My latest book is The One Who Swam With The Fishes.

"A mesmerizing account of the well-known story of Matsyagandha ... and her transformation from fisherman’s daughter to Satyavati, Santanu’s royal consort and the Mother/Progenitor of the Kuru clan." - Hindustan Times

"Themes of fate, morality and power overlay a subtle and essential feminism to make this lyrical book a must-read. If this is Madhavan’s first book in the Girls from the Mahabharata series, there is much to look forward to in the months to come." - Open Magazine

"A gleeful dollop of Blytonian magic ... Reddy Madhavan is also able to tackle some fairly sensitive subjects such as identity, the love of and karmic ties with parents, adoption, the first sexual encounter, loneliness, and my favourite, feminist rage." - Scroll



Sign up for my newsletter: The Internet Personified

7 April 2008

How do you solve a problem like eM? (Nah, it doesn't have the same ring to it)

Super anti social type mood happening. I don't know why, I guess just too much partying and not enough sleep makes eM socially inadequate. So this last week and a half have been spent (mostly) doing quiet things and even if I do go out, I get home by midnight-ish. I made an exception for KVA's birthday/farewell party (Sniff. I HATE farewell parties) but then I stayed in on Saturday night and watched The Sound Of Music with Yamini, Lali and my mom, who is visiting. Yamini and I sang along loudly, much to Lali's amusement, picking our favourite songs and getting all teary during the mushy bits. I seriously heart that movie.





Why I love The Sound Of Music:





1) High on a hill was a lonely goatherd, lay odeley odelay-ee-oo.





2) Playclothes! With curtains!





3) The bit when he's all getting a crush on her and she looks sort of haughty and stands up to him and then he smiles and man, Christopher Plummer is a HOTTIE. What other movies has he done? Is he dead? Can I have his babies? (the haughty hottie. mmmmmmmm)




4) The totally sexist bits where Liesl and Rolfe are getting it on and he's all like, "I'll take care of you." Can you imagine this song being sung in the 21st century? (Okay, not quite a reason to love the movie but in its old values it's somehow charming)





5) The way the nuns all bitch about Maria, but they do it so musically that you almost wish that they'd call you a moonbeam too.





6) Discovering that as an adult I like different parts from when I was a kid. For instance, none of us (except my mom) very clearly remembered the Nazi bit. After the wedding everything seemed sorta blurry. And I always thought the Nazis wanted to kill Captain Von Trapp not make him join them which confused me later coz if she's coming from a convent, how come he's Jewish?





7) Tea, a drink with jam and bread! And that will bring us back to do-oh-oh.





8) Oh and the Baroness. I totally felt sorry for her. Even though she made Maria leave the first time. She loved Georg! Awww.





9) Christopher Plummer is HOT. Have I already said that? Damn.





10) There's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall and the bells in the steeeeeeeeeeple too! And up in the nursery an absurd little bird is popping out to say (everybody!) CUCKOO!





We wondered last night whether boys had seen the movie too, whether it was as seminal a classic to them as it was to us. I voted yes, but the other two weren't entirely sure.





- eM hates to go and leave this pretty si-ight.

32 comments:

  1. oh boy, listened to the music on ol' LPs and cassettes long before I could catch the movie when the first VCRs came around in the 1980s... Makes me feel so oldddddddddddd

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey..I liked the Nazi bits...most entertaining.....

    "Perhaps those who would warn you that the Anschluss is coming - and it is coming, Captain - perhaps they would get further with you by setting their words to music."

    "If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section."

    ReplyDelete
  3. why do u say life's boring? there's so much to do now - opportunity at every corner.
    i was a bit puzzled to read ur outlook article.
    and it is still cool to hv thums up in a market place where i come from :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I used to watch it at my friends house during school hols(v didnt have a VCR...20 yrs back:-p). Like u said the Nazi bit makes sense now.
    I've got it for my kids. They love the songs & are full of respect for me coz i can sing almost all the songs without looking at the subtitles:-D

    ReplyDelete
  5. I never got to watching the movie, although I have the complete soundtrack. My favourite song is, The Hills are Alive.
    Anyway, partying makes you anti-social? That's a new one!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The suuuuuuunnnnnn has gooooooooone to bed and so must I...

    "Why am I always last?"
    "Because you are the most important."

    "But they're children!"
    "Yes, and I'm their father!"

    Maria sitting on the pinecone, ooh, and the part when she and the Captain dance at his party. And Edelweiss, when they all sing together for the first time, for the Baroness. "I would have brought my harmonica."
    Could go on for a while, clearly, Easily on my top-five list of all-time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Neato, you removed the last comment somewhere between me reading the page and coming here.

    Really nice of you enable anonymous commenting. Given that you really really are in the spotlight and not everyone is comfy with people trampling over their blog.

    I did have something to say, but then now I'd rather not. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. A most wonderful movie. And since I own the dvd I may watch the movie today! "Edelweiss" and "My favourite things" and all the other super songs, the awsome cinematography - the movie opens with this mind blowing panaromic view of the mountains, and ofcourse the inimitable Julia Andrews. Glad to know that not all fans of the movie are kids!

    ReplyDelete
  10. possibly a large number of boys/men have seen the film in their childhood (as I did). but whether they think it's a seminal classic..

    some might.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What nostalgia! Feel like renting the video and seeing it all over again. Yes, maybe I will.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your confessions back are getting less day by day! DO somethng..
    Btw.. nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You do know what Goatherds do all up on the mountain on their own don't you? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just one point.

    What you have described isn't Anti Social.

    It is just asocial.

    The two mean different things.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It used to be a seminal classic and my favouritestest musical, but that was until I discovered "Singin in the Rain"!

    ReplyDelete
  16. CC,

    I usually never do this, the pimp-my-blog bit, i mean. But your take on the 'Sound Of Music' brought back so many old memories about the movie and the following post was written after yet another of those watchings.

    http://greeker.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html

    Is it ok to say that i cant watch SOM without 'n' number of tearlets dropping down my face? Irrespective of how many times i have seen the movie? Well, i did that anyways. thanks for the post.

    "Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.
    "snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
    silver white winters that melt into springs...

    Seriously, does words get anymore beautiful than these?

    ReplyDelete
  17. One chick-flick rom-com festival coming right up. This weekend? Dosas thrown in if it's a Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  18. When the dog bites
    When the bee stings
    When I'm feeling sad
    I simply remember my favorite things
    And then I don't feel so bad

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lovely post, and very timely, for me, because I always watched this movie every vacation until I went to college! I do own the DVD and the last time I watched it was when I was pregnant. Intend to watch it now with my daughter. Thanks for the post.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Btw, I last saw Christopher Plummer in 'A Beautiful Mind' as the Dr. Guess you know that already!

    ReplyDelete
  21. capt Von Trapp was the original clean a shell su su man

    ReplyDelete
  22. i loved teh film. Don't know if it was "seminal" though. But i did love the music. and i've been playing "do(e) - a deer" on my saxophone. seriously...

    ReplyDelete
  23. 1st time here and a post i cannot help but remark on. i loved this movie too!! i lovd the song rain drops on roses, edleweis too - doesn't leave out much. actually like u said, i 'd lov to see it again, to check your theory on what parts i like & remember. I lovd the scene when th oldest girl gets back home after the i am 16 song.. it has such a comfortabl & welcome home & thank god i made it back without dad noticing sort of feel. lovd the scene when she says th whistle is for cats & dogs not children. btw hav u seen parichay? a hindi rip off!

    ReplyDelete
  24. one of my favs!!!
    blossom of snow may u bloom and glow...
    bloom and glow forever..
    edelweiss
    edelweiss... bless homeland forever!!
    it is a fav with boys too!!!
    "you wait little girl on an emoty stage for fate to turn the light on..
    your life little girl is an emty page that men would love to right....
    .
    .
    .
    you are 16 going on 17..
    bachelor dandies, drinkers of brandies what do you know of those..."
    the melody was too good!! too good....

    ReplyDelete
  25. btw, have you heard the version Julie Andrews sang recently at some do??
    she modified it a bit to reflect her age... am hunting for the soundtrack or video.. but have drawn a blank!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. You may have seen CP in "The Thornbirds." He was the Archbishop. Then again, you may have not, considering the presence of the divine Richard Chamberlain aka Ralph Raoul, Cardinal de Bricassart.

    CP was also in "The Inside Man". Where once again he was unfortunately eclipsed by the delicious Clive Owen.

    btw, years and years ago, I read the autobiography of Maria Von Trapp, titled obviously "The Sound of Music." MOST entertaining. Unfortunately I never found a copy in a bookstore that I could buy. Read it if you can. No one in my living memory or acquaintance seems to have read it.

    n!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I loved the movie too.I am 18.
    I loved julie andrews ,u forgot her totally.She was hot. :)
    My mom had seen it too when she was young too.She says there is a Satyajit Ray film on a similar 'maid to mistress' theme.
    Dont remeber the name though.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Proud owner of a special edition DVD, thank you very much.

    However, I must say that it took John Coltrane to show me the full potential of My Favorite Things. And a little digging discloses that the real Maria von Trapp was something of an egotistic bitch.

    Can't blame the ol' firm of O&R for that, though.

    ReplyDelete
  29. hey there, landed onto your blog from some other and cudnt but feel notsalgic after reading what u've written about sound of music.this used to be my fav movie when i was a kid..well kind of liked most famous musicals like wiz of oz, chitty chitty etc, and remember the fights wud have with my brother whenever i would watch these. he hated musicals.aah the good old days

    ReplyDelete
  30. even i thought christopher plummer was / is hot!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Really nice of you enable anonymous commenting. Given that you really really are in the spotlight and not everyone is comfy with people trampling over their blog.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love the sound of music! i could watch it day and night and day and night. my mum had to stop me!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your feedback! It'll be published once I approve it. Inflammatory/abusive comments will not be posted. Please play nice.