Random Musings- Week 47/100: Of the Bear!

Back after a hiatus!- is a bit of an overstatement. Probably I am making more comebacks than Dinesh Karthik or a Shahid Afridi !

If there was a prize for procrastinator of the year, I would surely be one of the top contenders. But hey, the past three months were eventful to say the least.

Well, my trip to India finally happened where I got to attend my childhood buddy’s marriage, a hill station visit with the college gang, a family nostalgia tour, and more importantly got my stomach full with 4 meals a day – sometimes even more if you include in-between snacks* 😛
*P.S: Relatable to only those peeps who live outside home.

Anyways, lets get back to headline today. Its been a while since I wrote any kind of cinema review, but I really wanted to put it out here to make you peeps watch it.

Its called “The Bear”. Season 2 released last week I binged it in a day 😛
Anybody who likes cooking or wants to cook, or atleast watches those ASMR reels on Insta/youtube, surely is a treat to watch.

The story revolves around a blue-eyed young Michelin star chef “Carmy” who leaves his fine dining world to come back to his hometown to run his family’s sandwich restaurant after untimely death of his brother. The restaurant is a mess with debts, old utensils, unruly staff and losing customer base.
How Carmy gets the restaurant in working condition with the help/limited help from his kitchen staffs and family forms the core plot of the series.

Last year when the first season released, it became a breakout show amidst Emmy winning bigwig shows like The Succession and Ted Lasso. The show beautifully captured the cacophony that happens in a working kitchen at a high end restaurant.

What surprised me was that with eight half-hour episodes, no sexual or romantic storylines and an ensemble kitchen crew cast that grew better by the scene, The Bear was one of the very few shows that left me craving more.

Especially when the lead character “Carmy” is  tattooed, masochistic, grief-addled yet highly competent in a tight white T-shirt – became an overnight internet boyfriend.

Years ago I was watching Kitchen Nightmares– a reality show with star chef Gordon Ramsay who goes to pretty below average restaurants which had a long history before and transforms them into a successful one again.
My guess is that the story writers took this leaf out of the their bag and started writing this crux into one of the most entertaining shows ever.

We know that kitchens are high-pressure environments. But then so are operating rooms, trading floors and building sites and even newsrooms. Many workplaces, from time to time, are locations for nerves and heightened tension. The Bear would have you believe that running a restaurant is up there with piloting a fighter jet. That’s why it keeps you on toes on whats coming next!

Being away from home, cooking was something I never thought I would be really invested in. Shows like these just pump up the adrenaline in you to make us just love the art of cooking. Yeah, I know there has been quite a few cooking based movies and reality shows over the past few years, but I would keep this as a cherry on top 🙂

Magizhchi.

Random musings: Week 46/100- Sorrow of the Songbirds..

Sun was up. The warm rays of it falling on our skin absorbing all the nutrients, flowers blooming, and the trees growing. The subtle warmth of springs that made the songbirds sing was soon to be turning into a sour note with a grim end. The fall of leaves screamed that “winter is coming”. When the snow stated to creep through the skies, the songbirds spread their wings and migrate to a new place for warmth and comfort. However, they are trapped by the endless void of travel, a pallet cleanser for a bigger bird or a wingless end to their voyage. The promise of warmth could soon turn into an oasis in the middle of a desert. The simple task of migration could bring upon mitigating disaster that they can’t get over. This simple sorrow of the songbirds it’s not just about the birds but also the poor souls that gets up and goes to a different country for a better life.

At first, we see the shining light and hope we get to be the brightest one to glow amongst the rest. Hope and courage coursing through your vein as you take the first step outside your house. It’s a daunting task, you’re changing the course of history not just for you but for your entire generation. The reasons could be anything, fight with your boss, underemployed, upgrading yourself, and escaping the crutches of marriage. No matter the cause your goal is one, find a new life. You instantly become the songbird, searching far and wide for warmth and comfort that we all dream for our lives. We become adventurers like Amelia Earhart.

Everyone else who are left behind look at you as if you’re the chosen one. However, we have our own struggles. The wind blowing against can stop our journey and make us go haywire and lose sense of our direction. We face cultural shocks, home sickness, lack of a social network, and sometimes the quietness can be our mortal enemies. We look around and sometimes everything we would see would be new. Processing and producing a normal life would be a challenge for us, the thought of cooking, caring, and carrying on life would be a monumental task. The burden of an adventurer starts with their first step and only ends when they reach their personal “El dorado”.

We wake up everyday hoping it gets better than the last one. Alas, it might get better but sometimes it can get worse. We might show only our brightest days as it is the societal and social media norms, but we have our down days, and it hits us harder than our brighter days could carry. Getting a job, being stable, and not have worry about immigration always keep us on our toes. Just like the songbirds need their local environment after migration to keep them safe. But that’s all it is hope! There have been people who have not paid off their debts still, dead from being in the wrong place, looking for a place to call them home, and some returning home with a bruised and battered heart.

Some of us are stuck as we might not have another way. Some of us are obliged to be in it as the pied piper is asking for their payment. We might never come back home but our hearts and love will never disappear of the place where we once called home. Sometimes when we do return, we will miss the loud noises – Silence the eternal killer of the songbirds. Next time, when you do meet a songbird; let them sing and soar in the sky and give them a hug as they miss that more than anything in life.

A song by a sorrowed stricken songbird waiting for his day to fly. If you’re in the same flock, don’t worry- our time is now. Start the clock!

Magizhchi.

-Herald of Andraste

Random Musings Week 45/100- Of quick replies & instant responses..

Are you someone who reacts instantly to a message/call and then realize you should have thought for a few moments and then responded?
Frankly, how often do you regret sending ‘that’ message without thinking?

For most of us, or perhaps me especially, there is an unwritten social contract that underlies our online messaging interactions. The clearest part of that contract is that certain types of messages demand a timely response. Over time our anxiety will increase until we hear that return chime – and all emotions can return quickly to normal levels.

In our world of instant communications, it seems we have come to expect that everyday conversations should be reflected in our online social communication, just as it would be when face-to-face. These kinds of expectations and the pressure to communicate virtually rather than face-face is both boon and bane imo. Some conversations can be solved through instant texts and at the same time some create problems due to these instant messages.

How many times have you been on a conference call and already had an idea to share, an answer to a question or solution to a problem before the person on the line has even finished his sentence?
Frankly, on these calls, instead of listening to conversation, our mind runs on what point we need to contribute to the meeting. The same listening skills and thought processes apply when a conversation turns sour and your defence needs to kick in when we start answering quickly without processing the thoughts. 

One more thing is the inbuilt instinct to be clever/comical/ funny or whatever to show our prowess. Some sentences can catch you off guard, leaving you surprised and unable to form a clever comeback. Sometimes you think of the ultimate comeback — but two days later when you’ve had time to process and consider a few choice words. By then, it’s too late 😛
Ofcourse we are not chatbots- which reply instantaneously to all our queries irrespective of whether it’s right or wrong.   

Perhaps we need a new type of online communication social contract, and let’s set these expectations at the beginning of a relationship, or any friendship. Thanks to read-receipts and their associated emotional impact, communication really has never been more complex and perplexing.

Magizhchi.

Random musings: Week 44/100- Of fandom & movies..

Finally a Shah Rukh Khan movie in theatres after 4+ loong years! Though I couldn’t do a FDFS like during college days with my buddies, just the release hype hits you differently even though his last four movies were way below par by his standards.

For me, SRK is one of the stars whom you like as a person more than his work in movies. The advent of social media and newspapers exposed me to numerous interviews, reality shows and award functions of him showing his word prowess- combining wit, intelligence and clarity in his thoughts. 

Similarly each one of us has a set of people whom we always like and become fanboys/fangirls irrespective of their work. I have friends who are fans of Harry Styles, Michael Jackson to ARR and Hiphop Tamizha 😛

So how does one become a fan of a person really?

Studies say our childhood plays a huge role. The type of movies we are exposed to, the content we watch on television, on the street, the plays, etc. supposedly have a huge impact. Their characteristics, the looks, their actions and their personality makes you hold some kind of special affection which turns into crazy fandom.

Fandom is also a social experience that brings fans of similar subjects together. When this happens, it triggers the brain into assuming people who share this “group membership” mentality are the same.

I saw a funny linkedin post which explains different fandom traits.

1. The screamer: screams out loud and jumps for joy in their excitement of seeing their favourite famous person.
2. The encyclopaedia:  knows and remembers information bit by bit about a person, place, or thing.
3. Repeat offender: They watch their favourite star’s movie or a TV series a million times. They listen to the same song over and over again. In other words-once is not enough. 
4. The recruiter: These people convert others to join them as a fan.
5.  The nerds: Keep their obsession a secret. They are ashamed to share their object of obsession with relatives and/or friends. 
6. Finally, the offended defender fan: Gets irritated when someone insults the person, place, or thing you are a big fan of. 

On the other side, the moment fandom turns into obsession, the story is totally different. It can also turn violent at times, which affect both the general public and the stars. 

Nowadays, we are in the era where based on an allegiance to a star, our whole character personality is judged. Never meet your heros is also a widely used phrase since time immemorial.
As this is a vast topic, I will pretty soon go into the rabbit hole of fan-celebrity relationship in detail pretty soon. Anyways, do let me know if you have any crazy fan stories. Ciao!

Magizhchi.

Random Musings-Week 43/100: Of NYE misses..

Yaay! I finally won over the phenomenon of procrastination to write this year 🙂

Happy new year peeps! After a short winter vacation to a couple of east European countries, the new year eve week was rather low key. The weather also played its part, but most importantly, I missed my people.

I missed the college days kinda new year eve where we used to be at Bessie beach with thousands of others shouting “Happy new year” in the loudest of noises to random people!

I missed the excitement of going overnight drive with my gang post all the fireworks and the crazy antics of people on bikes with the police just being spectators as us. 

I missed school days kinda new year eve where at 12am, we used to watch Podhigai TV playing Kamal’s iconic “Hello everybody, wish you a happy new year!”

I missed the fear of going to school the day after new year as Half-yearly exam results would be distributed.

I missed the cheerful vibes of the city- the fresh hot Pongal from temples celebrating Margazhi, the overnight Carnatic musical concerts & dance rituals and the not-so cold,not-so warm weather of the city.

I missed the spectacle of well dressed men & women on roads- some going to parties, some going to temples, some going to offices, some going to meet their relatives and some going to meet their best buddies.

Right! Pretty sure I missed much more but enough of nostalgia. Let’s get to some facts.
I randomly checked my wordpress stats and this caught my eye. As someone who never cares about data & analytics, this actually made me think. 

Though initially this series was supposed to be a 100 week thingy in the beginning, it is not as per the plan. But I managed to rack up articles for almost half of the year, with plenty of viewers. This is actually a personal milestone for me since I was at one of the lowest points of my life this year. But I still had the urge to continue writing after going through everything (though the quality still sucks I know). 

In addition to that, I got messages from friends whom I lost connection years back, and comments from random bloggers who gave their honest opinions. Ofcourse this is a personal blog strictly with my own thoughts but still a little external validation makes us happy 🙂
They said blogs are outdated. Yes, youtube videos and insta reels rack up more eyeballs, but writing is still the OG way to my satisfaction.

Finally, 12 days into the new year, and already it has been eventful. Hope this year brings up more joy and we continue to survive amidst all the chaos around us. 

Magizhchi.

Random Musings: Week 42- Of Inner Ghosts..

“Do you believe in ghosts?”, he asked.
“Yes, not the one they show in movies, but the ones inside us”, she replied. 

Inner ghosts or demons are the ones which look silent & harmless, but in a split second, can come out and wreak havoc-both for others and for our own mental peace.
And why am I talking about this now.
Because recently I discovered I had one. And it was frightening.

You think you are the best person in terms of thoughts and actions, be it progressive, woke, politically sound, etc. But the moment it comes out, our whole life’s character arc is questioned. 

Was he/she a good person all these years or acted like one? Did I spend countless hours with a person who had such a cheap mentality?

And it makes us doubt ourselves too. How did this ghost come inside us in the first place? Was it by our surroundings, by the society, by the media or the people whom we interacted with in our lives? How!? Ultimately, it’s ourselves to blame for getting these thoughts in the first place.

Whatever the answer is, it doesn’t matter anymore. The moment we discover we have one, the next step is to address it. I frankly don’t know how, but a conscious effort is needed to overcome these kind of thoughts/words from our inner self, be it voluntarily or involuntary. 

The content we consume on social media is one of the chief architects of a venomous mind. All the digital minimalism stuff at the helm, the most clever thing is to consume content which you feel is good for you and totally avoid content which feeds our negative thoughts. Are we mature enough to identify the good and the bad ones? That’s upto ourselves to figure out. 

But Charles Bukowski once said: “Don’t fight your demons. Your demons are here to teach you lessons.” Lessons that are learnt the hard way I guess. I read somewhere that we don’t need to act on these irrational thoughts – keep telling ourselves that it’s your stupid inner chimp, the limbic part of your brain. That old part of your mind that isn’t rational.
This one truth can quieten those inner demons a little and help you cope when they’re screaming the loudest, until you find a way to get rid off.

Magizhchi.

Random Musings Week 41: Of fights & drama..

Yo, when was the last time you fought with someone?
Not necessarily the physical ones- can be over calls, texts, indirect signs, activities or arguments over any matter. And how did it end up finally :)?

Over the past few years, the amount of relationship issues leading to heartbreaks & divorces, losing contact with once close friends or relatives, etc. has been on a steady rise, even though we are constantly connected through various mediums more closer than ever compared to last few decades.  

The earliest I remember getting into physical fights was with my brother as in almost every brother household. Especially in one of the instances I remember we were having fierce quarrels over a game of cricket. I said out- he protested and I ended up having plasters near my eye socket for a couple of weeks 😛

In school, it was largely peaceful and without any drama if I remember. Ofcourse there had been couple of isolated incidents between friends and teacher here and there, but nothing infamous. If at all anything, it was limited to PT period quarrels/for lunch boxes 🙂

Actually the influx of media and internet played an important role in understanding fights.
The everyday television soap operas frequently showed considerable content about violent, egoist behaviours, and venomous characters. And then there was WWE. If any of you did not practice any of the finishing moves of your favourite star like John Cena, Rock or Undertaker,etc. you probably lived under the hood. Inspite of many warnings from various sources, the violence instigated went overboard for quite a few people.

Ok, now coming to college phase, I had a chance to peep into many different kinda fights. To start off, the typical inter departmental fights- in our case, it was Mech vs EEE. The reasons- mostly over some girl, culturals responsibilities or just to see who is gethu.
The next one is the standard fight between any couple in a relationship. Again to re-address, fights I mention here doesn’t strictly mean the physical ones. I did find a few of my close friends going through it quite often. Most of them sailed successfully over that phase but few even ended up totally separated coz of that.
Another is the gang fights/gang wars to be precise. This gang doesn’t involve with any of the activities and that gang doesn’t participate in any of the events conducted by other gang. The person in middle ground is the ultimate loser in this battle.

At present, just when I thought I saw everything, reality struck. Whatever kind of fights I saw of others or experienced myself, it was nothing. The kind of situations we end up having once we are at work, be it personal or professional ones cant be categorized.
Each day leads to a new drama. The same people whom you know for years turn your backs, or the friend whom you never thought you would spend a day with them turns out to be your life partner. Such is the dynamic nature of our human emotions.
If it’s a healthy argument that leads to more understanding between the individuals, then its okay, else its straight up toxicity.

Sometimes I wonder why is it so difficult to not to have a argument/fight/drama with the person whom you want in your life. Peace out.

Magizhchi.  
 

Random Musings-Week 40: Of Clickbaits and false links..

THIS

IS

A

CLICKBAIT.

(I warned you already)

Just checking if this page is still alive.

Actual blog coming out soon 🙂

Stay tuned.

Magizhchi.

Random Musings: Week 39/100- Of Diwali!

Jeez, no matter how far away from home, the festive vibes and memories of Deepavali/Diwali are unmatched. New clothes, new movie releases, new crackers, happy faces all around, lots of food and especially sweets!
After missing my 5th consecutive Diwali away from home, I can’t stop reminiscing about the good ol’ days of Diwali in the earlier years. Yes, I did already write about it last year, but it’s Diwali bruh!

I still miss,

•  the atom/hydrogen bomb gang (for the creative ways to burst the bombs)

• the neighbours gang (for helping us compete with the neighbouring streets for maximum cracker waste)
• the school friends gang (for school gossips, what else :P)
• the cousins gang (for sweets and snacks 🙂 )
• the bijli vedi gang (for afternoon time pass)
• the richie rich gang (for the 10k,5k waalas, gift boxes, night shots and more expensive crackers)
• the rocket gang (self explanatory)
  

In between, the calls and meetings with various relatives and other extended families makes Diwali a day to cherish. Over late teens, catching up FDFS of new movie releases happening on the Diwali day became a ritual.
But in recent years, I felt the technology grew up so fast, that people were glued to their homes and became more conscious and aware about spending money for Diwali.
I started seeing less people on the roads bursting crackers, or even less excited about Diwali in general. Yes, being sustainable, protecting nature, reducing pollution and everything is fair but why drop the excitement!

Still people can hangout on the streets for a casual conversation, interact with the neighbours, friends, and relatives face-to-face, play games, etc. Another important factor that made Diwali as big festive as it is now, is the fact that it was well known and celebrated across people from all states, religions, caste, creed, sex and also different age groups. Yes, we all grew up and matured, but that doesn’t mean we have to kill the kid inside us. Sometimes isn’t it nice to feel like a kid once in a while?

Anyways, I hope this Diwali brings joy, happiness and prosperity to all of us and our dearest people around us. Until then, keep scrolling through your family group forward messages of happy Diwali.
P.S: That excitement of wearing colour dress to school, the day after Diwali.. 😉

Magizhchi.