The Cousin who came home

I was off for 5 days last week even though I didn't even leave Delhi.
It all began with my cousin (actually my as-old-as-my-mom-cousin's son)
announcing his trip from Bangalore, and culminated in me asking the boss
for a few days off. Here's what we did.

The Return of the King, the film
Watched Part three of Peter Jackson's movie on Tolkien's book
The Lord of the Rings. Amazing battle scenes. That's all I have to say.
Would like to say more, but I'm still trying to figure out if the movie did
justice to the book.

World Book Fair
Took us most of one day to wade through all the book piles in Halls 18 and
16. Couldn't even check Halls 8 - 14. I ended up buying one book, From
Bengaluru to Bangalore. More on that after I finish reading it.

Delhi Metro Ride
Went for a joy-ride. In an air-conditioned train from one part of North Delhi to another.
Sounds like London or New York? No wonder I didn't see signs of the average Delhi citizen's
favourite pastime - putting paan-stains on surfaces not covered by someone's feet.
They must be real proud.

Khakee, the film
Nice concept, crap direction. I had once taken a vow not to watch Rajkumar Santoshi's
films after a particularly bad experience - watching Lajja in theatre. Only decided to watch
it after someone in office insisted it was a great film. Never again Mr Santoshi.

Jantar Mantar
Took lots of pictures, had inane conversation about West Bengal's inept governance
with one visiting Bangla Babu who was shooting the breeze on top of the monument.
The good thing about being a journalist is you can talk with saying anything.

The Walk Through Chandni Chowk
Not so nice. Spent half the time avoiding hordes of fellow-pedestrians, and the
other half jumping clear of paan jets.

Light & Sound Show, Red Fort
Very nice, though it's time someone decided to change the voice-over
which refers to the 20th century as the present century. It's not even like
time stands still at the Red Fort. Each time, the voice-over goes silent, you can
hear traffic sounds from outside the walls.