Seeing Dark Knight everwhere....

Life is unfair...

There are some who are more fortunate than others. Some are rich. Some are beautiful. And some are Rolling Stone journalists who get to watch The Dark Knight(spoiler warning) much before us lesser mortals.
Hmmm. Another 21 days to go. I'm hoping (praying) it releases in Indore on the same day. Hoping.

In the meantime, you should change your wallpapers, people. New images are here. Holy Incredible Pics, Batman !!

Happy Happy! Joy Joy !

In response to recent bragging by certain eminent people regarding their new acquisitions, I proudly announce that I am a new owner of... this. (a piece of advice: fantastic value for money, Dell is. I got this for around 12K less than what HP or any other brand was offering for the same config. Also, I have heard rave reviews of their service. So full happiness is there.)

In other news, I have managed to sell my seven year old Kinetic ZX to my dear colleague (read:found a sucker). In my defense, I informed her in absolute honesty that it is in a truly pathetic condition, but she is just so sweet. In case you've forgotten how it looked like, today it looks like this.

What's the worst that could happen ...

.. when one of the people pulling down the signs, goes on a break? Like this...

No. Definitely not the average superhero.

Proud.

One 25 yr old Indian male watched 22 episodes of Grey's Anatomy , within a span of 24 hours. And loved it.

That must be some sort of a record. No?

Trip to Manali and New Delhi

Since I had a month's time between quitting my job and joining college, I decided to put a trip, all by myself. The question was where, initially it was a choice between Rajasthan and Manali. Finally, given the weather in Rajasthan during May - June, decided that I would there later, since Indore is closer to Rajasthan.

Packed very light, with just some clothes, and the essentials - camera, walkman, the absolutely essential Lonely Planet and few books. Had to stop over first at Hubli for couple of days. Took the sleeper class in the Karnataka Express heading to New Delhi. The journey took exactly a day and a half. Thoroughly enjoyed the trip onwards, despite fears by many people, regarding the heat. For the return journey, tried the Rajdhani for the first time.

Photos of the trip are here.

The first of my travel companions on the train, was a group of young fellows who were heading to Khandwa. Two 21 yr old Muslims, who were both getting married the next week. They were quite friendly, freely chatting, inquiring where I was headed, and how old I was. When I answered '25', their immediate shocked response was "Aur abhi tak ek bhi biwi nahi ? (not even one wife so far?)". The conversation went on to comparing our audio players, and telling me to be careful of my possessions once we left Belgaum, something to do with how "once we leave South India, you can't trust anyone." :)

There was a also a Army driver who was his way to Ladakh. Once he knew that I was on my way to Manali, out came all the stories of the experiences he had had in the mountains. From the time when he was stranded in an avalanche for four days, to when he said he was tired or that he wished to go home (he was from Haveri), his superiors immediately called him "desh ka gaddar". The most shocking bit of info was that how often jeeps fell into the cliffs and noone ever bothered recovering the bodies, since its too difficult.

The most interesting person I met was this person - B.V.Nalkar, who stayed quiet all most of the journey. He was a painter who specialised in painting images of ruins. He was traveling for a joint exhibition to New Delhi and told me all the museums and hotels that his paintings could be seen at. He was not carrying any of his artworks, but he showed me photographs on his camera. He then spoke to me for long on Indian art (of which I have little knowledge), on the working between a sponsor(of the exhibition) and the artist, and the business of it all. Fascinating stuff.

the famous Thumbs Up mountain.

Reached Delhi early Wednesday morning, booked a ticket to Manali through HPTDC. I have great confidence in state run transport agencies. Also, on the dangerous routes uphill to Manali , I would really not take chances with a private bus operator, whatever be the cost.

Kulu Valley

Once I reached Manali almost at lunchtime the next day, I first headed out to the Lonely Planet pick restaurant - Chopsticks. A nice little Tibetan joint, short walk ahead of the bus stand, serving some excellent (reasonably priced) food. Then headed out to Temple of Hadimba(Bhim's wife) and the tree worshiped as Ghatotkach. I had come at a time, when the Dhungri Festival had been completed a few weeks back, where there animal sacrifices held, and the skulls of the animals are then hung on the temple walls. On the Ghatotkach Tree, you find even more interesting things - from rams' skulls / horns, to knives to metal miniature houses.

Hadimba Temple

Ghatotkach Tree

Trekked to a nearby village - Vashisht , which had yet another excellent restaurant -Rainbow Cafe- serving the best momos I have ever tasted. A word of caution , the owner is a bit too helpful- as are many people in and around Manali - offering you hashish, without much hesitation. :) This is apparently the reason for high number of foreign tourists, especially Israelis. On the way back, I saw Cannabis growing on the side of the road. Marijuana, dude. On the side of the road, not in an enclosed farm. On the side of the road. And I am Not making this up.

Vashisht is a great place to go to for backpackers. Its a small less crowded with honeymooning couples, and shops selling shawls. I fortunately got the last room available in this nice homely place called Jungle Bungalow, in Old Manali. There's nothing 'bungalow' about it, but clean room, clean bathroom with hot water for Rs.100. This is situated on the hillside , with views of the snow capped mountains on one side. There are many such budget hotels, even some that have still not made it to the Lonely Planet. One other important point, its amazing how most hotels here prepare some excellent steaks, and its very important given that you eventually run out of options in Tibetan cuisine.

The next day, was a trip to Rohtang Pass, 13000 feet. This was the best part of the trip. The journery up to the pass takes around 5 hours, given that you need to stop to pick up your snow suits(on rent), lunch, stops at few glaciers, etc. The route to the top is absolutely breathtaking - any direction you look, the view is picture perfect. Of course there were times, when I thought I would never make it back, with the twists and turns and the driver just about managing to keep us on the road.

Once you get to the top, you are awestruck by how beautiful it is (and the that you have reached 13000 feet) , but also how snow looks pure white from far, but in reality it is quite muddy. But what the hell, it is snow. There were all sorts of rides offered- motor sledges, yaks, pony rides but I chose the one I came for - skiing. This is easily the most deceiving sport (along with table tennis), definitely is not as easy as it looks. Skiied, or walked on skis more like it, to the place they call Zero Point. This place is less crowded, than the pass and has fantastic views.

Zero Point

Last day at Manali, was a bit of shopping, and more of late mornings. Among my reads during the trip were two excellent random picks - my first attempt at a Bill Bryson- Walk in the woods, an excellent book on trekking or rather the comic side of it, good enough to tempt me to get the other books by him; and the beautifully written - Sun After Dark, by Pico Iyer, with the most interesting articles on Leonard Cohen and Dalai Lama. The book that disappointed me a little, was History of Violence- this was a graphic novel that I had been wanting to read for a longtime especially after the favourable reviews that the movie got.

Last two days of my trip was spent at Delhi, staying with a friend. Delhi had always been a place where I have come for just a day or two before,on work so I have never really got to get around the place too much, except the pointless Delhi Haat and the excellent restaurant - Big Chill in Khan Market. This time however, had a real good visit of CP, Chandi Chowk, Majnu-Ka-Tila, etc.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip, within the right budget (considering the unemployed status), and I visited places I have never thought of visiting a few months back.
I skied. I trekked. I ate. Traveled places. I enjoyed myself. I relaxed. Was fun.

Sarkar Raj - Review

Caught the first-day-first-show of Sarkar Raj, with Rads. When we both first saw Sarkar (the 2005 prequel), there was this odd feeling when we walked out the theater. Like we weren't sure if we liked it or not. It definitely didn't meet our expectations , and it seemed good only in patches. But Rads' theory was that thats because we were comparing it to The Godfather. Also she said , because we couldn't see who our Indian Luca Brasi was :). But the interesting thing was that once we saw the movie again (and again and again) it seemed brilliant. Though patches of it were bit of a drag , but on whole the movie was quite good. Not as good as Satya and Company, but still quite good. Good enough for me to have watched it 17 times so far.

And now for Sarkar Raj, the simplest review will be that - for one of the very few times in movie history - the sequel by far surpasses the prequel. It is almost as if the great RGV asked everyone what we liked from the first film, and built every scene, every sequence like a larger version of the best of Sarkar 1. Even to the extent that the songs (the Govinda chant and Saam Daam Dand Bhed), that featured too few times in the first film, are used very well in this film. In Sarkar 1, the star of the movie, surprisingly was Abhishek, who really took control of the screen with his strong performance. In Sarkar Raj, Abhishek overdoes the whole very-silently-macho, less-angry-young-man, more-still-face act, which definitely becomes a bit mundane. Aishwarya Rai is excellent with a performance that even towers over the one in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Also, for observation's sake, according to Rads, her walk was horrible. Yes, her walk. Apparently she carried herself off very poorly. In my opinion, she did a good job of looking absolutely ravishing. Just saying.

The star of this film without any doubt, is Amitabh Bachchan who gives a versatile performance, from being the weak, father (always in the background) in the beginning of the film, then the tragic scene where his daughter-in-law is killed and rises like only he can during the climax. Watch out for the scenes between father and son - easily the best parts of the film.

The story is neatly written, and falls short of taking the cliche route, of repeating the storyline of the first film , nor does it bury itself in the Nandigram and Enron-Dabhol inspiration. It sketches out a smart story of politics and business, with a couple of very surprising twists. As has been the case with many of his previous films, the pace only picks up with the second half. But from then on, it just soars.

On the downside - just as was the case in Sarkar 1 , one of the most annoying aspects, on which RGV still needs to improve on - is the quality of actors chosen for the negative roles, or rather than the negative characters themselves. They seem pulled straight out of a B-grade film, with their annoying characteristics which seem completely out of place in this epic story. Govind Namdev and Upendra Limaye (really, whats with him singing old Hindi numbers?!) are the worst of the lot. Sayaji Shinde was a huge letdown. For someone who has given such stellar performances before, it was a huge disappointment.

And God, can they speak any slower??!! I know its supposed to be in the character and the look-n-feel of the film and all that, but seriously, at times you really feel like shaking someone up and asking them to Hurry Up... Stop speaking like Vajpayee, for God's sake.

There was a PJ that did the rounds with Sarkar 1 , since there were so many cars seen coming and going in the first film:
Knock, knock .
Who's there ?
Sarkar
Sarkar who ?
Saar, car aa gaya.

Anyways, this was another aspect which Sarkar Raj scores over the prequel - less number of cars. :)

But all jokes apart (bad ones at that) , this is easily one of the finest Bollywood films in recent times, and for many of us, it feels great to see the great man -RGV- is back in his prime form.

I'm bored . Yet again...

Not only did I not have to endure this yet another poor effort at a viral (or I'm just in an annoyed mood) , but I also get to be called A cool guy ...
...........And why wasn't I informed of this new development ?

Woo Hoo!!!

This is why Bangalore rocks!!! Just returned from a late night show of Iron Man (most definitely the No.2 Super cool movie of the year, since The Dark Knight is going to be No.1 ) .... Well if you read beatzo-san's post, you would have known of the after-credits scene, in which Samuel L. Jackson makes a cameo appearance as Nick Fury, and as usual, in most theaters in India , the scene wasn't shown. But nonetheless though it was well past midnight , I managed to convince my friends to sit around to see, hoping they might just show the scene after the credits. Was easier to convince them , after they saw that there was a family and another couple sitting around waiting for the same. And after what was probably the longest wait evah, we finally got to see it !!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Bangalore does rock!! ( and fyi, this was at Inox)

Only wish they had shown us the after credits scene in X-men 3 as well ....

Feeling old

You feel sad when you realise you are a quarter of a century old.
You feel old when you learn your friends are getting married.
You feel like crap when ex-girlfriends invite you for their weddings, ...... and you're single.
Bah!

Celebrations!!!!!

Hello Sir Alex

Dear Fergie

Thank You. Thank you for the happiness and joy and glory you have brought over the years. Ten home championships. Thank you. Thank you for helping us become the best in Europe.

And a special mark of gratitude to the grand war horses - Paul Scholes and the very special Giggs. It had to be you Giggsy . It had to be the grand moment. Who better to mark the winning goal of the championship than the one man who has been with us since the beginning of the great run. The one man who has led us on the field so many times.

Thank you , Cristiano. You genius. You God.

A very special thanks to the incredible team of Vidic , Ferdinand, Brown , Evra and Van Der Sar and the rest for holding the fort behind, which gave the team all the comfort to play football the way it should be played - attacking and attractive.

A special thanks to all the other players and the support staff . Thank you for all the help you have provided.

And lastly, a small thanks directed towards Bolton, for ensuring that our win, our moment of being crowned champions, would not be smudged by that phrase goal difference. Thank you.

Grasshopper - restaurant review and all that.

Last night was a special night. For more than one reason. So decided to celebrate with a special dinner. Chose this place called Grasshopper. Remembered an article in Metroplus recommending it. Then checked a few blogs here and there , few burrp reviews - most of which sounded great. Hired a cab, since it's situated on Bannerghatta Road, few kms after IIM-B. It took us almost two hours to get there, thanks to all the traffic increase that you usually get to see on a Friday evening, and partly due to my great sense of direction in taking shorter routes. So, invariably got abused in at least 2 unknown languages by a street dweller whom we managed to annoy on the way. So evening was off to a great start! Finally reached the place couple of hours later than planned. From the looks it, it looked like there couldn't have been a better choice. A huge farmhouse, which you enter through the boutique, passing by a hoard of designer clothing, footwear, bags, etc etc... Then you re seated in the beautiful porch with the candle lit tabled, and for the first tme, where the two chairs are not placed right opposite each other , but on two adjacent sides.

(Yes I know, photographs of the place would have helped this read. Like they do on this excellent blog ). One thing about the place that interested me was that you don't get to order or ask for the chef's recommendations here. They serve you a predecided seven course meal. Sounds great doesn't it. But see that's where the problem lies with the place. I'm all ok with experimenting with food. But to what extent. We had one dish - the salad, which nothing but a bunch leaves put together, with some tomatoes / gooey mushrooms thrown in. Rads decided to experiment, by creating her own new type of salad , with the freshly baked bread that was on the side. The prawns / beetroot were eeih... And since we were running late , we decided to skip the fish. They had a cheese dish which was excellent and the veal chops was delicious. But the rest was just inedible. Really. After all this, we looked forward to the dessert , which shockingly disappointed us. Chocolate truffle and lemon cheesecake which were arguably the worst we've ever had.

That's what is interesting - the setting is fantastic, unlike anything you can get in Bangalore. Quiet surroundings ( oh, you can really hear the grasshoppers and it's cousins all around you . Problem is some of them decided to take a swim in your drink ) . Its dimly lit and the waiters don't bother you too much. You re seated outside the farmhouse , and they had some excellent work with flora done around the place. But the point of good food is lost on them. You need to have good food. No. Wait, for the effort you re taking to get there , and for the astronomical price you're paying ( oh, it is) the least you expect is good, tasty food. Simple. Well, I was disappointed. But that is not to say the evening went badly. No at all. We had great time, and the place helped a lot in that. . Oh yes, the play some excellent jazz in the background, and since this isn't Koshy's where the music gets buried in the noise , you actually get to enjoy it. My friend however hates jazz, which led to me giving some gyaan on Nina Simone, since they were playing quite a few of her songs. All in all, It's fantastic place for a special evening , if you're not too interested in the food.

P.S.... Myself and couple of friends have planned that , we would start our own restaurant in Bangalore by 2010. Why 2010? Well, we are hoping that by then we would have gotten around to starting to save some money , and that it gives us some time, since we have absolutely no idea how to go about it. Places like Grasshopper makes us wonder how we're ever going to pull it off.

Oh come on!

" Courting controversy yet again, Marketing Minister M. Mareppa on Wednesday advocated a separate State for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and accused the Anti-Corruption Bureau with targeting low level weaker section employees leaving the big fish.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Mareppa said a separate State was needed for these two oppressed sections in line with the ideologies of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Jythirao Phule to fulfil their aspirations. He called upon these sections to fight for such a State “as a final answer to all your woes” instead of quarrelling over categorisation issue. " (source:The Hindu)

Hmmm.. At least then in the future, this will be a place where the general-category might have reservations.

When I'm bored,

like I am now , these two sites entertain me - LeoBurnett , Pollock .

God. I hate exit modes. (for all my doctor/dentist friends, Exit mode is the time when you have given your resignation and you are serving the notice period. And you just couldn't care less about anything in the workplace. And now don't ask me what is notice period) . I don't feel like working. I count the days left. Yes. I know, its a bad thing to do. Unethical n all that. But when you're leaving and you know know you're not going to be employed for the next two yrs , it is so hard to care... :))

Week of football

Last week has been quite the up and down.

Starting last Saturday, where I was looking forward to our important match with Chelsea. And the Blues slimed their way through , with help from a blind linesman. It was absolutely heart breaking. Not just because we lost an important match, also because even after we win the league ( which we will!) , we would be looked at as the team which probably won it on goal difference, tied on points. Which should not be the case, not when our team has played so well all along throughout the season. Also, I hate to see that look again , the look we saw on Mourinho's face last year when they beat us at the FA Cup final. The look saying 'we beat you - you so called champions.' The fact is Man U has played far better football than any of the other teams this season, and what stands out is the way the they have played - far more attacking than any of the previous winners in the past 5 years atleast, including the Man U team that won the league last year. Anyways, as I'm writing this, we have won one of the two remaining matches in the league. So right on track.

In the Champions League fixture on Tuesday - Man U was back to business , with Scholes coming good with a fantastic strike, taking us into the all-hyped all-English final. Which brings me to one of the best football matches of recent times - Chelsea vs 'Pool. As you may have guessed, Chelsea was really not the team I was gunning for. And to be honest , in the second half , it really looked like Liverpool was going to take the game away. But Chelsea sparked by an emotional moment with Lampard's goal came through. I am Happy. It gives an opportunity to get back. Gives us the chance to wipe that grin off the faces of all of the Blues' fans. We'll show you who's the 'so-called champions'. This is our year. Year of the Double. Has to be.

Sometimes....

only sometimes....

Shaurya. Bucket List. and Closer.

It had been a long time since I had been to a multiplex and watched a movie. So planned a movie marathon with Radhika. But that boiled down to watching just two films back to back - Shaurya and Bucket List. Between the two films, you have four of my favourite actors - Jack Nicholson, KK Menon, Rahul Bose and Morgan Freeman. So went into Shaurya expecting Few good men, with a few Indianising changes. The one significant change was the motive for murder, which stands as the highlight of the film, along with KK Menon's phenomenal performance.Rahul Bose wasn't his usual impressive self though, but then as explained by my friend, that was because I was comparing it with Tom Cruise's role. Possibly. Who knows. I remember when we first saw Sarkar, we both felt disappointed comparing it to the Godfather. But after that, I have watched Sarkar 19 times.

Like many films recently, Shaurya has dealt with communal hatred with an incredible grace. Minisha Lamba has her short role dealt with charm. The script wasn't too tight, with the pace in the first half being terribly slow ( I remember Rads getting annoyed at how long it took for Rahul Bose's character to speak to the accused ). At this point I'm assuming of course every living English speaking soul has seen Few Good Men. I can't remember any movie, where the entire movie is brilliant and watchable a million times, simply based on two brilliant scenes (1,2)- both involving the great Jack Nicholson. Thats brings me to the second film, and the better of the two - Bucket List. The movie has the usual shades of many of recent Nicholson's characters, especially to his best role among them - As good as get it gets. Morgan Freeman, after the fabulous Feast of Love, comes back in his usual quiet, charming self, and inspite of his slightly annoying inputs of trivia, he always manages to steal the scene, even from the loud and magnificent Jack Nicholson. The funny part is you rarely remember any other characters from the film.

Went back home and watched Closer. This is definitely the most brilliant romantic film I ve seen since Before Sunrise / Before Sunset. The most intelligently written script, with characters/storylines/comic scenes never seen before, atleast not in a mainstream Hollywood film. Each character is perfectly etched, and fascinatingly, each is very, very very hateable. Owen - 'the caveman'. Roberts- weak and confused. Jude law - sad and pathetic. Portman- seductive and vulnerable. She continues the captivating little vulnerable girl performance from Leone. Julia Roberts and Jude Law are well, aeh.. But what strikes you is Clive Owen's performance in a downright sleazy role, played right down to perfection. The concepts of honesty and openness in relationships are fascinatingly explored in this film.

The dialogues are written so carefully, it really seems unbelievable that this a film and not a book. Yes, it is a play, but that still doesn't mean you can take away any credit from the film. It takes away the usual meeting of characters falling in love, and the usual 'Oh, I can't stop loving you' scenes, and moves quickly from the first meeting of the couples to , their breakup and so on. This helps showcase the characters in different situations, showing completely different shades of the characters.

Oh yes, you will have to endure Natalie Portman in a pink wig.

My list of romantic films:
Casablanca
Before Sunrise
Before Sunset
Closer
Roman Holiday
Annie Hall
Notting Hill
One fine Day
Love actually
African Queen
Beauty and the Beast
Eternal Sunshine

P.S. I am a sucker for romantic films and musicals. Find them far more tolerable than any western ever made.
So go on. Sue me.

Watching old TV shows. Listening to new songs.

Last two days have been filled with rushing through old episodes of House, new ones of Weeds and Tell me you love me. After that , its been rampant downloading those beautiful, slow songs that you hear towards the end of the episodes ( yeah , yeah , its very college-boy-thing-to-do, but what the hell). A (concerned) friend says, in that case maybe I should start watching The OC as well. Hmmm. Who knows, maybe I should. Maybe its because I have too much time on my hands this weekend. Or maybe its because I'm missing Lost too much, now that they re on a one month break.
Whatever it is, absolutely I'm loving the songs.
Some of the best:
Solomon Burke - None of us are free
Damien Rice - Delicate
Earlimart - It's OK To Think About Ending
Damien Rice - The Blowers Daughter
Leona Naess - Ballerina
Be Good Tanyas - The Littlest Birds

I guess it's those phases. That won't pass too soon, hopefully.

Films . Here and there...

Here...

Watched a movie that looked very promising from the previews - Bow Barracks Forever. After watching the movie, I’m sure the movie would been described as a very poor effort, with some of the worst acting on display you would ever see. ‘The dialogues and the storyline are quite mediocre’. I agree with all this, but in spite of all these reasons, I absolutely enjoyed the movie. For the first time in a Bollywood movie ( in my limited opinion ), I saw what I thought was a true representation of Anglo-Indians, and not the usual equating-all-of-them-with-Goans. I grew up living among Anglo-Indians. Many of us have studied at either convents or Anglo-Indian run schools (like FAPS -my alma mater). During the early part of my childhood I lived in an Anglo-Indian neighborhood (Shantinagar in Hubli), the time when I was more excited going to a Infant Jesus Church than a Hanuman Temple. I loved the sound of the names of D’souza’s, Fredericks and Fernandez’s. The aunties with their frocks, the girls who looked like ‘wow’, the homemade cakes at their places , rather than our pedas. I remember thinking that I was always suspicious of any teacher who didn’t have a Anglo-Indian sounding name. Even if if the name was Shanta D’Souza. Christmas always seemed like the most fun festival evah! (Being a Mallu means that you re forced to be part of the most boring, and shortest festivals in the world. Even the marriages are down right boring.).

Anyways, getting back to the movie, me and mom kept grinning throughout the movie. Yeah, yeah, it’s the same old heartwarming human drama stuff, but the characters all seemed like people we knew at one point of time. Check out the way they spoke – “what are you saying men”, “I only brought here, men “.. “shady bloody buggers, they are”.. Yes. I definitely enjoyed the film.


**********

And there...

On a completely different set of films – just a few rants on this years’ Oscars. I remember reading somewhere that this year’s Oscar picks have all been genuinely creative films and not the usual 'Shakespeare in love' kind of popcorn stuff. I caught a few of the big names – Juno, No country for old men and There will be blood. Juno was a fabulous movie, very very nice . Oh yes, soundtrack s mind blowing as well. Then came a movie – No country.. with some exceptional acting and technically brilliant movie. Not outrightly entertaining ( which is good in some ways ) , but definitely gripping. I have no problem with the movie, but just with the fact that - so many people at the academy felt that it was better than There will be blood. Don’t give me the you can’t compare one film to another’ funda. There will be blood is easily one of the most mindfucking, mindblowing movies made in past so many decades. Period. Whether its the entertainment , or the technical brilliance or the script. It’s a goddamn epic. The last time we saw an epic of this caliber and magnitude ,was arguably Goodfellas. Come on. Daniel Day lewis delivers what is easily the most mind blowing performance evah. And you ignore all of this and present the best picture awards to No country… I really feel sad every year.

Or there is a possibility that I didn't like No country since it's a western. Have never been able to watch more than half hour of the Good, the Bad n the Ugly. Somewhere, some Clint Eastwood fan is plotting to kill me.

About Airhostesses ....

On the flight back from Kolkata, an unfortunate incident took place. Was flying back on an Indian Airlines flight (now I believe its called jus ‘Indian’). There were three air hostesses on board -two of them quite old and the other was the typical young eye-candy hostess. Mid-way during the flight, an elderly woman had a heart attack, and we were still an hour from landing at Bangalore. The air hostesses (the two elder ladies) managed to handle the situation extremely professionally, and very maturely, and all this they did, majority of the time without any help from anyone else. The young hostess seemed completely lost and confused. Finally, when they paged for a doctor, they found a pediatrician. With all due respect to her, I don’t think she did much for the patient, as much as she did to help calm all of us down. Just knowing that, somebody with professional medical experience was there to read the lady’s reports, and help out in the most basic way. By the time we landed, the lady was alright and back to normal.

The interesting thing about this, is that the elder air hostesses handled the situation so professionally. After all, it was a worrying situation for all of us, but not once did they panic, and look like they didn’t know what to do. That is not what I can say about the young hostess - she seemed completely dazed and confused.

The thing about this whole thing was that for first time ever, I realised, it is in this one regard, that Kingfisher Airlines falls behind - that the stewardesses, though young, pretty and courteous, etc, would not necessarily have been experienced enough to handle such situations themselves. Lets be honest, experience does count when it comes to such situations.

I have a friend I know who is a Kingfisher air hostess, and she definitely wouldn’t be able to handle a situation like this. A friend of mine, who recently completed her degree in medicine, still wouldn’t write the title ‘Dr.’ before her name, because she's wary of exactly such situations, where (she says) she’s scared she would be asked to manage such a incident, which she knows wouldn’t be able to handle it as people would expect her to.