The Hangover

Have you ever watched a 'comedy thriller'? You wonder how these two genres go together? They do in 'The Hangover'. Unique storyline with awesome screenplay keeps one glued to the screen from start to end, while the action and dialogues makes one laugh until their tummy hurts. The movie is fast paced and well presented. And the actors complement and maintain the charisma of the movie.

To dwell deeper, the story is about a guy who is going to get married. His best friends decide to throw a bachelor party for this guy in Las Vegas. During this party, the friends are drugged accidentally and in the morning, they can't remember anything that happened the night before. To their shock, the groom-to-be has vanished! The rest of the story is how they try to find out what happened in the night and how they search and ultimately find their lost friend.

A must watch!

It is a miracle!

I am not a religious fanatic but what happened yesterday at Tirupathi (a temple town in Andhra Pradesh, South India) is worth a mention. My husband and I reached Tirupathi in the morning where we had to attend the wedding ceremony of a close relative. After the wedding, we drove uphill to the abode of Lord Venkatachalapathi. If you are an Indian, you might be aware how pricey it is to see the Lord. Unless you have some high level ‘contacts’, you may have to wait forever for a ‘darshan’ (darshan means vision of God). We usually have a letter of recommendation from our relative who has connections in Tirupathi so we can enter in the V.I.P section which is like a fast-track ‘darshan’ line. Unfortunately, yesterday we found out that they had stopped this V.I.P section. Hence we were left with two choices: (a) to return without a ‘darshan’ or, (b) to wait for three to four hours in the queue.

I flatly refused to do the latter as I was really tired from the journey and also I personally do not endorse standing in line to see an idol of God (I do not advocate idol worship in the first place, though I am not totally averse to the idea). So we had decided to leave ‘empty handed’ as it were. Then we heard that people above 60 years of age could join a shorter line, free of cost, for the darshan. We also had in our group, apart from me and my husband, an elder lady who is a family friend. She said she will go ask the authorities if she can stand in that shorter queue for darshan (note that one has to produce an identification proof to establish their age to join this queue and our family friend did not have this in her possession at the required moment). Fortunately for her, they said she could go without an identity proof.

And, here is the best part; she could apparently also take along with her a younger person to accompany her in case she has some health problems on the way in. As my husband was already eligible for a darshan after his ‘anga pradakshanam’ (circling the temple by rolling on the ground – a special tribute to God), I was the only one left without an opportunity to see the Lord. So I went with our family friend in the shorter queue and got the darshan in half an hour! To add, we also had a splendid and relaxed view of the Lord’s idol. This was the amazing incident which has proved yet again that there is a Supreme power which does act for our good. I always believe that God gives me the best and He seconded that with His subtle indication in Tirupathi yesterday.

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What the world calls a 'magic doll': When you have it, it is old; But when you lose it, it is gold.

Let go

When you know there is no scope for redemption,

When you know you cannot reap what you sow,

When you know there is no going back,

It is best that you let go.

Yes, the memories will hurt,

Yes, you will feel low,

But how much can you give up?

It is best that you let go.

Far into the future you will see,

What is rightfully yours will come back in the end,

Await the return with open hands,

Let go now my friend.