Of retreads and reincarnation

Post-this post, I might retire. Because I am like the post office-outdated. No, that does not mean I don't get dates. Fortunately, there are still friends who humour me for an evening at a pub or a restaurant.

What I mean is, I am feeling a bit tired. Now, a tyre can be re-treaded, but can a tired soul be? Only if it comes back in a full body in a re-incarnation, I suppose. On similar lines, can a retard be re-treaded?

That brings me to an important question. Does a tyre ever retire? Or does it continue to tread fearlessly where no tyre has gone before it?

Other important questions that I face are-

Does a homily cause the end of bonhomie?

Does a ghost-writer live on after his death?

Is playing caste politics a castly mistake, in the wake of recent election results?

Can you call a guy who bombs Syria an ASS-yrian?

Can a bird use a Nom-de-plume?

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

This is a movie I am talking about, not ghosts of my girlfriends- though that might be an interesting thing to talk about as well. (Also, they are all alive, so I will leave THAT to a future date)

This guy is a cool fashion photographer, and has girls falling for him like nine-pins (when played well). He believes only in one night stands or less, and has been trained to be this way by an uncle of his, who also comes back as a ghost and tells him to mend his ways.

Anyway, as the title suggests, he meets a few ghosts of his old girlfriends, and they take him through a re-run of his early life, when he used to be a normal guy wanting commitment, but then he chokes on asking his girl for a dance, and then goes off his rocker, turning into a philanderer.

A very interesting premise, and a lot of funny scenes, but somehow, I got the feeling the screenplay could have been better. Some of the scenes and dialogue are pretty predictable, and why he should want to give up what works well for him, is not too clear.

Anyway, fun to watch when it's free (on TV). I may not have paid to watch this one. I saw 'Sweet November' again just after this one, and liked it better even though I had watched it before. A sort of a female 'Anand' with a twist.

Ruskin Bond- A Nice Man to Know

I happened to watch an interview with the man on national TV the other day. I was really impressed. I am not easily impressed by people (usually celebrities) most of whom I find faking things, looking to promote themselves or their immediate work (normally films).

Self-effacing must be his second name. I confess I have not read any of his work, and may do so now, because of my interest in him as a person. Loveable is a term that comes to mind. He has a gentle humour which comes through in this interview. A couple of observations he made were really heart-warming. A couple of his young readers told him that he should put more action in his stories.-that they are slow-moving.

He is also the writer of ghost stories, apparently. He wrote the story that was converted into Saat Khoon Maaf, about a wife serially murdering seven husbands- so he is not as innocent as he looks. He confessed he had a few more ways of killing them he had thought about but did not use in the story!

On living in India, he said it is far more interesting than Europe, which is a bit monotonous. An astute observation, one that I agree with, even regarding the U.S.