a lady who modeled for me !

The title was meant to evince curiosity ,you dear reader would than ask why would any lady model for this middle aged spectacled moron ?
true nobody did but the lady I talk about is the Moon
yups ...lady moon modelled for me one dusk while I took a walk in Al Ain .
The evenings being cooler these days and with a soft breeze blowing I took a walk in the Abhu Dhabi road from my quarters near my hospital .
The highway was huge with 6 tracks on each side and with a pavement bigger than many roads in cochin ,palm trees lined the median and lawns and trees with occasional flowers adjacent to the pavement made Al ain truly the garden city of U.A.E .
There was not a soul walking in the pavement but yours truly in the company of rumbling jugernauts zipping past to the speed of sound .
The cool breeze caressed my face and the well lit road was bright and clear ,on and on I walked with no goal reminiscing on so many things ,I always feel walking is a wonderful way to recharge your batteries ,physically and mentally .
After more than a kilometre of solitary bliss I spotted a small grocery among huge villas ,I strode into it and found the ubiquitos mallu and that too from Tirur my native place and enquired him on the availability of nice flats or villas thereabouts ,after this touch with the naddu and a can of 7 up I started my return walk ,by then it was becoming dark and then as I reached the road I was stunned by a perfectly round shining moon up above those bright lights of the road ,it looked as if it hang just above some of the lights .
Wow !!!!!
God was giving me a special show indeed .
Not a soul was watching the poor moon but me as everyone was speeding in thier airconditioned coffins ,
I felt liberated and lucky to watch the moon as I walked ,
she played her tricks by hiding behind signs and trees but then would show up her resplendent self once more in glory .
I immediately remembered the words of Sri Satya Sai Baba sent to me by my friend recently ,I qoute below ....


" The world is a gigantic play designed and directed
by the LORD to instill in human the sense of awe,
reverence and wonder, so that, drawn by its beauty,
charm, and mystery human being is enabled to
visualize the source of all this beauty, all this
exhilaration and all this enticing mystery.

-BABA

Have we forgotten to gaze at things in wonder and awe ?,
dont we all know children who gaze at the moon and mothers who show them the moon to make them eat ,
where is the innocence we had when we could gaze at things and enjoy them ?
most of us are too busy to look at the moon or the sun and that includes me too .

But then this walk was a rejuvenation for me where for a moment I had no other care in the world but to gaze at the lovely lass of a moon and her brilliance and wonder with awe at that which created this and us !
and all I could do then was to take pictures in my mobile to try to capture the moment for posteirty , a poor attempt I know !
but then ladies and gentlemen the moon modelled for me .....
.

Dubai temple and churches

The official religion of United Arab Emirates is Islam .
but it allows non-Muslims to practice their religion, but they may not proselytize publicly or distribute religious literature.
Muscat city has two Hindu temples — a Shiva temple and a Krishna temple, and Saints Peter & Paul Church in the city's Ruwi locality.
Al ain too has churches .
Dubai had its own temple near the creek side at Burr Dubai and churches.
On a saturday morning I took a traditional dhow fitted with a motor at Abra to cross over to Burr Dubai .This was the old part of the city and looked very much like our Mumbai .
The creek crossing wasnt very exiting for a Cochinite like me ,but the dappling waves was green and clean .The banks on Deira side was filled with tall buildings and was a real sight in the rising sun .
Soon I reached the other side and walked through a canopied market area with variety items for sale .
The temple was a 10 minute walk along the creek and was more like a building in North Indian style .the entry to the temple was full of shops selling flowers and prasad items and looked and smelt India .Neatly dresed malayalee matrons in spotless white walked solemnly inside in no way different from thier Keral routine ,tall turbaned Sardars climbwed upto the Gurdwara in the same building .
I too climbed up to the Gurudwara with a kerchief covering my head .
The Sangeet was melancholic and the place was peaceful and pleasant .
the temple was a bit crowded and as it was a weekend had a sprinkling of Indians of all states .
Prasad was given and I walked out .
Here religion is sacrosant and personal ,
none can exploit it and abuse it like in India .

Omkara was a movie I wanted to see because I had a gut feeling it would be good and finally I did see the DVD version courtesy a friend .
Shakespeares Othello dealing with a very human emotion of jealousy has always attracted Indian film makers ,Jeyaraj had made a very good one in Malayalam with Suresh Gopi in the lead role of Othello character called Kaliyattam.
Vishal Baradwaj who is known for his interpretation of classics ( Macbeth ,
Ruskin bonds story ,etc ) is the creator ,he also wears the hat of the music director and does an excellent job of both with soulful lyrics from the one and only Gulzarsaab.
The uttar pradesh scenario and slang in the mileu of mafia gangdom and political dadaism has been brilliantly etched out .Some of the qoute are vulgar and colourful but so is it in reality and one cannot expect films to be dressed up for appearances .
Ajay Devgan has always been a favourite actor of mine ,the man with intense looks and smoldering eyes he silently steals our hearts with his acting acumen,
he is Omi the local mafia boss and protector to Tiwarisaab the big political leader etched with the natural talent of an actor of calibre of Nasserudin Shah ,Kareena Kapoor as Dolly Omis love and later wife was a surprise as she looked etheral and innocent and earned our sympathy in no time ,Kesu the debonair Vivek Oberoi who is falsely implicated of an affair with Dolly by a scheming Langda the villain of the piece .
None other than Saif ali Khan with a brilliant ancestry could have done justice to this dark role ,the animal in him which he talks of in one scene to the perky konkona Sen his wife is shown peeping at us often .
The tragic end as fruits of jealousy and misunderstanding brought about by succesful plotting by Langda against Kesu who had superseded him by being selected as Omi s lietunant makes Omi shoot himself in the heart and falling below the smothered body of his lovely Dolly with langda being axed by his own wife in disgust .
gruesome and macabre but then so is Othello .
A dark movie has to be taken with finesse ,this is a good example of that