, our wars, seem so petty in comparison. Mother Nature is the ultimate, in beautiful and ugly.

I feel so silly and ashamed, when I think how revolted and scared I was when I saw slugs in my kitchen. What is it compared to all this horror that is going on in this world. It is like comparing the pain of a scratch to that of labour pain. But, still, both are varying degrees of pain.

I just can't get over my gross and deep-rooted revulsion for slugs and snails. {I don't have to worry about snakes and lizards here as they can be found only in zoos.} Much as I can't get over the images that the TV brings to me daily about the tsunami.

I am only human, after all...and hats off to you, Ramya, if you are reading this, for actually going there and being part of it. I do know it is part of your job, but still, I don't know if I could have done it had I still been there.............

However, to end on a note of hope _ today, for the first time after I got my driving licence, I drove on the motorway, all the way from Lower Hutt to Wellington. Life goes on!