McLeod Ganj

Mcleod Ganj is best known for the Dalai Lama's residence. It is a little suburb to the city, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is about 8-10 km away from Dharamshala and can be best reached by a car or a bus. A large part of its population is that of Tibetans and it also has a lot of Buddhist monasteries.

One way of starting this post is by asking, 'Why travel to McLeod Ganj?'

Every time I tried to continue after this question, I hit a dead end. So, that means I couldn't ever write a second line. On about the fifth attempt, I realized I blanked out because I was asking myself the wrong question. I think I'd be better off when I write about "WHAT AWAITS YOU AT MCLEOD GANJ?"

Before I answer that, a few things you should know about how I travelled. It was a trip with a few friends. I travelled in September, so the weather was cool and pleasant. I also like walking around to explore a place. It gives me time to really absorb things and go at my own pace, literally and figuratively, speaking. McLeod Ganj was a perfect fit because it can be best explored on foot. I stayed at a little hotel called 'Bhagsu Heights'. Finally, I love food and I would love a place that helps my dining experience elevate from a customer-food-service level to complement my travelling experience where I'm allowed a relationship with food and to let me think of it as a character to the place. McLeod Ganj let me do that. Every single time I ate.

So what awaits you at McLeod Ganj?

Every time I looked out from the window, I saw mountains thickly-veiled by fog. When the day cleared up at times, I could see a waterfall and it was my first step into three days of serenity. Being a city girl, when I got to McLeod Ganj, the peace of that place struck me. It was comforting. I was not alone, but I had a space to be in touch with myself. I was also travelling in the middle of my ongoing semester in college, so it seemed like such a good break and much needed, too.

Walk to the Mall Road was about looking over cliffs and valleys. You could be an onlooker; experiencing life go on with its unique mundane character. You'd still be on a parallel, slower, calmer mental pace of life. Enter Mall Road and it's a different scene.

You find yourself immersed in a culture that's an amalgam of cafes (with free wi-fi *yes, yes, us 21st-century kids tch-tch*), jewellery or accessories with a Tibetan character to it and lots of shops to buy warm clothing. It is extremely good quality stuff and well priced as opposed to the polarized shopping culture in a lot of cities where either you get flimsy clothing for winters or you succumb to insane prices at the mall. Of course, you can try your hand at bargaining.

If you really like to shop, you'd like to know that when you really look for things that have a Tibetan touch to them, you'll find some interesting stuff. Like the wrap-around long skirts they use have colours that are uniquely yet, generously used in Tibetan culture, and broadly speaking mountainous areas. The prints and aesthetics of these things will also be different from everything else available in great stock with sellers, one after the other, on either sides of the road. They also have dream catchers of all sizes in abundance. The designs, sizes and creativity in these dream catchers is fascinating.

One important thing about the life here is that things start shutting down around 6 p.m. Some cafes will shut down and all the sellers will clear out the road, too. The restaurants will work for a longer time, though, the past nine p.m. culture is not thriving here, to say the least.

If you're not shopping, there's good news because there's so much more!

Food. Between breakfast, lunch and dinner that we had at our hotel, we also managed to have at least (remember: AT LEAST) two more meals or snacks every day. So after lunch on the first day, we had wantons and something to drink at Indique, then apricort tart, chocolate tart, coffee, tea, nana cake and carrot cake at Moonpeak Esspresso Coffee Shop. Gluttony should be struck off from the list of seven sins, I think. I shall list all the places we ate at, at the end of the post.

The vibe. Amongst some stoned people, some monks and some photographers, we also found travellers. They were soaking the place in as much as us and that was the last step for us to really let our hair down and enjoy. So at Jimmy's Italian Restaurant, when we gave a friend her little birthday surprise that was overdue, we sang the birthday song along with the staff and probably every other customer present there. A group of men from some other country sang it thrice. Our best guess is that it was probably drunk excitement.

We probably only struck two patent must-do things when in McLeod Ganj off the list.

First, we went to the Bhagsunag Waterfall. It is a little trek from the main chowk of McLeod Ganj and when you get there, a strong wind greets you there. It feels amazing to sit on the rock and just feel the waterfall's light shower on you as the wind blows past. Much on snacks with your friends there or jump into the water, if you wish. Make sure, you do the trek with sports shoes on because even though the trek isn't long, it is tricky and it will be a test for you if you smoke. My friends made it through the challenge. You can, too.

Then, we went to the Tibet Museum and the Kalachakra Temple. These two are built in the same complex. You're not allowed to take your phones or cameras inside. Did you know that because of Tibet's conflicted status of sovereignty, much of its culture has an increasing threat of extinction even as the culture seems to thrive in some small parts of India? Their 11th Panchen Lama, according to boards around the place, has been declared by the Chinese officials to be in their custody. The Museum tells the vivid tale of Tibet's history, people and culture to all those who would listen. It also depicts the Chinese invasion of Tibet. It can be quite moving to read, and there was more.

"Ohm Mani Padme Hum" may mean something to the Buddhists but to me, it is a way to reminisce and probably return to a bit of the tremendous peace I felt at that place. After touring the entire temple and rotating the wheels around the main shrine's complex, I sat in the large compound under the shades. I wouldn't say I was thinking any remotely philosophical- about life, past, future- but I was feeling something spiritual. It was strange to not really be thinking or introspecting but just feeling like the building blocks for growing up and for moving on were at play. You felt more than you could put to words and the puzzlement that accompanies this failure to explain is not uneasy at all. Instead, I just smile.

The beauty of this place is such that you don't have to wait for aphorisms to dawn upon your conscience. You'd be walking down a street or munching on some pie and sipping some coffee and they will come and go and it will be as simple as that.

Find that subtlety in life. Go to McLeod Ganj!

As promised, here's a list of places I ate at:

1. Indique (Rooftop Restaurant/Cafe):

2. Moonpeak Espresso Coffee Shop and Gallery

3. Four Seasons

4. McLeodganj Waterfall (A stopover for Maggie, anyone?)

5. Tibet Kitchen (You HAVE to have Chicken Momos and all Peach Beer, Lemon Beer and Fruit Beer. And no, it's not beer.)

6. Jimmy's Italian Restaurant

7. Clay Oven (You can miss this)

8. Coffee Talk

9. We also got take-away stuff from places that I can't remember now. Sorry.

Just try as much as you can! Apparently, Gakyi's is really good! It's right next to Jimmy's. Don't repress the gluttony! Let it gooooo!

Tell me more about your trips! Dying to go again. So then, I'd use your suggestions!

September 2014

 

Ciao 2014!

Can you believe 2014 is over this fast?

I still remember writing away 2013 to welcome 2014 on this date last year. I was apprehensive about what 2014 shall bring for me because 2013 hadn't been particularly generous and I had nothing to look forward to in 2014, but oh my! Wasn't I so wrong!

2014 took my concept and pace of time and threw it out of the window. I have not felt like I have lived two lifetimes in one year ever before, and yet felt like the year flew by. So much happened and I had so much to do! I was also more productive because who can manage two summer courses, two internships, a tornado of assignments and exams the way they come to you at LSR and still come out of all of it like a boss? I do feel like I came out of it stronger and wiser.

It was a generous year. I fell in love twice over with all my senses taking the leap. Who thought I was going to spend a summer in London and then soon after visit McLeod Ganj? Indeed, I have fallen in love. I met so many people from different countries, I graduated from hating selfies to just disliking them, I am a tad bit happier in life, and I am on whatsapp now, which I still like to elude sometimes. (I also watched all of Sherlock for the first time in London, tee-hee!)

Though, all was not happy. A friends passed away. No, we were not in touch the way friends usually are. We only spotted each other on the metro, sometimes. Why I feel like it's my loss too, is because Natasha was really, my happiest memory from school. If I ever get down to writing about how school life was for me, she would be the long-standing and nicest person through all of that. Yes, we drifted apart but we never fought and it was only time. I think we were there for each other for particularly hard times in our lives. As I often say, 'Always, NRI. Always!'

2014 was when I steered my driving wheel my way. I did not wait for things to happen to me, I happened to things and look, I'm happy. I wasn't going to take any more of my maturity shit because it wasn't getting me anywhere. I let go, embraced myself a little more and changed my perceptions a little bit.

So now, I look forward to 2015. Let's see how lessons of 2014 help when changes are coming up in 2015. I'm about to graduate in the next few months, I have to find another place for myself, make decisions and hopefully, keep my peace amidst all of that. Can I do this, can I? Can I?

I shall answer that with what I've learnt at an internship.

"Let's do this!"

Here's two pictures from the happiest times of 2014.

(Don't compare the pictures. I was using a friend's DSLR in London and my poor little phone for McLeod Ganj!)

Gone Girl: A Brilliant Book and Film Noir

*No Spoilers*

Book Author: Gillian Flynn

Film Director: David Fincher

Film Screenplay: Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn, you brilliant, brilliant writer!

First of all, I have to say it was just such an immense pleasure to read the book. On the top of that, I am so glad that Flynn was able to negotiate the screenplay writing for herself and Fincher and she worked this out as cohesively as they have. Usually, comparing a movie to its book is a bad idea. Very rarely (I only have one example), comparing a book to the movie is regretted. Though, this one does not disappoint. Moreover, I feel pretty satisfied having read the book and seen the movie and getting to comment on both because job well done, you, Gillian Flynn, you!

The book may not be delicious when you begin reading, but really, you have to see what she's doing. When you picked up the book from the Mystery/Thriller section, and *hopefully* read the preview, you know the basic plot is that Amy disappears. Then, when you begin reading the book, I find it particularly interesting how Flynn sets the scene in anecdotes, morning time, event of the day, which sets our mind thinking of places, reasons, possibilities and motive already. It tickles our imagination and curiosity all the more. It could have been Amy's dissatisfaction with the place, or with the ambiguity their marriage was running into, or finding misery in a life ruined by recession; ANYTHING! All said and done, it's nothing you don't want to read. It's written well, too. In all probability, if you're wondering where she's going with this, it's in a good way.

The trailer is cryptic and I still cannot decide if I like it. I could not make anything out of the trailer. There's just a lot happening. Please visit the website, then. I shall be surprised if you tell me you don't love it. It's fresh and informative. It got me excited.

Quick word about the score of the film. IMDb says Fincher's directives to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross was that he wants the music to seem passive and relaxing but really, should instill a sense of dread. It did. For me, it was this close to becoming a horror movie closer to real life than so many jokes in the name of horror movies.

Let's jump right in, now.

The book and movie are absolutely gripping. Even when the mystery begins to unfold, it's not over till it's over. Flynn fills details in her book and gives each character, depth, rationale and each situation has intricate layers. She does not hold back and cuts portions of her book such that the movie makes for a gripping watch. While, some insightful details are left out, they don't compromise on the intensity and riddle of the plot. Impressive. It would not really be nitpicking, though, when I argue that some nuances to the character, especially Amy, are lost in this cut-down of the book for screenplay. The whole 'cool girl' explanation, logical reasoning behind Amy's actions, her temptation to go back, and comparison between Desi and Nick make everything so much more fascinating. I am aware of the gender-based criticism and I'm not getting into all that. Taking Amy as a person, I think she had psychopathic tendencies and the fact that there was a convincing logic behind it intrigues me, albeit the logic is ruined by her extremities and the caveat of having Nick's narrative giving her away. Without all of this, the film still gets you glued to the screen but Amy emerges as different from that in the book; here, she isn't so much of a psychotic woman. She's just what Nick says she is- fucking bitch. There are no layers, no genius intellect to Amy outside of her almost-impeccable planning and no probable root of cause for the viewer to come up with for her behaviour (which the film does show to be a pattern). Rosamund Pike nails it, though. You can like her as fast as you can hate her as fast as you can feel scared of her as fast as you can feel robbed of closure. Woah!

Nick Dunne gets away with more sympathy from his viewer/reader than he really should. He's a lying, and cheating man. America hates him for it in the book/movie but admit it, in the flow of the plot, you lost that perspective; I did too. I don't mind that one bit. His helplessness, his adorable relationship with his twin sister, his heart on his sleeve as he falls in love with missing Amy, cares for Andie but not so much so we can think he's not all that bad- works. I feel sorry that him, I do, but when the book ends I can't be sure about whether I see him as the victim or an equal culprit or what! Ben Affleck does a fabulous job as Nick Dunne. He's got the young, single, cute, charming act going for him. His stress, mess-ups, and that smile that messes things up on Ellen Abbott's show.

Madam Ellen Abbott. I understand everything about how media influences public opinion in the film/book, how certain media persons like to be activists or campaigners of a side, how they have a fan base of a following of sorts but I don't see how Ellen Abbott gets to be a part of the ending of the movie. I liked the book's ending much better. Not that does much, but featuring Ellen Abbott and giving Nick so many lines of conversation with her is like recollecting how amazing school life was and then ending with "Thank God! I met that xyz person on the admission interview panel!" Seriously, what? That's a bad way to draw a close when the book already has a better closing. All the other lawyer, media issues were covered smoothly and satisfactorily so.

Police. I really like how they were trying to find out the truth but really, sometimes, it was almost like they had chosen a side. Was it the right side or the good side or the bad side? You don't know that but you may even like them for it. They're not a nuisance. Amusingly though, their vantage points often oscillate from being influenced by the media coverage, to being the source of media coverage that provokes explosive reactions. Sometimes, they're also just sitting ducks -watching things cropping and thinking what on earth, really! With this, I know that Flynn is giving me so many perspectives as an observer who is right in on the scene, but never lets me know what the truth is until she decides that it is time to let me know.

Parents. I like how they've been included in the book but excluded in the movie. Simply because some bits may add to the plot or character's essence but sometimes, their mention looks pretty pointless. I wished she cut a lot more out. Surprisingly though, Amy's character in the book is often nuanced by the impressions and affects her parents brought to her life but really, it's all cut out and her parents are reduced to mere props in the movie. I wonder why it was so considering the screen space and time given to the pair.

Go, Margo. She can be the little sister, the twin sister, the conscience, the voice of reason, and just a needed presence for Nick Dunne. I think the character is very well done in the book and the movie. I like Carrie Coon but I also wonder if she was just the perfect one to cast. The role was memorable but the acting did not quite bring a strong hold of the plot in the movie which is otherwise demanded by the character in the book and readily given, too.

Desi Collings was an unexpected character. Again, it does not get much time to unfold in the movie so we really just put it all on Amy (I wouldn't mind if you did that in the book, too, but my point is that his character in the book shows you that there's more). So he comes in as the unexpected character in the book as much as he does in the  movie and there's a difference but everything being so interconnected, it does not make anything less interesting. Neil Patrick Harris surprised me. When he turns away from Nick, somehow he fits the role perfectly. Then with what happens later, he simply shows me that he is not trying to fit into the role. Instead, the role ends up looking like it is made for him. The grandeur of that, huh! I can now easily see him doing what Desi does in the book, too. He can do it all, bring it!

In closing, I can only mention that I read this book in a day and a half and I would not have taken the extra half, had it not been one hundred per cent necessary. I watched this movie in one go. No breaks. None. You want to let Gillian Flynn take you for this ride and you won't have the time to criticize much because neither does she leave many loose ends, nor do you have space to find those because you want answers, and you want them first.

Tell me what you thought of the movie or the book!

Satyamev Jayate

Satyamev Jayate is an Indian reality TV talk show hosted by one of the stalwarts of Bollywood in present times, Aamir Khan. He has also produced the show and forms a part of the core creative team that ideates each episode on the show. This show is something that the Indian audience direly needed for building a social collective consciousness; albeit in baby steps. Social media and news media clearly show that it has also made the right impact. What is also a matter of great commendation is that, Aamir Khan is capitalizing on his celebrity status to do something that is productive for the society instead of limiting this influence to endorsing hair products or fairness creams or whatever comes an actor's way which his contemporaries are busy with.

On the 9th of November, the last episode to season three was aired and it discussed masculinity. "When Masculinity Harms Men" as a show achieved a lot more feats than other episodes. The show's structural flow departed a little from the usual format and justifiably so. The production has aired episodes on the condition and treatment of women in this country, social problems like road rage and even child sexual abuse, etc. It seemed problematic, though, to bring people to discuss core reasons for these problems. Who in this comfortably patriarchal society would like to listen to people trying to talk about problems of MANHOOD in this time? So beginning by really asking men to list what they think is the definition of a "real man" and getting in shock stories in juxtaposition with the most coveted ladies of the Bollywood industries talking about the kind of men they'd like to be with, had to be the best way to make people sit down and listen.

Did-you-know interlude: For the episode titled "Fighting Rape" on the second season, a group girls (including me) from Lady Shri Ram College went to be a part of the video-chat with Aamir Khan. A girl from the group rightly asked him about what he thought of the portrayal of women in the Films that Bollywood is producing and since that promotes such misogynistic attitude, what is he doing about it. He, today has duly acknowledged that point out loud. Not only has he done a show that covers this as a sub-topic, but he also pointed out his own mistakes in his acting career in the video clip that was shown to address the problem with Bollywod movie ideation.

Discussing the pressure that Manhood imposes on men, too, sexuality and sex were no more taboo. The number of times the word 'sex' was used  out loud on the show was a first for the typical Indian audience. Of course, the word 'typical' loses all sense and references if one were to go through the Browsing History of the same audience through the internet connection provider (thank you, incognito mode)but well, living room/drawing dynamics function a little differently with a family setting for a given. For the first time though, it was not a confrontational stance, and not a sensational news. It was a fact. It is a reality in the relationship between a husband and wife and the instrument of violence to render the victim a weaker person. When did violence and relationship find the same means of display? Indeed, masculinity has been damaged the same way that womanhood has been. Somewhere down the line, patriarchy learnt to be so sneaky that nobody can see the mastermind behind it. Maybe, it's you, maybe it's me, or just all of us.

Satyamev Jayate has done some things so right that I wish they'd just stop and play it again. With so many seasons, and so many issues, the audience has enough to reflect upon.  Perhaps, it is time to talk about the success stories, and slap the worse situations on the society's face. It doesn't seem like a bad idea to pick those issues right back up. This show put a lot of petitions out there. Let's bring them back into focus. Female foeticide, child sexual abuse, criminalization in politics, water, alcoholism, tuberculosis, mental health, road accidents, etc. We've only just begun to see the fault lines but have we all really seen it? All of us? I think we just have to keep looking and someday we shall be ashamed enough to stop.

To know more about the show, visit: http://www.satyamevjayate.in/

Jai Hind.

Satyamev Jayate.

About The Quiet Riot

I began this blog in 2012 at my friend's persuasion who began her own blog and it seemed like a fun idea. From the beginning, it was clear to me that I did not want it to be a documentation of my everyday life because that would be replicating a boring life. Not kidding. So what could I really use?

I had an imagination.

That worked perfectly. So, here I was creating posts that would be best described as random. Imagination eluded me a lot of times so I ended up giving opinions. Random things again. Since then, I decided this needed to change.

The Quiet Riot shall now be a blog that talks about three things I do, love and can claim to know something about: Read, watch movies and TV shows and Travel.

Why stick with the name "The Quiet Riot"? I want to because I have always been the quiet riot. The idea of the blog is not give an expert criticism or commentary on anything. We shall leave that to the stalwarts of each of these fields and currently, I am not one. I shall utilise my layman status to be the vantage point that helps you, my reader, see, understand, and maybe even develop and interest in.

My previous posts shall remain. The past has ways of catching up with its owner so I don't want to run away from mine. It shall be neatly documented under "Idiosyncrasy".  I did like some of the things that I posted and I hope you can go through those. Here are the link to my favourites:
*Word of caution: I just really like these. Not boasting about writing skills*

1. Coffee Beans
2. Blank Verse
3. Pro-Choice or Pro-Life?

*Yes, I'm self-critical.*

There shall obviously be more posts there every time I indulge myself with whatever kind of armchair philosophy I may wish to ponder upon through writing.

I hope this is a successful effort. Nevertheless, I'm not giving up on this virtual space.

Stay with me?

Thanks!

The New And The Old

I write as I watch out of my window, breathing the beautiful air that would be. I swell as I breathe in. I've fallen in love with this place. It makes my heart happy. The Shard with its 800 ft. of height looks over the water, the greens and the million laughs and hopefully, fewer heartbreaks that find their stories in this city. I am reminded of the breeze the blew against my face as I stared into the distance on the river in a boat; feeling a calm that I may have never felt before. I am here, living a dream, feeling happy; feeling complete.

I don't seem to need anything any more. I am in a beautiful city that I explore with every footstep I take in a different direction. I've fallen in love with every step I take to map it. I never had to adjust my traffic sense because India drives on the left, never had to feel odd or scared because my manners seem to match what I need to stay here, never had to stop because jaywalking is a norm here. I was happy in my own silence as the quietude of the place matched my own thoughts. I felt as expansive as the ground I covered for I never wanted to be in this room. I may not be claustrophobic but it really seems to be too small to contain me and my wanderlust.

Breaking my own walls to find liberation has been overwhelming and I can't wait to go back and be the new person but that's what makes me pause and thinking. Would I find my liberated being a niche there? I know I want to go back, but to what? My city? Or my old self? Sadly, I remember my old self far too well and that's not  a very happy picture. Independence feels good. I could surely get used to it.  I carry that old self with me around, as my mind wanders out of these premises at night. Each time I grow into the new, I feel sadder about the old. So what am I going back to? It's really only been two weeks but I feel like I've left so many things far behind. I feel the tips of my toes and fingers curling out, reaching out to the world. I want to live this. In every way I can. Before I go back to my world; my country, my state, city, house, room and old self. I will live this place, then- because I can.

London: Summer 2014

The Women I Found

We talk a lot about strong women and their ideals and feats in this world. I am amazed what women are doing in this world today for themselves. But if I were to look for examples to look up to, I don't have to look far.
I'm proud that I have such a great group of friends who talk about everything; from life to hard work to relationships and boys and dreams and ambitions but most importantly: they're such a liberated set of women in so many ways.

"No girl needs a boy, and there's nothing wrong in wanting one."
"Being able to take care of yourself when you grow up is not about the fact that a husband can do it better for you, but that you can do it just as well and better."
"They're doing anything and everything that interests them and which they're good at. I want to have that life, too, and I know I can. I just have to work hard for it right now, in college."

I'm so proud of you, women. Not because I'm supposed to be for you're my friends; but because you're all the kind of people who give me a reason to be proud of you for who you are!