The Godfather Trilogy

Now, what do I write about what is treated as a series of timeless classics which Hollywood has produced. But, I just can't hold myself back.
I devoured on the first two parts of this series over the weekend, and felt weak to continue with the third one, after seeing the overwhelming performances of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. I did not fail to notice De Niro though, with his brilliant potrayal of the Don in his younger days.
I do not consider myself competent to judge the performances of Marlon Brando or Al Pacino, I am not even making an attempt. What really captivated me were the characters themselves, the complexities of their minds, the situations and events which affect their thinking, the subtle nuances therof. Mario Puzo!!! Wow!!!
I was especially impressed by the way the character of Michael Corleone develops, from the highly patriotic college drop-out who enrolls himself into the US Marines during the Vietnam war, to the very cunning, ruthless, scheming and plotting Don, and following the changes that comes about in the character is a journey in itself.
Also, the way Mario Puzo takes us through the life of a boy who is suddenly orphaned as a result of some vendetta, migrates to America and grows up to be the head of one of the "five-families" of New-York is captivating. And full credit to the director Francis Ford Coppola for rendering on screen what Mario Puzo would have put down on papers.
Though Mrs. Corleone (Kay Adams) has a seemingly small and not so important role to play in the main story line, Diane Keaton has performed this role with complete honesty. Especially in the second part of the trilogy, one can see how important a part she plays even without occupying much of the screen time. The strong character Mrs Kay is, Diane Keaton comes out with some awesome display of emotions when she reveals to her husband that she aborted her child, because she didn't want to bring another Corleone male child into this world of crime, emotions ranging from rage and frustration at herself for having a wrong choice, the despair and anguish at having to kill her own child in her womb, and total exasperation at what her husband and family has become over the years!!!
I can go on and on... I would wait, probably watch the part two a couple of times more, before I see the thrid part. Well, I have to really prepare myself, set my expectations right before I move on to Godfather III. Waiting for the weekend, waiting for some more of this visual feast!!!

Monday morning blues!!!

Come to think of it, this might be one of the most used titles for a blog. But, what the heck, I am still going to write about it.
It was a pleasant weekend in Bangalore, with slight drizzles on Saturday, and lots of lightning and showers on Sunday night. I really enjoyed the weekend, the cool breeze, my usual outing to the club, an hour's swim in the pool, lots of time with my lil naughty daughter and lots of loving care from my wife. Reality struck me hard on Monday morning, I need to get going, I need to be in office!!!

I decided to drive to office instead of taking the office bus, for which I am still cursing myself. I couldn't believe the mess I saw on the road. The colours I saw on the road varied from caramel cream to black-forest, but, believe me, there was nothing pleasant about it. So much of mud, slush, overflown sewage and all kind of dirt on the road, all due to slight showers that "blessed" the city over the weekend, unbelievable!!!

Well, I do not wish to get started all over again on the infrastructure problems the city is going through, but I can't help calling out, "Oh God!!! When are you going to send your Son to deliver us from this pain!!!"

My new schedule!!!

For a long time, I was trying to get over the starter's dilemma of how to start, what to start with. Today, finally, the time has come!!!
It is also a great day for me, a very important and a long awaited one.
The working hours at my office have been changed!!!
Like many other companies in Bangalore, in an effort to alleviate the traffice related woes of the employees, our company decided to change the working hours, the new schedule - 8:00 am to 5:00 pm came into effect today, after much careful considerations and negotiations.
There was a whole lot of discussions on how we can manage with less overlap time with other locaions like US and Germany, but sense prevailed!!!
This would mean that, my daughter might not get to say "bye" to me in the morning, but, I could be home much before my daughter says "good-night" to me. That is a great relief. Also, there is the fact that I would now be forced to get up early in the morning, which I woudn't do otherwise.
Well, then there is the obvious advantage of the time I save in travel.
So, it is a momentous day, also because, I finally could amass enough courage to write something which others are going to read...