JOBS - THE MOVIE

Jobs could've been a great film. It was after all about The Steve Jobs himself - the man & his myth. From twenty somethings to fifty plus folks, there is hardly anyone untouched by his creation - Apple computers. If you have one of their products, you want more. If you don't have it, you aspire for it. Criticize him, idolize him, you simply can not ignore the genius of the guy who changed the face of technology forever and ever.

Coming back to the film - it was more like a chronology of events that led to Steve becoming "Steve Jobs". The film starts with  him introducing the Ipod, and then goes in a flashback. It rolls from the time he drops out of college till the time he makes his iconic speech for the apple advert "Here's to the misfits, the crazy ones.....". In between, we see him racing past his co-founder Woz (Steve Wozniak), and his other colleagues who help him build the brand from a garage to a multimillion dollar company. He is a man in hurry. He lets no one, and nothing get in the way of him and his vision.

We see him seeking spotlight, we see him in his fiery best avataar, we see him telling people to "always tell him the truth" but when he gets the truth he cant handle it. We see him in all his glory and all his failings. But what we dont see is, his soul, his reasons for doing what he did. Why did he leave people behind? why did he have no regard for emotions? why was it only and only about himself and the product. Sadly, the core of what makes him who he is was missed.

In the end, you are a little more knowledgable about Steve's life, chronologically speaking. But if you are an apple fan like me and already know all the "facts" about him, there is nothing much to explore in the movie.

I suggest you wait for a DVD for this one. 

TWO WOODEN SHOES & KARMA....

Hello! Today's post is about a strange and rather spiritual (in a strange way!) experience that I had in Amsterdam. This was many moons ago. I was 22 and this was my first trip outside of India. I was terribly excited and very poor. I barely had enough money to cover my basic expenses of a roof over my head (a bunk bed in a youth hostel) & food, yet I wanted to see as much as I could of that beautiful city.

So the story goes like this...It was my second last day in Amsterdam and I wanted to explore the windmills and the beautiful countryside. So I decided, with my last few euros remaining, to visit this place called Zaanse Schans. It's a picturesque little town full of windmills and old-style dutch houses. We landed there at around noon and headed straight to the souvenir shop. There I saw some gorgeous hand made wooden shoes, the kinds that Netherlands is famous for. I got verryyyy tempted to pick up a pair for myself but the cheapest pair was for 20 Euros!! My plight was unimaginable!! But looked at my wallet, I had about 40Euros and 1 more day in Amsterdam and I told myself F&^% it, those shoes are mine! So I paid 20 bucks, got my custom-made shoes and while they were getting ready (they take your shoe measurement and make the shoes there and then) I decided to venture into the town to soak in the local sight and sounds.

After a few hours, with my senses thoroughly satiated with the beauty around, it was time to board the bus back to Amsterdam. I went again into the same souvenir store and this time, laid my eyes upon a tiny keychain in shape of a small wooden shoe. It was for 1Euro. I looked around, no one was looking, I quietly slid the keychain into my pocket. No harm, no foul.

I sat into the bus and the bus started. I put my hand into my pocket and took out the shoe keychain, "SHOES!!!" I had forgotten my custom-made-20-EURO shoes!!!!!! It completely got off my mind that   I had to collect them!! How could I? I wasn't that forgetful...but guess what!!

I went to my tour conductor and explained her my predicament and in true dutch style she told me that she cant turn around the bus only for my shoes! What she can do is, she said, is to check with her colleague (who was conducting another tour for the same company & was at Zaanse Schans) if she hasn't left, and if she hadn't then she can pick up my shoes but if that bus has also left then she cannot do anything. She politely but firmly asked me to go back to my seat and that she will tell in in 5 mins. Those were the longest 5 mins of my life!!

I went back to my seat, took out the stolen keychain from my pocket, held it in my hand and had a word with god "please forgive me, I will never do this again" I chucked the keychain out of the bus and the next thing I know is that the bus conductor is yelling my name and voila!! you know what happened after that :)

BIG lesson...never going to forget :)

KOREAN SPA

One of the things I did during my trip to Korea last year was go to a typical, local, Korean spa...and boy it wasn't anything like I had imagined it to be!! It was so different and brilliant!

For approximately 6USD, you can spend an entire day in this haven of relaxation and rejuvenation where you come out feeling like a new person.
From what the locals tell me, the whole family goes to these spas together. Its a whole day family affair. Cameras are strictly not allowed hence no pics but I can take you through the goings-on from what I remember.

You pay the money and you get a key to the locker which is yours for the rest of the day. There are separate sections for women & men. You go inside the spa, strip (you are not allowed to wear ANY clothes inside the main spa / bath area) and wrap a towel around you. You then enter the baths where you can choose from warm aromatic baths, to ice cold showers and a whole lot of other I-cant-pronounce things. There were at least 6 to 7 varieties of baths!

Then there is sauna. I remember sitting in one of the saunas with a bunch of korean women..they knew very little english and kept looking at us and giggling. I suppose they were as amused to see us as we were to see them! they were using something called the "Cupping Method" on their skin. They are basically plastic cup like small structures. They plaster this on your skin to form a suction and release this suction after 5 mins. It leaves the skin with a red and round mark (like a ring worm has bit you). It looks hideous but apparently it is suppose to do wonders for your skin including increased blood circulation.

So here's how it goes: you start with taking a shower, then you get into one of the baths to relax, this is followed by sauna or steam to open the pores and relax the muscles...THIS is followed by the mother of all scrubs!!! So..standing there in a separate enclosure are these middle aged women (they would easily pass of as our aunts or grand mothers) in their undergarments, next to these massage beds. I lay down in one such bed and what followed was nothing less than a roller coaster ride..these women splash water on you and then the scrubbing starts! they use a locally made scrub and they go at your body like there is no tomorrow...there was nothing hidden, no body part was too intimate...these women have obviously done this for a very long time and it shows in their skill of scrubbing!! I swear I felt as I grew a new layer of skin by the time I was done.

Once you are done with this followed by a quick shower, you go to your locker get dressed and now you are ready to join the rest of your family in the common area where you have various things of interest. There are yoga classes, mani-pedi, facials, cafe, comic book stores..all meant for you to indulge in together as family. They also have these small "igloo" type enclosures where you can slip in and take a nap! its sooo warm and cozy in there that you feel like snoozing a bit.

Once you are done with all of this, its time to go out and meet the world again :) and I kid you not...after all this indulgence and pampering you truly do feel like a new person :) Koreans really know how its done!


Here's one my favorite pics taken from the 55th floor of my hotel in Seoul :)

PROJECT SEVEN

I went for a dekho to "Project Seven" yesterday, an exhibition inspired by the Seven Chakras of Shakti.... Life, Order, Wisdom, Love, Power, Imagination & Understanding . To be honest, I hardly found any connect between the "Chakras" bit and what they had to offer at the exhibit, however it didn't really matter to me and hundreds of people who thronged Sunville Banquets (Worli) as it was indeed a wonderful place to shop for some great clothing, footwear, accessories and home products.

My personal favorites were: Valliyan by Nitya, Salamat Husain's photography,10am by Anjali Malhotra & James Ferreira.

First up, Valliyan by Nitya...her accessories in semi precious stones stood out like no other. Her sense of colors, style & putting together these gorgeous pieces is quite unique. I picked up a maang tikka from her. Its a contemporary version of the good 'ol accessory that women have worn for centuries in India. Cant wait to put it on my next outing :) Her work is available at several high-end stores in Mumbai as well as online on www.perniaspopupshop.com

Salamat's photo exhibit was a beautiful symphony of pictures captured and strewn together in a sublime thread of equanimity. In particular I liked the picture of this girl dancing in the middle of a square somewhere in Cappadocia with a beautiful multicolored ensemble (reminiscent of a Manish Arora outfit) In fact, this was the picture that attracted me in a newspaper to read about this exhibit in the first place!

you can view his work on instagram.com/salhusain

James Ferreira, what can I say about the maestro! His unique and unconventional cuts suit every bit of my sensibilities. He makes the garment look effortlessly chic' and flattering to the body at the same time...i picked up a lovely white top from him

All in all, a great view of some of the most interesting work that independent, creative entrepreneurs are doing. There is sooooo much talent out there and to see it all under one roof was just fabulous!!! :) here's hoping for many more ....

VANITY AND THEN SOME MORE.....

 There's a street in Seoul, Korea that stretches at least a kilometer if not more; selling ONLY vanity. This street is full of stores selling everything from a brand new nose to tummy tucks, boob jobs, new bum, fake eye brows, double eyelid surgery (they pull up your upper eye lids to give the facade of bigger eyes, something most south asians crave for) and what have you. You name it and its there to be fixed! and guess what, they have a fancy name for it too...its called believe-it-or-faint "Aging Management". They play on most basic insecurity that most of us have and that is the way we look. Most of us wish we'd rather be a little tall, thin, buxom, fair ...the list is endless..if we "just get that one thing right" we'll be  a brand new person and the world will be peach as hell...that's precisely the button that the smarty-pant Koreans have decided to press...they sell you vanity at its highest most in-you-face way.

The city is thronged with different kinds of makeup, BB creams, fairness products..you name it and they have it. Women & surprisingly Men too, are obsessed with looks, weight, clothes and other such things. You would NOT see baggy pants to save your life...skinny pants only mah deah! Its a different world out there where being a size 6 is worse than anything else in the world..you walk down the street and I kid you not...the whole world is skinny! I being a size 6, was an L or XL when I went shopping!!!


  Next up....my blog about the legendary Korean Spas...