31 March 2014

good movie experience

i saw vikas bahl’s ‘queen’ yesterday, and i thoroughly enjoyed myself. i did not go in with great expectations (bollywood movies and great expectations do not go together), but i was pleasantly surprised. it was not just the movie itself, but where we saw it, and the fact that H and i both enjoyed it (alas, this does not happen as frequently as i would like..!)

first of all, the new pvr cinema in kandivali is very nice. and you know, that makes a difference in watching the movie. really. our earlier option of too many seats in a too small cinema hall, resulting in cramped seating and no leg room, and literally climbing over people to get to your seat, not to mention people coming in even after 20-30 minutes of the movie beginning, people talking on their phones and so on, never made for a really enjoyable movie night out. here, the seats were perfect, the light was good, the audience was well behaved, no one was kicking my chair or stepping on my toes. moreover, the pvr concession stand was really good too -it offers way more than a samosa and a soft drink!! apart from three varieties of popcorn, they had burgers (veg and non-veg options), nachos, brownies and even blueberry cheesecake!! their soft drink options were also multiple (some places only have thums up and sprite, ugh). it's not like i want to eat a meal at the cinema, but if i ever felt like munching on something, i would appreciate having more than samosas or popcorn as my choices. especially since i rarely go watch movies nowadays, the entire experience seems to matter more :P

as for the movie itself, like i said, H and i both enjoyed it, we were both laughing, which made it a nice shared experience. the protagonist was brought to life brilliantly by kangana ranaut, and the first half of the film was light and disarming, with many laugh out loud moments. the second half dragged on a little; it was getting predictable, and i thought they could have cut out some of the scenes to make it shorter. overall though, it was a light, feel good movie, in a fancy new cinema; a nice ending to my weekend :) 

'queen' and pvr kandivali both have my recommendation! 

27 March 2014

twins march 2014: nineteen months

TODAY, you are 19 months, wow. in another five months, you will be two years old; the concept is mind boggling. age and months aside, you are growing beautifully, and everyday i am blown away by what you learn, what you do and your rampant curiosity.

most importantly--drumroll please--you sleep through the night now, with no more milk awakenings, ALHUMDOLILLAH. this began on our recent trip to kashmir, where you would wake up but not drink cold milk.. a few difficult nights ensued, but you got used to the lack of milk at night far more easily than i had anticipated. the subsequent five-six hours of consecutive sleep for me is BLISS.

your increasing vocab also means that you are able to communicate your wants, which truly is a relief. the few times you are not able to make us understand what you so pressingly require result in bouncing frustration levels all around. you use the same word to mean multiple things, which is quite clever and hilarious (sit down can mean: ‘he is sitting down’, ‘you sit down’, ‘i want to sit down’, ‘we should sit down to eat’, and so forth).

both of you are very affectionate, and i never tire of you constantly coming to press my cheeks between your palms, press your forehead against mine, or just cuddle in my lap. you do the same to each other, which is also joyous to behold.

m can hold a biscuit in his hand and bite it into nothingness, but a is still struggling with the idea of taking bites of food that are not already in his mouth, sigh. on the other hand, a can drink from a cup with relative ease, while m will end up spluttering and have a great deal of liquid spilt on him; yay for straws!

your next two milestones will be potty training and playgroup.. oh my!