Musings of an Idiot

Bigg Boss

I watched 10 minutes of a reality TV show called 'Bigg Boss' and that was enough to have me in splits. It is basically an Indianized version of 'Big Brother' and it is hilarious {I am sure that wasn't the intent of the makers}. It is bland and boring to say the least because nothing happens and it is mind numbingly mundane. I skipped channels and landed on a hindi soap and it was a different kind of experience. Indian TV acting does veer towards being over-dramatic and unreal and it is painful to watch.I don't know why but here everyone does like the acting to be pretty over the top otherwise it doesn't register. I haven't seen any hindi movies or telugu movies yet and plan to do so over the next couple of weeks to form an opinion on the state of acting in film. There are some fantastic actors over here but some of their best work has been their understated performances and I wanna see if there are naturalistic performances on the big screen or if they follow closely in the footsteps of television acting.

Overall the best thing of TV media in India is that the market is HUGE and the number of channels available on the tele are mind-boggling and the cost of having that many channels is pretty cheap as well compared to what we pay in New Zealad. The same applies to the cost of telecommunication in India - it is cheaper than you can imagine and I seriously think that we are getting ripped off big time by the telecom companies over in NZ.

In the evening I went roaming around the local market trying to find a recharge point for mum's cellphone and I accidentally found a gym while at it. It is close to the house and it is a pretty basic gym with focus on weights/strength training but it is again cheap and serves the stop-gap purpose of trying to maintain some level of fitness during the holiday. I'll be joining the gym from next week once Diwali festival is over and done with. Needless to say I can't describe how happy I really am that I won't be totally slouch during the break.

It's been a week already since I've been home and man time does fly really fast. It is scary.

That's me for now,
Amit

Labels: Hyderabad, India, Travel

posted by Amit @ 6:32 AM 0 Comments

Hyderabad

I have been Hyderabad for 3 days now and I've still had no success in finding a gym anywhere close by. I used google maps to search for some gyms and I spent the last couple of days in a pointless exercise in trying to find them and it was only today that I figured out that the map was wrong altogether once I had a look at the map on bing - which is not as detailed as google maps but atleast it shows the correct location of places {shame on you google maps}. Why do I need to join a gym? Well the food here is awesome and I don't want to pack on a few kilos before I come back - that would be detrimental to my fitness goals plus it gives something physical to do in an otherwise sedentary holiday at home. Since I had no luck finding a gym I woke up this morning and went for a 30 minute run on the road - which is not something I like as it puts a lot of pressure on knees, but it is better than doing nothing I suppose. Now that I have the correct location for a couple of gyms close by I might check them out tomorrow and see what the go is.

Mum's home made food is delicious and I just can't get enough of it - even though I am regulating my diet. The plan is to learn how to cook atleast 4-5 dishes before the holiday ends. Since I've been here the only thing I have crossed off my 'to do' list is a visit to the dentist. I had my teeth cleaned and also getting that empty gap at the back of my right jaw sorted, which will take a couple of sittings this coming week but I am happy about it because the whole thing is saving me a bundle. To give you an idea, if I had this done in NZ - this whole thing would cost me NZ$3000 atleast while here I'll only be spending around NZ$180 and the dentist I am getting this done from is one of the best.

One of the things about living in India is that power cuts, water shortages, pollution, very high cost of apartments, shortage of domestic help {which is a common practise throughout India} is a way of life and people adjust to it pretty well; though I wish that mum can find a proper domestic help sooner rather than later. In my parents place there is a daily power cut for 1 hour a day and also fresh water comes through only every alternate day {so they store water for use on the day it doesn't come through}. For some reason I haven't taken any pics while I've been here and I'll try and take some but as I said it is a strange feeling acting like a tourist in a place you originally are from.

Today,dad took mum and me out {since I can't even dream of driving in the traffic here anymore} furniture shopping as I have been pestering both of them to get a dining table and also a new computer chair and table {as the old one is such a pain in the neck - literally}. Furniture shopping wasn't really successful as there was nothing good in the shop we stopped by, so the next stop was Salarjung Museum. The museum is amazing since all the collections there belongs to one man and the length and breadth of collection is mind numbing. To see so much history in one place, some of which is several centuries old is humbling. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in Hyderabad. The only thing that annoyed me at that place is that photography is not permitted even though it is a tourist attraction.

Crossing a road or an intersection here - whether you are driving or on foot, is a little bit more than strenous than normal. The easiest way to describe it is to compare it to the massive herds of wilde beest on their annual migrations, trying to cross the crocodile infested river from one place. It is a little like that - no one stops for anyone and if you are a pedestrian, you are on the lowest end of the food chain, so you have an even harder time. Indian roads are not a pedestrian friendly place at all.

I have my work cut out for the next couple of days - find that damn gym which is supposed to be relatively close to the house and also check out a few furniture places that I got addresses off from the internet. The thing I am loving about Hyderabad is that it is not humid at all - even though it is hot, which means that you are not sweating like a pig.

There is a lot of talk about me and my marriage and have to see how things pan out over the next few weeks.

That's me for now.
Amit

Labels: Hyderabad, India, Travel

posted by Amit @ 5:39 AM 1 Comments

No India

It's been a long time coming but I still find it hard writing about India - I don't know why. Maybe it's because I don't want to offend anyone by writing my thoughts about my trip back home or maybe because words can't describe the experiences that I had in India - some of which have been life changing experiences for me. Life changing experiences don't have to be major, dramatic events but even small, relatively insignificant events can lead to a change of perception and world view and I think I experienced a few of those during this trip and I am really in no mood or of any particular inclination to share with the rest of the world. After much deliberation and procrastination about the whole thing I decided not to write about my Indian leg of the holiday. But needless to say I would like to thank everyone back home for making this trip wonderful - friends, acquaintances and especially my family. I will upload pics from India to the web sometime soon and then link it up.

Things have been busy otherwise at work and I will be a happy man from next week once my boss comes back and I hand over his responsibilities back to him. I enjoy higher responsibilities and I think I did much better than last time dealing with stuff but it is draining when you are trying to do two jobs at the same time.

In the meantime I finally managed to make some critical decisions about the music video that I wanted to do for Sora Shima and we finally shot it. The first step for me was getting Benji involved and he came up with a cool concept and then I contacted Claire [friend and acting classmate] to help out by appearing in the music video and we shot it over 3 hour time frame for 2 days at different locations. It is all shot on Benji's digital camera and this will be an interesting experiment when we finally finish it. The shoot went really well and the photographs look amazing, so I am pretty confident that it will be a good music video. Here are some behind the scenes photos from the music video shoot.











I've managed to sneak in a couple of movies in all the hectic time I've been having and both of them turned out to be good: Slumdog Millionaire and Gran Torino. Slumdog Millionaire is beautifully shot and nicely edited but it misses a fair few emotional beats and thus for me was a good movie - not a great one. Gran Torino on the other hand was very captivating and draws you in slowly but surely and is funny, dramatic and emotional at the same time. I finished my week of free gym trial at Bodytech and planning on doing a week's free trial at Les Mills before deciding which one I want to join over the long term period. We have a house warming party at our house tomorrow night and it should be an interesting night - mainly because this is one party I can't avoid going to.

And that's about it from me for now.
Till later,
Amit

Labels: Filming, India, Movies, Music, New Zealand, Travel

posted by Amit @ 10:45 PM 0 Comments

Scanned

Labels: Acting, Directing, India, New Zealand, Polaroid, Thailand, Travel

posted by Amit @ 7:02 PM 0 Comments

Lazy Wanderings – Day 10

I woke up early and packed my bags and checked out of my room by 8.30 AM. The hotel had a security room facility so I left my backpack there – it meant that I didn't have to return to the hotel at 12.00 PM to check out. The map said that Lumphini Park was en route to Soi Polo Fried Chicken place, so I decided to have a look at it as well. The park was just a normal park but it did provide a kind of serenity and peacefulness amidst the noise and hustle bustle of Bangkok – there were people jogging and stuff, and all the usual things you see in a park, so I wasn't tempted to go in at all – I walked around the circumference till I got to Soi Polo and then I searched for the eating joint but I couldn't track down the exact address, so I ate at a place called Polo Fried Chicken.

Rice and meat is common as breakfast in Thailand so I had no qualms about eating fried chicken and sticky rice for breakfast. It was a delicious meal and pretty affordable meal – it cost 90 baht [nearly NZ$5] all up for a really filling meal. I'll be back in Bangkok for a day on my return journey and i'll definitely try and track down the actual place listed in Lonely Planet guide. After the scrumptious breakfast it was time for some gift hunting and I walked half way and then caught a sky train to Siam square, which is know for it's shopping outlets and malls.


Shops are usually supposed to open around 10.00 AM but when I got into one of the malls almost 90% of the shops were still closed. Everyone was in the process of opening the shops slowly but surely. I wandered about for 30 minutes in the mall but the shop opening process was very slow, so I decided to be brave and get myself a Thai massage. I referred to my ever trusty LP guide to check out surrounding areas for recommended thai massage places. When it comes to massage in Thailand there is a proliferation of massage parlours – which are not necessarily Thai massage places and you might end up getting some other kind of massage :-), so you've got to be careful especially when looking for massage places until and unless of course you don't want to be careful about it.

The place that caught my eye (no pun intended – you'll soon realize why) was a thai massage place where the masseuse's were blind and it was supposed to be popular amongst the locals as well as expats. So I decided to give it a go and caught the Skytrain to Nana BTS and started searching for the place. I had a little bit of difficulty finding the place and whenever I took out my map to confirm my location and my place of intended destination, I would be pestered by a taxi driver or a tuk-tuk driver about going to a massage place otherwise I was pretty much treated as a local – I think it is because of my skin colour. :-) I finally managed to find the place and booked a 2 hour thai massage – to my disappointment my masseuse wasn't blind but the massage itself was great. It doesn't feel too great a lot of the time when the massage is being done and it is slightly painful at times but once the massage is complete you feel so relaxed and at peace. The massage was also very reasonably priced – it cost 350 baht for 2 hours of massage – which amounts to about NZ$20 roughly. If you compare that to any form of massage in NZ – it is peanuts as massage in NZ is steeply priced with prices ranging $70 upwards per hour. So I'll definitely be getting myself another couple of hours of thai massage on my way back to Auckland.

Feeling refreshed I went back to Siam square and shopped at MBK and found a couple of gifts. After the heavy breakfast I wasn't feeling hungry so I skipped lunch and proceeded back to my hotel to pick my bags and leave for the airport. A cab to the airport was around 500 baht while the cost of using Airport Express bus was 100 baht from where I was, so I decided to try the airport bus service since I had a little bit of time to spare. I enquired at the hotel as to where I could catch the bus from and the timings and they told me where I could catch it from but as far as the times were concerned they said that it ran every hour but there was no precise time the bus arrived. So I picked up my backpack and sat on the footpath where the bus was supposed to arrive. There was a tuk-tuk stand right where I was and every now and then cabs would stop offering to take me to the airport but I told them that I was catching the bus. 30 minutes later there was still no sign of the bus and I was getting a little worried – what if I missed my flight because I wanted to save 400 baht? And just as I was giving up hope, the airport express screamed past the bus stop despite a traffic police guy waving it down and a couple of tuk-tuk drivers waving it down. I just smiled and figured that I needed to catch a cab since I wasn't going to wait for another hour or so but one of the tuk-tuk drivers asked me to get into his vehicle so he could help me catch the bus at the traffic lights. I asked him how much since everyone is out to make money and he said that he didn't want anything except help me catch the bus. I was taken aback by the selflessness and gesture of help but jumped straight into the tuk-tuk and we did catch the bus just before the next traffic light. As I gratefully sat down in the bus – I was thinking how I wish Dan was here to see what had just happened because it was the complete opposite to his perception of tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok.

Once I got down at the airport – the whole process of checking in was pretty painless and finally the security check officers at the airport smiled. I showed them the Polaroid and asked them if they could avoid putting the film through the x-ray machine and it soon caused a minor sensation of sorts and they were very curious about the Polaroid camera and they asked me about my time in Thailand and they were laughing and smiling at me for having a Polaroid camera. One thing I have constantly found through the trip is that Polaroid is a great equalizer – it instantly helps you form friends and people are more open to you because you are using a Polaroid camera. How I wish that Polaroid hadn't stopped making film – I could happily use this camera for the rest of my life because it is special in many ways. Suvarnabhumi Airport complex is massive and I spent a good half an hour walking about and had a quick snack and also found time to check my mails before our plane was assigned a gate. I sat down in one of the seating areas and looked around to see that everyone was traveling with someone else and I wished that I had a travel companion because it gives you some sense of security and belonging plus you have someone to share your experiences with. But then again traveling alone is scary at times but it also keeps you open to more possibilities and to people.

On the plane the guy sitting next to me was a young guy who had just completed his MBBS and had come for a vacation with his friend to Pattaya (in South Thailand). They were really surprised that I was traveling alone and that I had gone up north into the hills on an intrepid journey instead of going down south to the sandy beaches of Thailand where most of the foreigners like to hang out. They were decent guys but both of them had really stinky feet and the only reason I know this is because they removed their shoes 2 minutes after we got seated and man was the stink foul. I spent most of my time on the plane updating my journal and didn't even bother watching the personal entertainment system. It was a tough flight because the stink never went away and I was glad when the flight finally landed in Delhi.

This was my first time traveling back to India on my NZ passport and the first thing that struck me about India and Indians was the total disregard for lines and instructions. At the immigration counter there were 2 lines allocated to foreign passport holders but that had no meaning as everyone was lining up in whichever line they felt like. Once past the immigration check it was waiting for the baggage and it took another half an hour before my bag finally appeared. Once out of the airport I was surprised that Delhi wasn't that cold and it wasn't even foggy. Dad picked me up from the airport {even though I told him that it would be easier for me to catch a cab home} and it was nice seeing him. This time around I thought I would be prepared for the traffic and the honking but it still took me by surprise and it was very jarring. One of the first things that stuck me was the amount of construction taking place in the Delhi. Everywhere you see there is construction happening and the economic slowdown doesn't seem to have impacted India that much. The main roads have improved vastly but the driving and the disregard for road rules is still the same.

By the time we got to our apartment block it was around 12.30 AM and there was no parking space left. People seem to have bought atleast 2 cars per household whether they need them or not. And then there was the fact that the gas company had dug up most of the sides of the apartment roads to lay down gas pipelines which made parking space even more hard to find. In the end – I got out of the car on dad's suggestion and I kicked and clawed clear a big mound of dirt and bricks dug up by the gas company, so that we could park our car in the clearing. I was pretty tired by the time I got home but it was still a great feeling seeing my mum again after 3 years.

Catch up and talk is for later – for now it is time to sink into my lovely bed.
Later,
Amit

Labels: India, Thailand, Travel

posted by Amit @ 9:48 PM 0 Comments

Updates

It has been a relaxing sunday - sort of - I got to doing something which is almost 5 months overdue - upload more of the pics from my trip to India. See the process is a tad hard for me as I have to short list the photos (don't want to upload a gizillion pics), which capture that location without repeating the moments. And after shortlisting I then have to change their image size and then upload them along with the description for each pic. So in short - it does take time.

I uploaded photos from the part where we were in Hyderabad - the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Most of the pics are from our trip to Golconda Fort. I was sick for most of the trip - I was down with heavy fever, so we did not go out as much as we would have liked to but it was still a memorable stop over. The photos also include the series of photos which made Lance into an 'international monument'. You can view the photos from Hyderabad HERE.

Since the winters are fast advancing - I thought I would take the opportunity to put up photos from the summer of 2006. I am sure if you read the blog regularly you would have seen the small pics - but HERE are bigger sized pics all in 1 place.

I also took the opportunity to watch a 1929 russian documentary/movie titled 'The Man with the Movie Camera' and it was an amazing experience. To me it is a true classic and it is visionary in all aspects. It is a marvel both from camera point of view as well as editing point of view. It is a must watch, if you can get your hands on the DVD.

The other movie I watched was ' Knots' - which was an ensemble comedy based in New York. It was quite funny despite some predictable themes. Most of the actors were on their mark but what did not work for the movie was the 'tv' feel - it never felt like a feature film per se but felt more like it could have been a pilot for a TV series or someting.

Now just about ready to hit the bed - time to prepare for a long week ahead.
Ciao,
Amit

Labels: Holiday, India, Movies

posted by Amit @ 8:33 PM 0 Comments

The Long March

Labels: India, Nowhere to Love

posted by Amit @ 7:54 PM 0 Comments

Short

A real quick update - realizing that I haven't been able to update in a while now. I am going down to Coromandel again - this time with Richard - one of the other producers for 'Memories'. We are planning to meet up the council guys and later spend time in the town trying to find specific locations for filming.

The week till now has been extremely busy with studio shows at school and then more auditions for the movie. It has been stressful at times but news for the first time in the year always is. The new workflow with server playout has definitely streamlined the editing process a lot.


I got a shock when I accidentally ended up on the commonwealth games website and saw that India is currently No. 4 in overall medal standings. I also got another surprise when one of the students commented on how indians are a deceptive lot - I let the comment pass as a joke but pre-conceived notions that people have always surprises me. Just shows that all of us are discriminatory one way or the other - race, religion, culture or sex.

The next update will be in a couple of days - once I come back from the second coromandel trip.

Till then,
Amit

Labels: India, Nowhere to Love

posted by Amit @ 8:26 PM 0 Comments

Sleepy Sunday

I have been a bad boy today..I was supposed to reply to my huge backload of emails but what do I do: I sleep - for most of the day. I have think I will start answering the mails straight away and maybe I will cover some ground.

I have uploaded some more photos from the trip to India- this time specifically the short trip through to Amaravati and Guntur. Amaravati is considered a holy place and four days after we went there - there was this massive buddhist event happening there: Kalchakra, so the security was no doubt really heavy and there were a lot of buddhist monks roaming around. After Amaravati - I somehow managed to convince everyone to do a brief stopover at Loyola Public School in Naalapadu (a township near Guntur}, since I wanted to check out the school which had a huge impact on my personality. So here are some pics from that day.

I found a place where they cook some nice won-tons which have meat filling in them.. The reason I liked those are because they tasted like Momos - one of my favorite dishes. Momos are a north east indian delicacy and here they are called Dumplings (I think) at the chinese restaurents. I should check out one of those soon and then make a comparision between them.

Off to answer some mails now.
Amit

Labels: Food, Holiday, India

posted by Amit @ 6:42 PM 0 Comments

Small update

I sat down and started compressing and uploading photos from the trip to India...I know it has been long overdue and thought I should start off the process by doing the stuff in smaller batches, so it doesn't seem too much like a task. First batch of photos - from the trip to Vijayawada and Tukuluru. You can view the pics HERE.

The day of auditions was again interesting and I think I will start viewing the tapes and shortlisting soon. I am feeling tired - somehow the auditions are exciting and energy draining at the same time.

More updates later.
Amit

Labels: Holiday, India

posted by Amit @ 8:45 PM 0 Comments