From 12 o'clock to 10: Anthon, Neil, Brian, Clint, Elvis and Osric. These guys have grown up together- from Boyz to Men! Missing from this family picture is Jorge. They're funny, decent and loads of fun! Anyone interested? ;) Oh, btw, Neil is already taken :$

Meozine

I have two cats at home. Measuring about 2 ft from tip of ear to tip of tail, both are huge and make great foot warmers! One is called Blackie and the other one is called Brownie. Why did we give them such generic names? Well, it used not to be like this. When they were kittens we gave them proper names, but cats being cats, they wouldn't respond when called by their names. Now if we want to call both of them, we just say 'Puss'. Saves us the trouble. Heehee...
For cat lovers, here's an excerpt from a poem by T. S. called 'The Naming of Cats' Enjoy :)

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effableEffanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name...

Blackie. A cat of few meows. Dignified. Never begs for food. A bit temperamental sometimes...

Brownie. Absolute sweetheart! Huggable, squeezable,...loudmouth. Undignified rogue. Always hungry or sleepy. 

My mum's eldest brother and his family in Perth, Australia. From R-L: Crispin, Kerrie, Jackie and Garreth.  

Raul and Shubho who got married on October 31st. The wedding was held in typical Bengali AND Goan tradition! 

From R-L: My dad's sister Aunty Lourdes, her eldest daughter Sandra (aka Sandy) who is an Occupational Therapist, her brother Savio (aka Sav) who is a pilot, and eldest brother Rosario (aka Ross) who is a children's phisiotherapist. Missing from this picture is David. This picture was taken at Yosemite National Park's Awahnee Hotel 

Bridge on the River Kwai

Rajesh was knocked down by a car last evening while riding Umesh's bike. Miraculously, he only got away with a few bruises. The driver of the car was DUI and when I got there, he was guzzling litres of water (to pass the breath analyser test and to drain the alcohol from his blood stream). There are so many things one should remember to do/not to do when one is involved in an accident. Like not removing the vehicle till a cop gets to the site- even if it takes him an hour. Maybe I'll research this further. God knows, I wanted to hang around at the accident site (long after I wasn't required) just to get an experience of how such things get resolved.
When I got home though, I didn't tell anyone about the accident because— I wanted to borrow my brother's bike to go for a movie. As it was, my mum was anxious about the traffic and my no-license status. Anyway to cut a long story short, I did make it to the movie (10 minutes late) and only twenty minutes later did I realise I was sitting right next to Neeta, Shaalini and Abhishek. Shalu was as surprised as I was!
Coming to the movie itself, ah, I enjoyed it! Lovely cinematography! This epic film is loosely based on a real life incident during the second World War. Directed by David Lean it picked up 7 Oscars. William Holden as Colonel Nicholson performed brilliantly. A lot of the phrases he used reminded me of my Dad like- 'matter of principle', and others. Guess the film must have been a big influence on my Dad when he was growing up. In fact, I went only because mum and dad have spoken so much about it!

The IFFI is here!

IFFI has come to Panjim! Yeah, unfortunately it can't be called a Goa thing because it's so centred in and around Panjim. But with the Chief Minister promising to make Goa the entertainment destination for Asia, hopefully in 3 yrs, entire Goa should get a face lift.
I went for the musical extravaganza held at Miramar beach last evening. Missed Tidal Waves- my favourite and undoubtedly Goa's best band- but caught Forefront at their best. They really rocked!
The highlight of last evening for me though had to be Subodh Kerkar's 'Installing the Beach' a kilometer-long installation on the beach. From over two dozen colourful saris tied to bamboo masts waving in the breeze to a forest made of shells, to teracotta figures, to illuminated castles in the sand, the installation was a site to see! And such a perfect setting too, with the night waves touching the shore just a stone's throw away! A good beginning to the IFFI....