Archive for September, 2010


The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

the boy

While shifting through channels last night, saw the last portion of a movie that had the theme of a nazi concentration camp during the WW II. As usual, the theme excited me and the last few mins of the film that I could catch on makes me frustrated as I could feel that it is a good one, but could neither make head nor tails. This morning, again while surfing for news, the movie came again and thankfully I missed only a few mins of the opening scene. I settled down to relax and enjoy the film. It is wonderfully made and by the time it is over, i still sat stuck in my sofa, reflecting…it was so powerful.

It is about life, as seen through the innocent eyes of an 8 year old boy…the only twist being that the boy is the son of a nazi officer commanding a concentration camp, who thought the camp to be just a “farm” where jews work and he befriended a kid his age when they met across the fence…. the ending was the most shaky part…when bruno the german kid put on a “Striped Pajama” that his friend schmuel brought, so that bruno can get inside the camp and search for schmuel’s dad….as luck would have it…they were rounded up, along with others and gassed in one of the chambers…just like thousands of other jews that were exterminated as part of Hitler’s Final Solution…

Janmasthami 2010

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Janmasthami has always been a special festival. The religion, culture and upbringing has a lot to do with the life and times of Lord Krishna. And having lived outside for so long now, memories of childhood always come to the fore while celebrating such festivals…

 

Thought of going to the temple early, as the weather was quite pleasant and cool, the kids took a longish time to get ready. Almost 11am when we set off. As usual, parking and traffic around the temple has always been a problem, but luckily someone just took off as I was searching for a suitable space to park, thus leaving me an ideal parking place, just near the main gate! When we entered the main hall, was surprised to see that this time around, they have put up special barricades and pathways to better manage the flow of the long lines of devotees. I asked my wife and the kids to be in the line while I went ahead in the open space to click some photographs….

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What strikes me the most, each time, is the beautiful flowers that is used to bedeck the gods…it is so colourful, serene and so full of life.

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My prayers and best wishes to everyone on this auspicious occasion.

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