I’m off to hang out with my Mom (above right, frog hunting with my uncle) and Dad (not pictured, because she didn’t know him back in 1937).
I call my parents Mr. and Mrs. Beige, mostly in jest. They would blend invisibly right into any typical mid-western American crowd, but it’s only a facade. Internally, they are sparkly and rainbow-colored.
One of my goals while I’m with them is to find some old photographs of my Dad since I don’t seem to have any. I do have their wedding photo:
but I don’t consider it old, since it’s not that much older (ten months) than I am.
Yup, ten months. (They hadn’t seen each other in five years when they got married. True story!)
Another goal is to make them watch some Hindi films that I’m taking with me, which they are occasionally willing to do. But I may be overruled in favor of opera. And probably some Jane Austen. That’s okay too.
In any case, I won’t be blogging. I think I need a break anyway. I have been busy with my actual job (yes, I have one) and feeling disinclined to write, recently. But I’ll be back. I cannot live without my cake-wreck-of-a-movie movies* and all of you!
Here’s Mr. Beige again, just so I am even-handed with the parent pictures (they have always tried hard not to play favorites).
We are in Switzerland. It was a long time ago.
And not that I expect it, but if you find that you are missing me, you can occupy yourselves with identifying him, and him. I would be so grateful. Thanking you very much in advance.
Love, Memsaab
*Thanks to Beth for introducing me to Cake Wrecks. Be warned, though: it is a total time-suck.
Tags: blog abandonment, Mr and Mrs Beige, Nazir Kashmiri, Ruffled Shirt Guy
November 6, 2009 at 6:16 pm |
Have a good time, Greta.
We will miss you and your blogging – so very selfishly speaking, don’t be away for too long. :-)
November 7, 2009 at 2:51 pm |
I won’t be, and as you can see I can’t resist checking on you all anyway! :)
November 6, 2009 at 6:50 pm |
Enjoy time at home with your folks! An abandoned multiplex near my parents’ home in suburban Cleveland is reopening, and will be showing Bollywood movies! Can I nudge my Mom towards beginning to share my obsession? She seemed kind of excited about it.
November 7, 2009 at 2:52 pm |
My mom likes almost all of the Hindi films I’ve shown her, although she appropriately hated Aaaaaaaaah which I inflicted on her once. My poor Dad just gets confused by them, but he gets confused by breakfast cereal now too.
November 7, 2009 at 5:23 pm |
Your poor mom! You asked her to watch Aah! wicked, wicked, daughter! ;-)
November 7, 2009 at 5:42 pm |
We had fun ripping it to shreds together though :)
November 6, 2009 at 7:07 pm |
Lovely pictures.
>And probably some Jane Austen.
They are my kind of people. :-)
>We are in Switzerland.
Hmmmm. Thought I recognized the snow. :-D
November 7, 2009 at 2:53 pm |
Yes, I forget exactly where it is…maybe the Jungfrau? It was a way long time ago…scary.
November 7, 2009 at 1:11 am |
I, for one, am not disinclined to read, but I hope you have a blast.
tag: blog abandonment?
Noooooo!
November 7, 2009 at 2:53 pm |
Only temporary abandonment, and as you can see not complete even at that!
November 7, 2009 at 1:30 am |
I’m going to miss you terribly, but I hope you have a great time with your folks! (BTW, we share one thing in common: a father with a smile so wide it gobbles up his eyes! I love that your Dad’s smile is exactly the same from his wedding day to that day in Switzerland)
November 7, 2009 at 2:54 pm |
And is still to this day! It is a great smile :)
November 7, 2009 at 8:05 pm |
I was going to comment the same… he is as happy as he was (30? :)) years ago in the other photo…
November 9, 2009 at 12:36 pm |
Hey those two photos ARE about 30 years apart! Good call :)))
November 7, 2009 at 7:34 am |
We will miss you! Have a glamorously fabulous time!
November 7, 2009 at 2:55 pm |
It will not be glamorous (I realized today that I really only packed pajama-like outfits to bring) but it will be fun. Maybe even fabulous :)
November 7, 2009 at 11:36 am |
While you’re digging through photos, gather evidence for the production designers how will work on the totally filmi story of your parents romance and wedding! FIVE YEARS! That screams melodrama!
I took three films to my parents’ house last month: Dharam Veer, Iqbal, and Jewel Thief. They chose Dharam Veer. My dad kept falling asleep (though he does that all the time with anything – people visiting, reading, whatever) and my mom was flipping through the newspaper. How they could resist that film, I do not know.
November 7, 2009 at 3:20 pm |
Oh yes, their story should be a movie! My mother didn’t even understand the wedding vows since they were in Portuguese (they were married in Angola) and she had just arrived a few days earlier from Japan and didn’t speak any Portuguese :) She likes to pretend that she’s not really married to him when she’s mad at him.
I don’t think my parents would appreciate Dharam Veer either. But I brought Kohinoor along, they might enjoy that…we’ll see!
November 7, 2009 at 11:42 am |
Greta, love the shot of you and your dad in Switzerland…looking like you are about to picturize a song! Have a great fun with your parents!!
November 7, 2009 at 3:21 pm |
Ha! I did not even think of that! I had not discovered the joys of chiffon dupattas yet back then, so completely wasted all potential there on that front.
November 7, 2009 at 1:09 pm |
Have a wonderful visit! Though, we will miss you and your witty commentary very much.
November 7, 2009 at 3:22 pm |
You are nice. Have not been feeling witty lately :) That’s what vacations are for though, right?
November 7, 2009 at 5:29 pm |
That is a noble and great thing to do: spend some time with your parents!
You are really like the daughters in hindi movies.
Now we know, where you have your passin for hindi movies. 5years separation! That surpasses Ek Duje ke Liye!
Have a nice time with your parents. I like to spend time with my parents as well. though I can do it only once a year. I think you also must be liking the stories one gets to hear from them!
And there are times when I would like to just hug them real real hard!
I often think that I should note it all down!
Show them Aashirwad, it always moves my father to tears. (And me too!)
November 7, 2009 at 5:44 pm |
I am really pretty much nothing like the daughters in Hindi movies :D
Although at least when I am with my parents I don’t drink like a fish. They are teetotallers, so I am too, unless I sneak out for a pint or two. Which sometimes I do.
I don’t see mine much more than once or twice a year either. That’s probably why we still enjoy seeing each other when we do!
November 7, 2009 at 11:03 pm |
The picture of your mom and your uncle is so priceless. Enjoy your time away!
November 9, 2009 at 12:38 pm |
I spent yesterday combing through really old photos, including one of my great-great-grandmother, who looks like quite the old battle axe.
Mission accomplished re: photos of my dad, too—some really really cute ones!
November 8, 2009 at 1:26 am |
Have a great time at home with your parents and a well deserved break from the blog.
1937 huh?? Nice..wonder how many frogs they caught…perhaps just an excuse to play in the mud ;)
Cheers, Srini
November 9, 2009 at 12:40 pm |
I have some photos now from as early as 1900! And maybe even before that…
November 8, 2009 at 3:29 pm |
Internally, they are sparkly and rainbow-colored.
Awww, I hope one of my kids say that about me when I have my turn on the wheelchair of doom.
PS – 10 months? Well, weren’t you a very tactful baby! LOL!
November 8, 2009 at 11:09 pm |
*whispers*
Amrita, you know what I thought of when I read that line abt sparkly and rainbow-colored? My videogamer friend who enjoys informing me (and other members of our supergroup): I shit Skittles. Yes, I hang out with very yucky people :D Please don’t tell Greta what I said. Kthxbai!
*end whisper*
November 9, 2009 at 12:42 pm |
*whispers back*
I heard you. And wish I hadn’t. What a visual.
*giggles*
November 9, 2009 at 12:41 pm |
SUCH a tactful baby. It may be the last time I was tactful in my whole life!
November 8, 2009 at 11:05 pm |
Have a fun time! Also, you look INSANELY beautiful in that pic with your dad- so fresh-faced and purty, like you should play Julie Andrew’s best friend in Sound of Music or something.
November 9, 2009 at 12:44 pm |
Ooh, INSANELY beautiful!? You are my new BFF. It was ages ago though, back when I was fresh-faced, anyway!
November 9, 2009 at 6:13 pm |
Have a lovely time off, and I hope you come back with lots of fresh ideas. :-) (Also have to add my admiration of the Swiss pic–and you in it. LOL)
November 11, 2009 at 9:41 pm |
I am going through Hindi film withdrawal, a bit. Am going to make the old folks watch Kohinoor tonight (Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari). Looks like oodles of swashbuckling fun, my dad loves Errol Flynn so hopefully they’ll enjoy it too.
November 11, 2009 at 2:43 am |
Already missing you. AWWW!
November 11, 2009 at 9:41 pm |
*hugs for Banno Bahen*
November 11, 2009 at 8:38 pm |
Dearest Greta,
I finally found OUT who you are!
After seeing you get my DVD9s for such a long time from various forums…I just recently was talking to a friend of mine (Tom) on another forum who told me about this blog of yours.
All this time, I never knew you were non-Desi.
Well, you know who I am….Farooq.
I saw the Badi Behen review…I’d have to disagree with it. Looks like my print *wink*. I hope this short post finds you well.
I’ve attached my facebook link and email address…hope we can chat further on another occasion.
Be well, yours – Farooq
November 11, 2009 at 9:46 pm |
LOL. If you liked Badi Behen then…you might not like my blog! But am glad you stopped by :) (I don’t remember where I got it, but it very well could be from you—it should have come with a warning sticker, though!)
Def. would like to catch up sometime.
November 11, 2009 at 11:29 pm |
I had the only copy of Badi Behen at the time since I was searching for it for possibly a gazillion years :) and all just for ONE song.
There is a movie called “Mujhse Dosti Karoge” with Kareena, Rani M, and Hrithik…towards the end, there is a dance number…with small portions from different movies….some evergreen, some not so…Badi Behen had one of those (I think 14 song portions) and wasn’t released on DVD til recently. I only had a VCD of the movie from India…so that’s the story behind Badi Behen…much of the other songs are ALL CLASSICS that defined their times. AAH being one of the best of the bunch. I had planned actually at a time, to cut out the original songs from the various movies and splice them together to MATCH the medley from the MDK movie…however, laziness and other things took my time & attention away.
These days you may know I just do brilliant RE-ENCODES of movies for a DVD-R format and the like…so that’s me in that world.
IF there is anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask. I think I have close to 500-600 DVD9s in my stock…and I may have ONLY seen 200 of them :)
Well, I shall take your leave…have NO idea which part of the world you are in at the moment.
Yours – Q
November 11, 2009 at 11:31 pm |
I mean to say the MEDLEY inside MDK movie, didn’t have the OTHER MOVIES, but portions of the SONGS that came from the OTHER movies…hope that’s not too confusing. :) The MEDLEY itself is spectacular.
November 11, 2009 at 11:40 pm |
Daag (1973)
Bobby (1973)
Bobby (1973)
Chor Machaye Shor (1974)
Prem Rog (1982)
Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin (1977)
Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971)
Gadar (2001)
Badi Bahen (1948)
Aah (1953)
Brahmachaari (1968)
Mr. Natwarlal (1979)
Naya Daur (1957)
Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2000)
Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960)
Andaz (1971)
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
These were the movies – in order – that had a song picturised as a part of the medley in MDK. Bobby had 2 songs. When I first saw MDK, I fell in love with the medley and bought all the movies…except for BB…which at the time wasn’t even available on any format except for VHS…one year later, someone found a VCD on his vacation in India and sent it to me…just earlier this year I believe BB was released on DVD by a Pakistani film company…with of course the annoying FRIENDS logo. :) So that’s the background of BB.
Now getting to BB…it was a film primarily famous for it’s star cast and musical director of his time…who is/was a genius. The whole album is fantastic. Though you may have thought the story was blase…I beg to differ, and we’ll agree to disagree… :)
Look forward to more…
November 12, 2009 at 1:35 am |
I’ll have to rewatch MDK to see that medley! It was one of the first films I saw (and I am one of the few people I know who actually liked it). But now I’ve seen all the films above that they took songs from :)
I didn’t find BB’s story blase, I found it painfully sexist and really dumb :D Songs were nice, but not enough to make up for the story. We shall have to agree to disagree on that one and probably others as well, because the only other film on that list that I really hated is Aah (you may want to avoid my review of it)! But that’s what makes the world go around and I wouldn’t want everyone to be in total agreement with me all the time. How dull life would be.
November 12, 2009 at 3:26 am |
Enjoy your time-off/vacation…..!
November 12, 2009 at 12:05 pm |
Thanks Radzi, I have :) Am missing my dog now and ready to get home though!
November 15, 2009 at 4:46 am |
Hi,
Hope you are doing well! This is Anamika Tiwari from Webneetech.com. At present we are interviewing entrepreneurs and now we are starting another section to feature (interview) bloggers and their blog on webneetech.com
We find your blog very interesting and would like to feature your interview on our website.
I was not able to find any contact details of yours so using this comment box. Please let me know your email id or else contact us on i.webneetech@gmail.com, so that we can send you the questionnaire and feature you on webneetech.com Please visit http://www.webneetech.com to know more about us.
Regards,
Webneetech.com