Flamenco is Back!

I'm starting flamenco classes soon which I had kind of left aside since late last year. Yippie :)

Shedding Old Skin

In tight-spaced Barcelona flats, sometimes everything you own can't find suitable space. I recently embarked on a closet-cleanout mission. I was hoping to get rid of a lot of stuff, but was disappointed with myself when the final result of the raid was only about 8 pairs of clothes that came out as "good to be donated." At first I thought that I could give away my Dave Matthews t-shirts without thinking twice about it. And I even took them out and kept them aside, to be taken to the recycle bin. They were sitting outside in the corridor of my flat, in the most "discarded" location possible...when it suddenly hit me! I was about to throw away some of my most cherished memories. Those who knew me in college can vouch for the Dave Matthews fan I used to be.

The concerts weren't just about going and seeing a group perform.... they were a ceremony that you attended with like-minded souls, all too obsessed with the music, just like you. The t-shirts you would wear to the concert, the tailgating for hours in the parking lot listing to DMB music before, the meeting other obsessed DMB fans like you, the talks about a certain line in a certain song that just blew our minds...My partner in crime was Nathan Williams. For college students it was a BIG deal to buy a concert ticket that cost $60. Then, if the group wasn't playing in your hometown, people like us would try and go to nearby shows. I remember twice having driven up to Virginia and once to Alabama to see the band. One time was so special because DMB were playing in their hometown of Charlottsville after many many years. I drove 11 hours (alone!!!!) to and from the concert location in two days: 22 hours, because Nate, my dear friend had lost his drivers' license. How I wanted to strangle him then :) At the end of the day though, we were invincible DMB fans and nothing else mattered but the music.

Its kind of strange that the group stopped mattering to me. A look at those t-shirts which were bought at concerts, marking dates and locations of their summer tours (2000,2001, 2002)... it was finally too much. Therefore, like it or not, since I don't wear t-shirts anymore, someday my kids will : )

Bollywood in Barcelona

I'm going through another Bollywood crazed phase. Yesterday I watched "Bollywood, the Show" at the Tivoli Theatre in Barcelona. It was a spectacular colourful musical extravaganza, and surely quite novel for the Spanish eyes. The theatre with a capacity for 1,643 people, was packed and two and a half hours into the show, all the Catalans were clapping and dancing to the tunes of "Shawa, Shawa" and "It's the Time to Disco." It was really a scene! In fact all the Bollywood groups in Barcelona were in competition a few weeks before as my ex-flatmate who danced at the Masala Club told me. Of the 12-odd Bollywood groups in Barcelona, the winning group accompanied the artists in the finale on stage.

I realised yesterday how much I miss being around Indian stuff. How much I miss my masala dosas. And how much I miss wearing my lehengas and salwaar kameezes. So ofcourse today I've spent a good amount of time downloading Bollywood music and I've made a finding: Bollyrobics. Check it out here.

To Die in Jerusalem

Last night I went to the Verdi Cinema for the European premier of the film "To Die in Jerusalem." The director, Hilla Medalia was present and the audience was able to ask her questions at the end and have a little discussion.

The documentary based on the suicide bombing by a 17 year old Palestinian girl that killed a 17 year old Israeli girl revolved around the mothers and families of the two girls. No matter how well you think you know the Israeli-Palestinian situation, seeing it from this angle was just brutal. I found to movie to be pretty unbiased, ofcourse if you leave aside the fact that its focused on the killing of an Israeli by a Palestinian. You see the aftermath of the bombing in the Jerusalem supermarket, and then the two families, the Israeli and the Palestinian. The Israeli family (supposedly a low class-not rich family) lives well, and the mother can only think about the loss of her daughter. The Palestinian family lives in horrible conditions, where death and suffering are daily routine.

The climax of the movie rotates around the conversation between the two mothers via a satellite meeting, and you see a stark contrast. The Israeli mom thinks of her loss as unique and is indignant about losing her daughter, while the Palestinian mum cannot accept that her daughter's death was caused for nothing. She fights for the principle her daughter died for, whereas the Israeli mum categorizes it all as violence. The highlight of the movie for me was when the Israeli mother said to the Palestinian mother, 'can you stop talking about politics?' Israelis can actually think of separating politics from feelings, whereas the Palestinians are struggling for their basic needs.

This conflict only gets worse through the generations. When we exchanged our thoughts with the director afterwards, one of the things she mentioned was that in her parents' time they had quite a few Palestinian friends. While she was growing up, that interaction reduced, whereas kids growing up in Israel today are completely oblivious to the suffering that goes on on the other side of the recently mounted wall. She visited a refugee camp for the first time in her life, when she was shooting the film. The compulsion for all Israelis to go to the army according to me, is a major reason that the Palestinian is automatically seen as an enemy and a terrorist.

I say go see the documentary if you can. This issue can never be solved unless people are made aware of it and bring it out in the open, and by resisting extremist policies. The Israeli "left" has to awaken and fight its extremist leaders. But who knows if that is possible... as far as this movie is concerned, any hope for understanding in Gaza seems unfortunately, practically impossible.

Quote for the Day

Am I lame or what? I dont write in months, and when I do, its to put up a quote or a thought.
Hmph. Anyway, yaani, check this out.

Christopher Marlowe - "Money can't buy love, but it improves your bargaining position."

Holidays are Great

I made a trip to Puerto Rico last month. Was wonderful to be in a tropical place in the middle of winter. Reminded me a little of Thailand (everytime I go to a remotely tropical beach, I'm reminded of Thailand). How I wish I could just pack a backpack and head to Thailand.

Anyway, we did have a Thai connection in the time I was in PR. On Christmas Eve we made a vegetarian Thai dinner which was just delicious, and then opened our presents that Niño Jesús got us. I got lovely yoga pants and a black cap which rocks. I loved seeing my friends in PR, which is a Spanish family that I met in Atlanta years ago while I was studying at UGA, and because they were like my first Spanish family, literally.

Then a few days later I headed to NYC. Who wouldn't like to head to NYC to celebrate new year's eve. That wasn't a question, by the way. My better half decided last minute that he'd like to join me, so there we were, visiting the sights of the city in minus 5 to minus 12º C weather. I've never been colder in my life, it was as if no matter how many layers you put on, you're still gonna be cold. So you may as well get used to it. I guess they sell specific clothing for extreme cold, and I guess that that is what you're supposed to have when you visit NY around new year's time. And we thought we went prepared...no, at the end of the day we were like two clueless Spanish-Indian people. But then it is also a city (country) thats extremely well heated indoors. In Spain people are more conscious about energy from a young age and minimise its use. They bundle up in order to save energy, in the US, its snowing outside and you sit inside your living room in a t-shirt, imagine the disparity.

We had a blast partying NY style, and the best part was the reunion with old friends again.

Love the holidays!

I like these...

"Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out."

"I must be a mushroom because I'm always kept in the dark and fed bullshit."

"Yesterday scientists revealed that beer contains small traces of female hormones. To prove their theory, the scientists fed 100 men 12 pints of beer each, and observed that 100% of them gained weight, talked excessively without making any sense, became emotional, and couldn't drive. No further testing is planned."

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."

"When was a lad, there was only one Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Khazachstan, Eusbekistan, Bosnia, Herzegovina; and then it all changed. And then it all changed back again. Those changes cost the lives of 66 million people. But it didn't cost me a penny -- 'cause I kept my old atlas."

"There's too much blood in my caffeine system."