Andaman Sojourn - Light, Sound and Much more

A trip had to be planned. A much needed break had to be taken. But when?? Where?? A plethora of opinions started flowing. “Dude, Goa It is”, “No, let’s take a short trip to Yelagiri”, “Nopes, Kerala.. Houseboats, Backwaters .Yes, that’s the place to go”, “How about Ghattikallu, Hill Station, Awesome weather, Campfire, Oh yes!! This is it guys” and blah blah.

And finally after one month full of ramblings, the decision was made. Andaman it was and  everyone was on the same page with this. The plan was made, tickets were booked, and after what seemed like an eternity, It was finally show time baby. The 2hr journey from Chennai to Port Blair was undertaken in an aircraft from the fleet in Kingfisher Airlines. Undoubtedly the worst airplane I have flown in till date (Or maybe, I should just be grateful that they took off). It was largely an uneventful journey, thanks mainly to an omelet listed as a Non Vegetarian meal (Seriously?).

The descent towards Veer Savarkar International (?) Airport, though was much better, giving me some phenomenal views of the Bay of Bengal and numerous islets, one of which just had one tree. Yes, One, SOLITARY tree. Finally we landed , claimed our luggage and off we went in search of our rooms in a guest house. Oh yes, before I forget, The Veer Savarkar “International” airport has to be among the smallest airports in the world. I never thought there could be an airport smaller than Chandigarh’s, but here it was. Hiding away under lapping waves of the ocean and the canopy of palm trees along the shore line.

View from the Corbyn's Cove beach

The plan for the day was to frequent Corbyn's Cove beach and the Cellular jail, with a Light and Sound show as a special attraction. The Corbyn's Cove beach was around 30kms from Port Blair. The roads were beautiful with sea on one side and a small hill on the other. Talk about Scenic beauty. The beach was a sight to behold. Palm trees, blue waters and most importantly, CLEAN. Yes, being a regular to Marina and Elliots beach I had to bring this up.

I also had my first experience of riding a water scooter. The thrill of scooting while scootering on sea water at 60-70 kmph, with some drifts and turns was Awesome. I must thank Mr. IforgotHisName for helping me out with the machine and its mechanics. A walk across the length of the beach was followed by tender coconut for Rs.10. Why do they have to cost Rs.30 in Chennai?

The prisoners would not have had this much fun for sure

So, after some more lazing around on the beach, we were off to Cellular Jail. I was personally pretty excited to check out this particular site just to affirm If it was indeed as bad as It was made out to be.Lo and Behold! By the looks of it, It was. A museum there gave us an insight into the the various torture techniques used in the prison, and the glum fate of the various freedom fighters who had been imprisoned there. The cells were stingy, inhuman.. The less said, the better for just like beauty, grotesque too fails your lexicon.

And, finally, It was time for the Light and Sound show. Again, the less said, the better. For completely different reasons though. None of us could bear it for more than 20 minutes, as it was nothing more than random lights and voiceovers, describing the horrors of “Kaalapani”. The story would have been impressive for sure, but the presentation was unimpressive.

Tip for anyone travelling to Port Blair – Don’t fall for the bait and go to the Light and Sound show. Use that 1 hour scouting for souvenirs instead.

That was it for day 1. Dinner and then back to our rooms, chattering away into the night about completely irrelevant and rubbish topics. Day 2 held bucketfuls of promise in it. The fun was yet to begin.

Dont Worry, Be Barfi

Beautiful would be an understatement. Let me put it this way, There are good movies. There are bad movies. And then, there is Barfi. Very few movies make this category, Barfi being the latest one.

The Story is pretty uncomplicated, with 3 main protagonists. Ranbir Kapoor as Barfi (Murphy), who is deaf and dumb , Priyanka Chopra as Jhilmil, who is autistic, and the delightfully pretty Illena d’Cruz as Shruti. Barfi falls for Shruti , who is already engaged, but can who escape Barfi's charm for long? So, they start seeing each other, they kiss. But, as fate would have it, Shruti’s mom is against their relationship, only because of Barfi’s handicap. Enter Jhilmil, a childhood friend of Barfi. Jhilmil would have spent her adolescence in a special children’s home. Her father takes her back home. A kidnapping saga ensues, and due to an unfortunate (or fortunate) run of events, Jhilmil ends up tagging with Barfi.

They make their way to Kolkata. Fate would strike again and Barfi sees Shruti. Jhilmil who would have developed a liking for Barfi (which becomes mutual over the course of time), grows insecure with Shruti, and one fine day manages to find her way back to the same Children’s home. Barfi somehow traces her and they live happily ever after.

A run of the mill story is given a spark by fabulous performances from the lead actors as well as the supporting characters. Ranbir has given yet another sparkling performance; he is surely cementing his place as one of the finest actors Bollywood has produced. A special mention goes out to the scene in which he vents out his frustrations towards Illeana. He actually leaves you “dumbstruck”. Priyanka after a rather drab “Teri Meri Kahani” shows us what she is capable of. The brilliance with which she potrays the innocence of Jhilmil’s character is worth a mention.  Illeana in her bollywood debut does a flawless job. Easily the best debut by an established south Indian actress in Hindi cinema off late. Saurabh Shukla, as the police inspector constantly in pursuit of Barfi, does an effortless job as always.

The Cinematography and the music too deserve a mention here. The already beautiful locales of Darjeeling are given a facelift by Ravi Varman. Pritam too does a wonderful job with the music as well as the background score. Majority of the movie set in the 70s, Pritam has given the music a very 70s feel and done a pretty good job of it. Ala Barfi a playful number sung by the effervescent Mohit Chauhan sets the tone for the movie.  Aashiyan and Kyon are tracks which will bring a smile to your face. Nikhil Paul George lends his vocals to Mai Kya Karoon , a playful love song, which is sure to be in your iPod playlist for a long time.  And then there is Phir le aaya dil, a soulful number, which rounds up a highly satisfying album.

All put together, Barfi is definitely worth a dekho and more.

Dont worry, be Barfi.