Autumn (rains a lot)

It's nearly mid-November and London is now towards the end of Autumn. I like Autumn. Not only are the colours pretty, it rains a lot here in London. I've been conscious of the fact that I enjoy rain since I was about 10. It's rained every day for the past week. It's great. At work I have a view of London's main business district - the City. Distant buildings look soft and grey through the rain. I'm not sure why, but I like that. So when I'm at work and I look out the window, I enjoy noticing the patter of the rain on the puddles that form on our terrace. Occasionally the drizzle becomes a minor deluge, but it's always raining. Great.

When I was a kid I used to enjoy being indoors, sitting by the window watching the rain. Maybe I was drawing, playing lego, playing with transformers, or watching cartoons. But I was always happy that it was raining. Sometimes the rain would stop and I'd notice patches of blue sky appearing between the clouds. That would always disappoint me, because I wanted it to drizzle forever.

Several years ago I flew to London via Korea, because it was the cheapest flight available. It was my first time to the country, and all I got was one night in a guesthouse near the airport. I went to sleep very happy that night because lying in bed I could hear the rain outside. Despite waking in the night to close my window to stop rain and wind getting into my room, I felt I slept very soundly because of the rain, and in the morning woke up totally energised and in good spirits. Later the same day on the plane I was chatting with Korean business man. He told me that the rain last night was in fact part of a medium level typhoon.

Anyway, this post is just meant to be a place for me to post of photos of Autumn in London. Rain photos may follow. Enjoy. =)

View from my flat

In Hyde Park

A squirrel

Bollywood

I'm still in Bangkok, it's now my last night. I've had a very nice stay. Apart from enjoying eating Thai food, meeting old friends, idly roaming Bangkok's streets and not working, I've been on a bit of a Bolly Binge.

The friends that I'm staying with in Bangkok (not Indians) have been taken away on a storm of a Bollywood, and since arriving in their house I've been swept me along with them. I've been here a handful of nights and I've already seen 4 Bollywood films - quite an achievement as each film is roughly 3 hours long.


Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966)

Probably my favourite film so far. Set in the beautiful hills of Darjeeling, tells the story of two couples from two generations, dealing with the issue of relationships crossing social classes. Powerful story with great music and dancing!

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

A particularly high grossing film in India featuring the (apparently) famous Shahrukh Khan. This film deals with the issue of love versus arranged marriages in India. Nice European scenery and again, powerful story. I think Shahrukh Khan plays a right twit, but overall quite pleased with the ending. Good soundtrack too!

Kismat Konnection (2008)

This modern film was much weaker than the older films above. Set in Toronto Canada, I wasn't aware that most people in Canada speak Hindi. This film doesn't explore any real social issues - and the plot resolves itself a little too easily. Some amiable characters, but content is just a hollow shell of eye candy. Not bad songs.

Golmaal Returns (2008)

I just came from a special screening of this Bollywood film in a cinema packed with Indians - myself and my friends were the only non-Indians. Quite simply this movie was dreadful. It was pure slapstick, silly sound effects, and no substance. After the above I've come to expect high standards from Bollywood and this let me down. The two songs in it were catchy, but not relevant to the plot and there were only two of them! Hope to find better than this.

Summary

Bollywood is great. From these few films that I've seen, the plot is pretty much always about an annoying guy meeting a girl on very bad terms and they end up marrying each other at the end. On the way from the predictable beginning to the predictable ending, these films have the potential to touch on some very key social issues in India, and I'm all for that. Have enjoyed what I've seen and am looking forward to more!