Game Of Thrones, The Beauty Of Spoilers And Binge-Watching

Posted on by Prie

So I finally started watching Game Of Thrones. No. Not Season 8, Season 1. Before the die-hard GOT fans start to hate on me, I’ll give you my reason for committing this heinous crime for which you’d rather subject me to the Walk Of Shame (I don’t live under a rock. I get GOT references).

I have zero patience. That is why I love the idea of binge watching something. I have to get the entire story in one sitting. When I have to wait a week or months to watch a new episode, I can’t concentrate on anything else. I keep visiting the cliffhangers to extract any new information that I can get about my favourite characters. So my code is to wait till the show has completed a few seasons or is about to end completely so that I’m not left on unfinished sentences.

I wasn’t aware of Game Of Thrones during its first 3 seasons probably because I was too young. After that I didn’t want to watch it for two years because of the crude content people said it contained. But if I had watched it, I probably wouldn’t get any adult jokes. And for the last three years, I have kept postponing it, just looking for a perfect time to start.

I knew that the show was really good. But before, the hype about the show was really high. And if something is ‘in’ right now, I immediately distance myself from that. It’s a weird quirk but I don’t like being part of a crowd and I don’t want my opinions swayed by a herd. That is why I often distance myself from the mainstream and go hunting on untouched grounds.

As series like Stranger Things came out, the GOT craze kinda died down. It’s still there because of the real fans but people who watched the show to appear ‘cool’ have moved on.

But hey, what about spoilers?
That was never an issue for me for I’m immune to them mostly because I love spoilers. Sometimes I just read the plot of a movie before watching it so that nothing unexpected can hit me. I’m always ready, bitch!

And trust me, the beauty of cinema is not taken away by knowing spoilers. I still cry when my favourite character dies even after I know he/she’s going to die. But with that sense of inquietude taken away (is he or is he not?), I can focus on the tiny details in each frame bringing back to my earlier quirk, hunting on untouched grounds. When everyone’s focussed on the main character, I look for the background details, that if the production is lazy or really clever.

For example Daenerys got married and every time her brother mistreated her or Khal Drogo raped her and the shot cut to the dragon’s eggs, I slowly joined my fingers together, sheltering an evil smile rejoicing that someday the Mother Of Dragons is gonna get those bastards.

I have watched three episodes of GOT in two days and am trying to limit myself to one episode a day so that it doesn’t interfere with my exam preparations. And hopefully if I finish just in time before the last episode, I can stand proud and tall with the GOT fans.

Moving Forward

Posted on by Prie

“There’s this Hebrew word called ‘Kadima’ which I learned a few years back while watching The Flash. It means ‘forward’. Usually used in toasts like ‘to moving forward’.”

Keeping that theme in mind, let me tell you what happened yesterday. I was helping my sister select a poem to recite at her Hindi Elocution. And I came across this beautiful piece called ‘Chalna Hamara Kaam Hai’, which literally translates to ‘It’s our job to keep moving forward’.

I loved this poem for its calm and lyrical verses with a sort of ballad structure. Moreover this was my kind of poem where the artist finds beauty in everyday words, connecting them in a way you hadn’t thought of before but now it’s all you can think about.

“Kuch keh liya, kuch sun liya
Kuch bojh apna bat gaya
Accha hua, tum mil gayi
Kuch raasta hee kat gaya”

These are the starting lines of my favourite paragraph. If you know Hindi, you’ll realize how simple yet decadent the words are. To the rest of my audience, here’s my interpretation. 

These lines describe how on this road, that is, his life, he found someone. Someone to speak to. Someone who he can listen to. Someone to share his load of anxiety, fear and joy. He is glad he found someone on his journey because it doesn’t seem difficult now that he can share his burden. Time flies by when he’s with that someone.

“Kya raah me parichay kahu, raahi hamara naam  hai,
Chalna hamara kaam hai”.

The poet went on to say that it matters not what you call him because his identity is that of a traveller (I couldn’t find the perfect English replacement for this poetic word ‘raahi’, but the closest is ‘traveller’). I think the poet is saying that it is useless to exchange formalities on this journey. What counts is what you do. You are a pilgrim and that’s all the description you need.

Each paragraph carries an amazing message with the core theme of ‘you snooze, you lose‘.
Out of breath? Err. Game over.
Looked back? Bam! You’re out.

I guess, in this mess of an unpredictable life, the only constant thing is that you’ve to keep moving forward towards your goal.

Kadima!

Signs That You’re Wasting Your Life

Posted on by Prie

It’s 10 AM. You’re up early! Usually you just sleep in till noon.

You’re not in a hurry to go anywhere so you just keep lying in bed and go through all the social networking sites you’ve downloaded to keep yourself occupied.

You watch the same bunch of stand-ups, songs and other stuff on YouTube.

You check your WhatsApp. Wow. No messages. Just keep opening the app again and again in hope that someone messages you.

When you’re finished seeing all the status uploads, you move on to Facebook and Instagram.

You spend an enormous time there and constantly find yourself at the bottom of your feed. Instagram says ‘You’re All Caught Up’. Wait No. Show Me More!

You say yes to every plan thrown your way because you know you’ll be available 24/7. Next week, 11 AM on a Monday? Say no more fam, I’ll be there.

Weekends and weekdays eventually all look the same and nothing excites you anymore.

You repeatedly check on your phone. You try to argue with random people on the Internet and hope to seek some validation.

You do random Google searches like ‘Inspirational quotes’ and then go on to straight up ignore the advice of hard work those posts give.

Finally, going to bed with the regret of having wasted another day.

But you are not able to sleep because you’re hardly tired. So you take out your phone and keep on refreshing your feed promising to do better tomorrow. (Spoiler alert – You don’t).

“Life’s what you make it.

So make every second count.”

My First Time At A Fancy Restaurant

Posted on by Prie

A few months back, my family and I went on a vacation and we decided to stay at this really high-end hotel since my dad’s company would be paying for it. Now I had been to a lot of luxurious hotels but this hotel made them all seem like a crappy log cabin in the woods. 

Fast forward to my last day there. The hotel had three restaurants with three different cuisines. Since dinner was complimentary, I tried all but one cuisine – Chinese. So on my last night, I ventured out to try the real flavours of the Orient. 

As I walked into the rooftop restaurant, I could feel like I did not belong there. Men in their expensive business suits and women in their posh evening dresses, clinked their glasses together, flashing a smile as if they had all the money in the world. Away from conversations that included words like ‘flabbergasted’, I chose a seat in the far corner of the room. 

Soon a waiter appeared out of nowhere and made sure I was comfortable as he gave me an assuring smile. He handed me two menus – a food and a wine one. I was 17 at the time and ‘alcohol on the house’ is something most teenagers dream about. But the 17-year-old fear instilled in me by my parents made sure I did nothing immoral for I knew if alcohol appeared anywhere on the final bill, my parents would whoop my ass.

Slowly placing down the wine menu, I turned my attention towards food. I felt desperate as I read the menu for the first time as I did not recognize most of the dishes but lo and behold, Google. With one hand on the table and a serious look on the face, I Googled the shit out of that menu with my other hand under the table but finally settled for something familiar – spring roll and soup dumplings.

As the food was being made, I tried to look busy on my phone as if the stock market would crash if I wasn’t there to save it while eavesdropping on the various conversations in the room. A couple seated in front of me ate their meal in silence. I wondered if their marriage had been devoured by the same silence. A girl was celebrating her birthday with a few friends. I recalled how my best birthdays involved just me and my family eating a chocolate cake on which my name was spelled wrong.

When the food finally arrived, it seemed like a proper appetizer that would satisfy your appetite without filing you up. After struggling with the chopsticks for a few minutes, I picked up the dumpling and ate it unapologetically with my hands. I loved the crunch on the spring rolls but apart from that it was something that I could get in my hometown for a lot less price.

For the main course, I went with a seafood fried rice that contained scallops, prawns and shrimp. Though I had seen these ingredients on Masterchef Australia I’ve never tried anything other than fish for seafood. And honestly, I couldn’t tell them apart. The main course turned out quite basic.

Ordering two appetizers turned out a mistake as I was really full but my sweet tooth would not let me leave without the dessert and that was the best decision I made that night. It was so pretty that I could cry. Though I had already destroyed the dessert when I took the picture, the raspberry sorbet with the custard bun was the best dish of the night.

As I walked out of the place with slow steps and a heavy stomach, I thanked the server and asked him to send my compliments to the pastry chef (something I’d seen in the movies). The night overwhelming and it did not help when the food was better dressed than me. When it came down to the flavours, the ingredients were quite fresh but the dishes were rather simple for the price. When I start earning the big bucks, maybe I’d come back to this restaurant solely for the dessert.