Bangalore Intl Film Fest

Posted by Anantha | Posted in | Posted on Friday, December 28, 2012

0


Pacha (Bolivian)
Found this as pointless meandering. Could not connect to what ever happened on screen, so much so that, I walked out of it!

Firingoti (Assamese)
T..o....o.... S...l...o.......w... A film critic once said, he felt his finger nails growing while watching a Hindi movie. I understood what he meant after watching this one.

Rust and Bone (French)
An out and out commercial movie. Delete those passionate love making scenes and add some songs generously, this could well be our own Bollywood movie. Loved the sleekness in entirety.

Noor (Pakistani)
The real Khusru who played the lead role Noor was deadpan. Nor the other actors seemed professional. The script seemed flawed and left me wondering what made the jury pick this one for the film fest.

Monsieur Lazhar (French)
Some movies have the warmth. This is one such movie. An illegal immigrant manages to get a job in a primary school in Montreal as a replacement to a teacher who would have committed suicide in the very classroom she teaches. The movie is about how the children cope up with the shocking death of their favourite teacher and how the protagonist learns to be a teacher! Though I felt the climax lacked the intended impact, as I said, it surely left me feeling warm. And I must mention, Mohamed Fellag who plays Lazhar is an awesome actor. Loved every bit of his acting in the movie.

Kauwboy (Dutch)
A toddler rescues a baby crow from the nearby tree and rears it in his home against his father’s wishes. The story is about how the baby crow plays a role in balancing the emotional equation between the father and the son. The actor who played the small boy is so natural, in places, it feels like the camera just followed the boy candidly everywhere he went. Pretty slow in pace, but the kid made me sit through till the end.

The Clown (Brazilian)
This was the last movie to be screened in the fest. And it was an awesome ending for the fest!
It is about the father son duo who run a mobile circus tent in Brazil, who also are the clowns in their shows. The nearly broke company and the monotony of the shows makes the son quit his father’s company and he starts searching for a new job which gives him a stable life, a Govt proof ID and social security number. But, after getting the ‘breath of fresh air’ in his new life, realizes it was natural for him to be a clown. ‘As cat drinks milk, rat eats cheese, he had to be a clown’. In his short stint outside his travelling circus company, he realizes there is no other better job than to bring smiles on the faces of the people. 
     We are shown in many of the shows the father and the son perform, the kids enjoy their shows the most [I believe those were candid shots]. The humour in the movie treats its audience also as kids – I did not mean it insults your sense of humour, it just teaches us to laugh like kids to some silly but genuine humour. 
Along with Monsieur Lazhar, this also is an official entry from their respective countries for the Best Foreign Film category in the 85th Oscars. I am not sure, how good are the other entrants, but my heart goes for The Clown.

Singapore Trip!

Posted by Anantha | Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2012

5


At last, a vacation to Singapore with amma materialized. Was planning for this since August, ever since amma got her passport. As per the plan, my cousin and my uncle too were to accompany us. Since my cousin dropped out because of his tight project deadlines, only my uncle came with us.

Highlights of the trip:
  • Though the time of Christmas and New Year proves little expensive to visit Singapore, but to see the city all geared up for Christmas decorated with Christmas trees and with colorful lights was invaluable. 
  • Songs of the sea in Sentosa Island is just marvelous  The laser animation show projected on the screen of water(!) by the sea shore with the combination of air, water, fire and the perfect music made it unforgettable.
  •  Got to walk around the Singapore Flier – Singaporeans answer to London Eye, which also has Singapore Grand Prix track adjacent to it. FYI, Singapore conducts the F1 race on their roads, there is no special circuit for the race. It’s for you to think of Hemamalini’s cheeks now J
  • Happened to strike a conversation with a civil engineer from India, who was working on the construction sites of Jurong Island. Jurong Island is a man made island made by reclaiming the land from the sea. With a desperate need to increase the land area, with Malaysia to the north, this is how Singapore is expanding.
  • A locality called Little India which is the place for many Indians in Singapore has a very old Mariamma temple. Even Chinese consider this as lucky for them and participate in the annual fire walking festival in huge numbers!!
  • Mustafa Mall – There is nothing on earth that is not available in this mall! You name a product and Mustafa will have at least 5 varieties of brands of that product. 
  • I was awe struck by the Metro trains of Singapore which run mostly underground connecting all the major parts of the city. These trains do not have the concept of platform. People board the train using elevator like doors which open automatically only when the train arrives.
  • In our short vacation of 4 days, I went for a jog too on one of the mornings J Got to run on a jogging track on the shore of Singapore river which led to Singpore Flier. While returning to the hotel, was lost just near to our hotel as GPS wanted to test my sense of directions. Then managed to return to hotel with the help of local people J
  • Lights, Camera and Action show in Universal Studios is fabulous. With a short introductory video by Steven Speilberg, the show demonstrates the creation of a stormy weather and turbulent sea in New York city with all the special effects.
  • Took a foot massage in a parlor in China Town. It was worth the expense.
  • The pool on the 3rd Floor of a mall at Harbour Front is a serene place worth spending hours holding a book or a coffee mug or both. With the sprawling sea in front and a distant Sentosa island across the sea, the view is magnificent. 
Finally, the best part of the tour was none of the above but the wonder in amma’s eyes when she saw the white clouds from the window of the aircraft and said, ‘those clouds look like mounds of cotton’. 

Arun Bhardwaj - The Ultra Marathon Saint

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , | Posted on Thursday, November 22, 2012

1


If it wasn’t for the enthusiasm of Dharani, my running mate of GKVK, I would not have met Arun Bharadwaj - the Super Duper Mega Ultra Marathoner who is on a mission to run from Kargil to Kanyakumari. Dharani gathered the info from net and kept in touch with Arun's crew about his schedule of reaching Bangalore.

Arun would reach Devanahalli by 20th Nov and he would start from Devanahalli on 21st early morning. Around 6AM, Dharani, Karuna and I reached his crew who had stayed in tents near Devanahalli overnight. His crew member Adiraj told us that, Arun insisted on starting his run from few kilometers before their camping site and he was 7-8kms away. Adiraj said he will drop us to Arun if we wanted to accompany him for few kilometers. We were eager to meet him. Adiraj also alerted us not to converse with him much, as too much of talking while running will make him more tired. The man is on road for 51days  - running at least two marathons every day. For all you know, we might be disturbing him.

On the edge of the highway, we saw a tanned frail man running with slow but steady pace. We got down from the car and walked towards him. With our running gear, Arun recognized that we had come to support him. How do you support a man who has run 3200 odd kms and is about to run 800 kms more to reach his goal, just by running few kms along with him...? Im sure we were about to get inspired but not sure if Arun wanted it. Arun shook hands and exchanged 'hi's and 'hello's with the three of us with a hesitant smile. I felt our presence jolted him from the trance he was in. Believe me, for 15 more minutes there was complete silence! He was running ahead and we three behind not knowing how to start the conversation. You can easily join the people when they are celebrating, you can even sit next to a person and console him when he is dejected but how do you start the conversation with a man who has run for 51 days all alone... Then the ice-breaker came from the man himself. He said, 'lazy running lag raha hoga aapko', referring to his slow pace. Karuna pitched in, 'not at all sir, 3000 kms run karne ke baad kaisa hota hai hum soch bhi nahi sakte hai'. Arun smiled modestly in reply.

Somehow, the conversation picked up and Arun made us feel comfortable rather than we making him feel so. After few kms, 7-8 other runners who were waiting for Arun on the highway, greeted him and started clicking photographs. Arun might have expected it; he seemed more comfortable looking at people this time. With so many runners around him, our huddle was running on the edge of NH-7 highway.

As people started asking him some of the obvious questions about his motivation, the pain, the endurance, the determination, the conversation got more candid. Below are some of his answers.

'shuru se, kuchch alag karne ka iraada tha. Gangotri se Bay of Bengal tak along the river daudne ka plan tha... Woh ho nahi paya. Abhi to yeh kar raha hoon'

'yeh dard kya hai, maa hume paida karte waqt, woh jo dard sehti hai, uske aage yeh kuchch bhi nahi hai'

'kuchch khaas preparation nahi tha. Pehle se main regular runner tha. Bahut sara ultra marathon dauda tha. Utna hee..... Jaise kuchch bada kaam karne se pehle maa baabuji ke charan chhoote hai, waise hee karke shuru kiya. Jab kabhi pair dukne lagte hai, woh mujhe yaad aata hain aur usse shakti milti hai'

'baaki sports to animalistic hota hai. Doosron ko haraane ke liye, cheating, mind games aur thoda bahut maar peet bhee... Lekin yahaan bas apne aap se lado aur better and pure bante jao'

'prakruti main har ek cheez chalta rehta hai... hawa, paani, dharti... Sabhi planets..aur ye universe bhi. Rukna bahut unnatural hai. Rukne se balance bigaDta hai... Stagnate ho jaate hai'

As per the schedule, around 8:30AM, Adiraj would pick Arun and drop him to a famous health club on Residency Road. Arun was supposed to meet a gathering there and deliver a lecture. It was time to bid bye to Arun. We gave him a card and a small gift and wished him luck for his remaining 9 days of run. He patiently posed for the photograph with us. I am sure everyone was elated after meeting him.

For me the man looked very real.. No air of achievement, no gloss. Very down to earth and humble. Thousands of kilometers of running must have mellowed him down. Must have 'made him pure' in his own words. I call him Ultra Marathon Saint.

PS: Track Arun's run here.

Bangalore Ultra 2012 - I am an Ultra Marathoner now

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , | Posted on Friday, November 16, 2012

6

The new venue of Bangalore Ultra was Hennur this time. After the successful and more importantly, very enjoyable Hyd Marathon, I had ambitiously registered for 50Kms category in Ultra. Few weeks before the event, stiffness in the left knee dithered my confidence. Sought help from my doc and religiously followed the recommended stretches for days that followed. It magically worked.

On the race day, on a new trail, knees did not bother much. But the hot and humid Sun posed a tough challenge. I maintained a pretty good pace till 32-33Kms after which my pace nosedived. Some how managed to finish my first ever Ultra Marathon of 50Kms in 5Hrs 47Mins. Still waiting for the official timing certificate and race day photos. Will update this post once I get it.

Tips for aspiring marathoners: Though, I am yet to figure out better and efficient running techniques to better my timing, I have to say this to people out there. Met few runners on the trail. When our pace was almost the same which allowed the conversation to go beyond 'great run brother!', I was shocked to hear at least from three runners that they were running an Ultra distance having never run a Full Marathon before! Running few Full Marathons is never a qualifying requirement for running an Ultra, but according to me, it surely conditions your body. It surely makes you better equipped to run 50Kms and beyond. It surely gives you a good idea of how good are you after completing the initial 30-32Kms. And as expected, all these guys struggled after the initial 24-25Kms - the distance to which their body is prepared for. After all, running a Full Marathon or an Ultra Marathon is not about crawling to the finish line and dropping dead there. It is about having enough reserve energy to run at least 5 Kms after breasting the tape!! Keep this in mind before you attempt your next big run. Never ever, leapfrog your distances and make your legs suffer for your over enthusiasm. Take it incremental, It is not a mandate to run a Full or Ultra within months of running your Half. Listen to your body and be sensible.

Timing Update:
The official timings are out. I have finished 50Kms in 5Hrs 45Mins 13Secs, holding 19th position of the 40 participants who did finish the race. Not bad eh..? ;)

Marathon Heroes

Posted by Anantha | Posted in | Posted on Wednesday, October 17, 2012

2


[Ok.. now that I have shrugged the inertia off, here I am publishing my account of the Hyderabad Marathon at last]

I sprawled on the soft green grass of JMC Balayogi stadium, Gachibowli - where the Airtel Hyderabad marathon route ended. Took off my wet shoes and socks to check the boils I had got between my toes. Thought I should wrap the little toes with tapes to avoid it in future runs. Stretched my calves and quadriceps savoring the sweet pain of the marathon.

Thanks to the drizzle and the cloudy weather on the race day, I had achieved my personal best of 4 Hrs 31 Mins to finish the arduous 42.2kms. Quite a disciplined training of three and a half months, pretty decent rest in the last week, proper hydration during the run had been fruitful.

Munching on the post-race snacks and sipping a bottle of water, I was waiting for my friend Karthik to finish his race. He must have been telling his mind not to listen to his aching legs, still a few kms away from the finish line. Every marathoner fights his own battle in every marathon he runs, the battle that is unique and unfamiliar to any of the battles he has fought in his previous marathons! My friend Karthik has asthma from a very early age. He says, he started running to see if running works as a cure to Asthma. The night before the race, he had told me that he had not practiced much for this marathon because of his asthmatic conditions. He had run his last marathon four years back! It is almost like running the first ever marathon for him.

The photographers near the finish line were clapping and cheering every runner approaching the finish line. Encouraged by the gesture, victorious smiles used to bloom on the sweaty and tired faces of the runners. Some old, some young, some limping, some sprinting to shave off few seconds from their finish time – were trickling to the finish line. The relatives and friends of the runners clapped aloud welcoming them near the finish line. I too contributed to the clapping noise. I clapped hard whenever a panting old lady/gentleman came running to the finish line. Yes, many senior citizens too take part actively in these events. Some of them beat young legs by a considerable margin also! A gentleman I know who is in his late sixties finishes every marathon around 3hrs 45 mins. As ChrisMcDougall says, probably marathon is the only sport where a 60 yr old can compete with a 19 year old with elan.

When one of the runners was approaching the finishing the line, something special happened. His wife was near the finish line holding their daughter eagerly waiting to welcome him. That kid must be of 4-5 yrs of age. He was few meters away from the finish line, he waved his hand at his family, heralding his achievement. His daughter ran towards him crying 'pappa.. pappa'. Emphatic father lifted the kid, kissed her and made her sit on his shoulders. When he crossed the finish line, I believe the loving father and the adorable kid got the loudest applause from people around. I am sure that father made his daughter feel, her dad is her hero.

Such inspirational stories are aplenty in every marathon. From people who run marathons for the pure passion for running to people who fight chronic diseases bravely and return to run marathons as if they mock at the disease... Every one is a hero here. Cheers to the spirit of running…

English Vinglish

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , | Posted on Tuesday, October 16, 2012

0

Dir: Gauri Shinde
Cast: Sridevi, Adil Hussian
The movie is just not about Shashi learning to speak English, it’s more than that. It’s about how a neglected, taken-for-granted housewife and mother of two re-establishes her identity and makes her family realize she and thousands of other women like her who undergo similar situations deserve a lot more respect from their family members. It’s about Shashi learning to love herself only to be loved back from her family members. It’s also about Shashi realizing that it’s OK to put one’s interest before her family’s to regain the lost self-esteem. It’s also about showing it’s never too late to learn anything... never too late to make friends [check out Shashi’s husband’s priceless expression when she introduces her spoken English tuition mates as her ‘khaas dost’ at the end of the movie].

From the very first scene where Shashi picks Navabharat Times in the morning to glance through for few minutes before she gets into the whirlwind of daily chores to the end wherein in a brief speech she expresses what exactly she wants from her kids and her husband, the director Gauri Shinde involves the audience very much into the movie, as if she is telling the story of our own mother/bhabhi/sister/aunt who would have been juggling all the thankless daily chores 24/7 without a moment to spare for herself. An awesome performance by Sirdevi. A must watch movie for all...

Ironically, my sis who was more than willing to join me for the movie, drew back at the last minute thinking people back at her home would not be able to manage her two kids in her absence of 3-4 hours!! :(

Hyderabad Marathon is around the corner

Posted by Anantha | Posted in | Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2012

1

After running my first ever marathon in Auroville in Feb 2012, I was dying to run my next marathon at the earliest. Summer and the rainy season that follows is a lean period for most of the marathons in India. The ones that were held were not in the neighboring states. This made me register for Airtel Hyderabad Marathon.  My practice for this started soon after TCS 10K i.e., in June. Though I thought of taking a formal coaching from an experienced marathoner, I some how ditched the thought and decided to continue on my own for some more time. Started following a training program by Hal Higdon with difficulty of intermediate level-1 [the site has training programs for novices to expert runners]. This training was of 18 weeks. Since I did not have so many weeks to train after June, picked the training program from the midway till August 19th, keeping a week for rest before the marathon.

Before I started training, not ignoring the strain in my right shin which happened during the training for TCS 10K, I went to a physio who is also a marathon runner. I was relieved to hear from him that it was nothing serious. The shin stretches he suggested really worked and the pain subsided. After that, I started following this training. I kept taking enough breaks and rests in the middle of this training to avoid overkilling of my leg muscles. This regular running seems to have worked for me [otherwise, I was mostly a weekend runner]. My Personal Best Half Marathon timing has improved considerably. It used to be consistently around 2 Hrs 15 mins, has now come down to 2Hrs 05Mins. Also looks like I am more comfortable with my Half Marathon runs now, than ever before.

A practice marathon:
Ran a marathon on last Sunday. I wanted to run one before the actual race. I remember a fellow blogger and marathoner saying 'Marathon is such a sport, that the previously run marathons never guarantee a completion in the next marathon you are going to run'. Every marathon poses its own challenges un-encountered in our previous ones. After all it's bloody 42.2 kms :) Every marathon is going to be a Herculean achievement for all we mere mortals.

On Sunday morning, drove to GKVK, just to dump chocolates, bananas and enough water in my car. Started my run at 6:45AM. Should have started much earlier. The weather was very very pleasant till I completed 25Kms. Later it became quite sunny. My struggle had already begun around 25Kms. My mins/km reading was dropping kilometer after kilometer. When I completed 30Kms, I was clearly struggling. Kept pushing myself hard to complete the rest of daunting 12Kms. Did a lot of run-walk-run to reach 38Kms. This is when a thought of giving up occurred. As they say, the mind gives up long before the body. To curb the thought of giving up, I deliberately detoured from the path which was leading to the place where my car was parked. Good I did that. I am sure, I would have given up running at the sight of my car. After almost walking for last 2-2.5Kms, I finished what I can call as my 2nd marathon in 5 Hrs 08 Mins. 

Split Timings:
0-10kms - 59 Mins 30 Secs
10-20kms - 1Hr 1Min 31Secs
20-30kms - 1Hr 11Mins 48Secs
30-40kms - 1Hr 34Mins 47Secs
40 - 42.2kms - 21Mins 24Secs

Good things: Carrying enough water, bananas, chocolates, plastering my nipples to avoid chapping (the easy solution I learned after that torturous 25Kms in last year's Ultra Marathon) and most importantly NOT GIVING UP!

Not so good things: Two boils between the toes - I suspect the slightly tight socks I was wearing,  no fellow runners and supporters to cheer. That's the problem with running alone such long distances. It can bore you in the end.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)