Wall Graffiti

It was just a couple of days back that hurricane Irene hurtled across the US East Coast, leaving behind lots of rains, water, floods, along with destruction to life and property. 

The Americans did their best to prepare for Irene. Apart from the clinical preparations, what stood out was the spirit of the people. This is beautifully echoed in the pictures below.

Hate Irene Graffiti

Hurricane Irene Graffiti

Hurricane Irene Hopeful Graffiti

You Are Not Welcome Graffiti

Graffiti's commonly give an outlet to the people's thoughts, in the most tense, difficult, and special moments.

If this was about Irene, have a look at some pictures in Libya. A revolution in Libya has almost overthrown Muammar Gadaffi's regime. These are some pictures right when the revolution was its fiery high.

Libya Revolution Graffiti

Libya Graffiti Against Gadaffi

And if you think of wars, one of the first name that would come to your name would be George Bush. He launched an assault in Afghanistan in 2001 to overthrow the Taliban, and later in Iran to take on Saddam Hussein.

People had to resort to street graffiti to stop Bush from starting anymore wars.

USA Graffiti Stop War And Bush

Bush started the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden in 2001. Barack Obama completed his task in 2011. Osama Bin Laden was taken out in a compound in the garrison town on Abbotabad, Pakistan.

Pakistan Graffiti Long Live Bin Laden

Bin Laden seemed to have a huge following in Abbotabad. His legacy will live on in the town.

Moving onto England. When Wayne Rooney contemplated a move to Manchester City from his parent club Manchester United, the fans were furious. This is what Rooney got for thinking about such an audacious move. 

Wayne Rooney Hate Graffiti

This was most ruthless. Rooney and his wife must have spent some sleepless nights after seeing this graffiti threat.

Next stop - Russia. Vladimir Putin is running strong. After becoming the  Prime Minister of Russia, he held the position of The President for 8 years starting 2000. Later, he had his protege Dmitry Medvedev become the President while he himself became the Prime Minister.

Later next year, once again, he plans to contest the Presidential Elections. Considering all this, this graffiti on Vladimir Putin in Russia is not surprising

Russia Putin Graffiti

Moving onto China.

In China - Graffiti Against Capitalism

And somewhere in Germany.

Anti Nazism Graffiti

Need I say more??

Love elicits the best in you. And they say you can paint a town red with Love. Well, this fellow believed in it, and acted accordingly - in spirit and action.

I Miss You Love Graffiti

And then some interesting stuff. This must have been the anger of some parent as he or she saw their child fall in love with Coke. 

Coke Graffiti

Business opportunities come in varied shapes and sizes. If you have graffiti's, you can make money by removing graffiti's. But that doesn't spare you from becoming a victim.

Graffiti Removal Graffiti

Finally, why do people paint graffiti's?

If there is one quote which will summarize the thoughts of a graffiti painters, this is one.

Blank Wall Graffiti

P.S. The credit for these beautiful pictures goes to the painters who painted the beautiful graffiti's. And the men and women out there for taking their snaps. And Google for bringing them to me and you.

What Works For Harry Potter?

Harry Potter has come a long way. A widely praised book and money spinner movie series, it was liked by all - young and old. Harry Potter is a reflection of how ordinary men and women like you and me love to get lost in the world of magic.

The first book of the Harry Potter series was published on 30 June 1997. Titled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", it was an instant hit across the world. It catapulted the author J.K. Rowling to mega stardom. Since then she has published all the seven books of the series, finishing with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". 

This fantasy book series has also being converted into a successful movie franchisee. Needless to say, it's prime actors - Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have become stars.

Harry, Hermione and Ron - Daniel, Emma and Rupert

The last movie of the Harry Potter franchisee - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" is scheduled to release on 15 July 2011. Harry Potter fans are looking forward to this movie with a lot of excitement. It promises to be the darkest of all of them.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

What was it about Harry Potter that worked wonders? Well, here are some points I think which can be credited to it's success.

The Story

The Harry Potter story was a classic. Rowling built it up excellently over the multiple books. And most importantly she retained the suspense till the very end.

The first book - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" - introduced the world to the most important characters in the series - Harry himself and Lord Voldemort.

Harry Potter

The names of the seven books of the series are :-

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Each of the seven books above wove a great fantasy story revolving around Harry,  Hermione, Ron, Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts school, the Death Eaters, and ultimately The Dark Lord. 

The theme of the book - "Victory of good over evil" was a hit.

The Narration
J.K. Rowling narrated the story beautifully. The narration was wonderful and spell binding. It had finely crafted characters you could easily relate to. 

J.K. Rowling

Most importantly, it had the element of magic - something which we all desire in our ordinary life. Harry Potter is often credited with bringing back kids to books, in the age of computers.

The School and The Teachers
It was the story about a school which we all dream about. A huge castle, big lawns, lots of hidden secrets, some wonderful teachers, some really scary teachers et al. 

The Hogwarts Castle

A major part of the story was painted in Hogwarts and most of these moments were special. Chapters like "The Battle of Hogwarts" added to the excitement.

You had interesting teachers - Albus Dumbledore who was the Head, Ms McGonagall. Severus Snape kept the audience thinking right into the seventh book on his allegiance. 

Albus Dumbledore

Dolores Umbridge, Mad-Eye Moody and Horace Slughorn lit up the intermediate books. Hagrid too was an affable character.

The Friends and The Foes
Harry Potter had an interesting mix of characters. Like in schools, it depicted friendships between diverse people. You had Hermione who was a muggle (an ordinary person like you and me), Ron who was a pure blood wizard and Harry who was a half blood (his mom was a muggle and his father was a wizard). 

Then you had other student characters who played the bad guys. All in all, it was an interesting mix and added to the beauty of the story.

Draco Malfoy

Interestingly, all students could do magic, cast interesting spells, do amazing tricks and play some really tough games. All these antics were a hit with the readers and the movie goers.

The Supporting Characters
You had other interesting characters in the book. This included ghosts, talking portraits, a Poltergeist, a Sorting Hat, a Centaur, a wand maker etc etc. All this characters played a major part in the story. 

You cannot forget Dobby, who was a house elf. Then there were Goblins, owls, a rat  (who later turned into a man), a cat and what not. Some of these characters were a reflection of real life animals, while many were imaginary. Rowling's imagination in depicting these characters and weaving them into the story was simply superb.

Dobby

Most importantly, there was a snake. That itself gave rise to many a terms - like parsletounge - which meant the ability to understand both humans and snakes.

Last but not the least, you had muggles. They were ordinary men and women like you and me.

The Magic
The book was all about magic. You had wizards, muggles and half wizards. They could cast spells, make interesting potions, fly on a broom, walk into a non-existent train platform etc etc. All this struck a chord in the hearts of the people.

Spells - Avada Kedavara

We all hope to have an element of magic in our life. This book was full of it. It would be apt to remember Rowling's line - Magic is Might.

The Dark Characters
There was no dearth of dark characters in the book. 

You had Lord Voldemort itself. He had several names like "He Who Must Not Be Named", "The Dark Lord" etc etc. He was cruel, unforgiving, brilliant, intelligent and really dark. He was Harry's chief nemesis.

To support him, there were loads of Death Eaters. And there were Dementors - who could suck the happiness out of you.

Dementors

All these dark characters casted bewitching spell, hurt people and were a threat to the lives of wizards and muggles. The battle between them and Harry and team was a primary idea of the story.

Harry Ron Hermione and Co
Last but not the least, it was a story about Harry. The Potter boy worked his magic into the hearts of the people. 

Harry, Hermione and Ron

From being without parents since he was a little boy, to suffering the cruelty at the hands of his mother's relatives, to making great friends with Ron and Hermione, and finally falling in love with Ginny - it was an incredible journey.

This book has been often criticized as a children's book. In case you have not read the book, let me assure you that it is not the case. It is something which adults too would love to read. After all, who doesn't love magic, romance, hatred and love. 

The books are extremely addictive. After reading the first 5 books well after they were published, I was hugely hooked onto the book. And I read the last two books within two days of the book being released. 

The movies too are good. Children will fancy the excitement depicted on the big screen.

All in all, this fantasy story series is a must read. Hope you read it if you haven't done till now. It is never late. And if you have read it, it will be great if you could share your experience.

Long Live Harry Potter and his cult.

A Royal Wedding For Kate and William

Just a couple of weeks back, I started my blog post with a similar title with the lines below

~~

Boy loves girl. And girl loves boy. Both of them think that they are made for each other. And decide to spend the rest of their lives together. They get married under the loving and proud eyes of their parents and close family. This would be the story of any normal wedding.

But this is different. This is The Royal Wedding.

~~

Well, today, the same boy and girl are man and wife. 

Prince William of Wales has married his heartthrob Kate (Catherine) Middleton. In a glittering ceremony which brought London to a halt, the royal prince and his commoner sweetheart took their wedding vows under the loving eyes of 1900 odd people.

Prince William kisses HRH Kate (Catherine) Middleton After The Royal Wedding

And as they shared a sweet kiss on the balcony, the crowd gathered to witness this momentous occasion for the British royal family raised a toast to them.

Prince William will now be referred to as The Duke of Cambridge while his wife HRH Catherine (Kate) Middleton will be taking the title of Duchess of Cambridge. Titles apart, they will be importantly referred to as husband and wife.

Just a few years back, they studied together at the university. It is here that their romance blossomed.

Kate and William At The University

It was just half a year back that William and Kate announced their engagement. And since then the world has been looking forward to this day. William being the eldest son of Lady Diana has always been a favorite with the people.

William Kate Engagement

It was just yesterday evening that this picture featuring Kate Middleton was  snapped. And these were one of the last few of hers as an ordinary girl-next-door.

Kate Middleton As An Ordinary Lady

The same elegant lady was transformed into a stylish, pretty bride today morning. You can sense her excitement and William's love as they walk to the altar.

William and Kate At The Altar

Kate William Exchanging Rings

Love was in the air. You can see the pride and the happiness in their eyes. Also seen were William's younger brother Prince Harry and Kate's younger sister Pippa Middleton, sharing a small chuckle as their elder siblings walk hand in hand.

Love Is In The Air

The guest list spanned from royals to politicians, statesmen to sportsmen. Lots of fans supporting the royal wedding camped outside the wedding venue for the last few nights, hoping to get a glimpse of Kate and William on their D-Day. 

The Junta

Yet, in all this euphoria, if there was someone who was missed, it was the Late Princess Diana.

You can sense the euphoria at the moment Kate walked onto the balcony of the palace in the eyes of the little girl at the bottom of this picture.

Euphoria At The Wedding

In a royal tradition, William and Kate drove in a horse driven carriage after the wedding. 

After The Wedding

Prince William Kate Middleton - Just Wed

Just Wed Kate William After The Royal Wedding

And in true vintage style, they drove off in a car - with a back plate named "Just Wed".

Catch the official royal wedding photos with Kate and William right below.

The first one just features Kate and William immediately after they were pronounced husband and wife.

Kate and William - Husband and Wife

The next one features Kate and William with the little boys and girls who participated in the wedding as pageboys and bridesmaids.

The Royal Wedding Photo of Kate and William

And finally Kate and William with their respective families.

Kate and William with their family

What Is Missing?

What is missing?

Did this thought cross your mind recently? Did you wonder about something which was missing in a certain aspect of your life? 

Maybe you were pondering about that thing which was lacking in your professional life? A little something which could make your job (your work) a bit more fulfilling?

Or were you mulling over a finer point in your personal life? Something which could make your life a bit more satisfying? A bit more complete?

Or was it about that small missing piece of the puzzle in your social life?

You must be wondering as to why I am asking these questions. Well, it's because I watched an excellent movie yesterday -  Vicky Cristina Barcelona, directed by Woody Allen.

It's a movie that revolves around four wonderful protagonist and the eternal question - What Is Missing?

Rebecca Hall In Vicky Cristina Barcelona

The movie stars the pretty Rebecca Hall and the beautiful Scarlett Johansson as Vicky and Cristina respectively. 

Scarlett Johansson In Vicky Cristina Barcelona

On their summer vacation in the beautiful city of Barcelona, the girls try to delve and solve the puzzle of their life. And you can feel the weight of the question on their mind in these pictures.

It's a story about Vicky who considers herself to be realistic and grounded. She thinks she knows what she wants. And in fact, she gets what she wishes. 

Yet, when she eventually gets what she desires, she is a bit unhappy about it. But trying to be inline with her identity, she goes on with life.

It's a story about Cristina who doesn't know what she want. She knows only what she doesn't want!!

But yet when she experiences a life full of love in Barca, the difference from the ordinary life stings her and she goes back to her own unsure life.

Then you have Penelope Cruz starring as Elena Maria - as the eternal muse of the artist Juan Antonio, played by Javier Bardem.

Penelope Cruz In Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Starring as ex husband and wife, they share a lot of love for each other. Yet they ruminate over something missing in their life which prevents them from sharing selfless love.

Yet, it is Elena who recognizes that missing piece of puzzle when Cristina walks into their life - bringing in stability for both of them.

She sums it up beautifully with the next lines.

~~

Before you, we used to cause each other so much pain, so much suffering. Without you, all this would not have been possible. You know why? 

Because you are the missing ingredient. You are like the tint that, added to a palette, makes the color beautiful.
~~

Well, all of us think about something devoid in our life. After all, we are humans and our needs, our desires, our wishes are infinite. 

We all can hope that when that missing piece of puzzle does fall into place to complete the picture, we recognize it instantly, and feel the happiness that it brings to us!!

Amazing Art

DM - DailyMail of London - never fails to give you an interesting piece of news.

And this one caught my eye today. 

Here is a very beautiful picture an tiger.

This is what the artist - Craig Tracy - had to say. 

"The South China Tiger image is certainly one of my favorite images so far. I love what it represents and all of the good that it has done to help save the tiger."

And if you are wondering how the painting was done, just check the picture below.

Yes, on the body of three women!! Stunning isn't it??

Simply a wonderful piece of art.

Read more here.

Sarararara

Once in a while, you have a song which you like immensely. Half an year back, it was Mora Piya from Rajneeti for me.

And today I caught onto this song - Sarararara - from the movie Yeh Saali Zindagi.

The lines of this song are simply amazing - they echo "life" so nicely.

=

Kuch deke chalti woh, sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse, balkhaake chalti woh
Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

== 

Or were they meant for this pretty actress (read Aditi Rao Hydari) in the movie? 

Catch a small video of this song right below

And the entire lyrics too.

Sarara sarara sararara
Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

Hey behla ke chalti woh, phusla ke chalti woh
Kanya karaari si, itra ke chalti woh

Kuch dekhe chalti woh
Sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse
Bal kha ke chaldi woh

Mara mara mara ..
Girta na har tu toh mara mara

Arrey sarararara, zindagi nikal chali sararara

Khwaabon ki jootar hai, yaadon ki payal hai
Zindagi husn tera hum tere kayal hain
Aaja na reham tera humpe barsa ja
Sarara sarara ..

Aaja na jhalak teri humko dikhlaja
Teri raahon mein bhich jaaye bas tere nagme kayi
Aaja na aaja na aaja aaja aa
Tumpe apna bhi haq hai, apna haq leke jaaye
Behla ke chalti woh, phusla ke chalti woh
Kanya karaari si, balkha ke chalti woh

Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

Sa sa sa ra ra ra ..

Hey hum chalte hum rukte, sab teri hi marzi hai
Jeenay ki chaahat ho, kehde kyun khudgarzi hai
Aaja na noor tera humpe barsa ja
Sarara sarara ..

Tu koi noor nahin, tohdi narmi toh la
Tu agar zid pe atki hai hum bhi na gabhraaye
Aaja na aaja na aaja aaja aa
Chori karna bhi ik fun hai
Apna fun na aazmaaye

Kuch deke chalti woh, sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse, balkhaake chalti woh
Sa sa sa ra ra ra ..
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

Khwaabon ki jootar hai, yaadon ki payal hai
Zindagi husn tera hum tere kayal hain
Aaja na reham tera humpe barsa ja
Sarara sarara ..

Aaja na jhalak teri humko dikhlaja
Teri raahon mein bhich jaaye bas tere nagme kayi
Aaja na aaja na aaja aaja aa
Tumpe apna bhi haq hai, apna haq leke jaaye
Kuch deke chalti woh, sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse, balkhaake chalti woh

Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara
Sarara sarara ..

This movie also stars one of my favorite stars - Chitrangada.

Liz Hurley

You have people who are hugely talented and skilled. And this makes them famous and popular. And then you have some who are popular just because they are pretty, beautiful and smart. And you also have some, who are social bees, which moves them up the popularity chart.

If you know Elizabeth Hurley a.k.a. Liz Hurley - you would wonder about the category to which she belongs to. But whatever may be the category, she is hugely popular with the newspapers and the tabloids. And this has been the way for the last fifteen years.

All of 45 years, Liz is an English model and actress. 

She has been an actress since 1987 - acting in about 32 films since then. Her films have not been hugely popular - but she has been extremely popular. 

So what has made Liz move up the popularity chart over the years??

Well, in 1987, a hitherto unknown Liz Hurley met the British actor Hugh Grant. And they were good friends, a couple in fact, for 13 years till the year 2000.

And it was with Hugh Grant that she propelled herself up the popularity ranks. 

At the age of 29, in 1994, she walked with Hugh Grant to the premiere of his film - Four Weddings and a Funeral - wearing a black Versace dress. The dress was held together by several gold safety pins and it immediately put her right at the center of the media's attraction.

This "Safety Pin" dress was later voted as the greatest red carpet gown of all time.

An year later, she was signed up by Estee Lauder to model for their products. And since then, she has been an icon for them - helping them sell their stuff across the world. 

Most famously, she helped them sold their perfumes - becoming a style icon. Sensuous and Pleasures were immensely successful.

Liz Hurley also supports Estee Lauder's breast cancer awareness campaign.

All of this happened much before I knew someone called Liz Hurley ever existed. That was when she starred in a movie named Bedazzled. A review of this movie introduced me to her.

She split from Hugh Grant in 2000 and had a baby with Steve Bing in 2002. Later in 2002, she started dating Indian business man Arun Nayar.

Her relationship with Arun also went through intense media scrutiny. They finally married in India in the year 2007.

All through these years - till date, she remained good friends with Hugh Grant.

And after her much publicized marriage to Arun, she announced that she had split form him in late 2010. And this was via Twitter - the new age communication media.

And if you are wondering what had possibly triggered this, then you should have a look at the picture below. 

This was at the races in Melbourne in July last year.  If Liz is famous, so is he. He is none other than Shane Warne - the greatest spinner in the world of cricket in the last 25 years.   

Since then, the media has been intensely speculating the nature of the relationship between the British starlet and the Aussie spinner.

They had been keeping their long distance relationship alive with a lot of tweets. And when the Liz decided to go to Australia to meet Warnie, the media was all gung-ho. Her visit has made it right to the front pages of the tabloids.

What is it about Liz which makes her immensely attractive? Is it her charm or is it her intelligence? Is it her beauty or is it her persona? What makes her be in the media's spotlight continuously? 

Keep contemplating.

So here is Ms. Hurley - going from strength to strength - becoming a hugely sucessfull social celebrity. And if she does end up marrying Warne, then she is bound to be a darling of the Aussie masses.