THE TRANSFORMERS….!! the movie.. the one out just recently… the one recommended by Agastya… the one he sulked about when we could not take him to it last night… the one we finally took him to tonight.. the one he enjoyed the maximum, sharing high fives in the dark hall of the Odeon , Leicester Square with his Mamu; his innocent child like wonder and excitement in his eyes, as scene after awesome scene unfolded in front of him, being the most important moment for me !!

Children.. vulnerable .. gullible… so innocent, raw, fresh and divine. 20 years down the line they become wizened and mature, hit by the harsh realities of life and driven involuntarily to anything but being what they were some years ago.

It is perhaps one of the most remarkable changes that any living object goes through - the change from their innocence, into a state completely alien to them. Why does nature do that ? Why cannot we keep that innocence with us through out ?

Ah..! the futility of this argument. It never will. But how wonderful to talk about it and ruminate its possibility.

Stagnancy was taken care of today with some vigor. The morning being devoted to the routine of the gym. That did it. Got all the right juices going and an upliftment in the spirits. It shall be diligently repeated every day. Suddenly you start breathing better.

But back to the film - TRANSFORMERS !! What a movie ! What do they drink when they decide on making something like this. How do they even imagine a film and story with so much complication in its execution. Incredible. The concept, the filming, the special effects, the massive involvement of the ingredients for the story. The US army, navy, air force. The locations. Goodness… it is a producers nightmare.

And here we are in my prosthetics and make up hours, getting all het up about life !!

The thrill was back today. Walking public areas, buying the pop corn and the ice cream and the nachos ! Standing in the queue for the tickets, ushered in to our seats. The screaming and the loud laughter that you share with the hundreds of others in the theatre and then back in the room and sitting and discussing the film with the kids. Discovering that an 8 year old has understood the film better than you and that your own perception and power of observation is nothing compared to theirs. Is it just me or is it something that all 67 year olds go through ? Wonder !!

Watching Wimbledon is becoming an addiction. The players are the same that you have seen around the year at various tournaments, but there is something about this one that attracts you more, that is more compelling. What it is I have no idea. The grass, the stands, the environment, the British ethics and tradition to events such as this, everything seems to indicate that this is the one.

I have had the great privilege to be at Wimbledon on a few occasions, as I have for the US Open in NYC and the French Roland Garros Open in Paris.

The US is informal casual and really chilled out - a temperament not very alien to most Americans.

Paris has its air of being Paris, but the rough brown clay court somehow takes something away, as does the hard court of the US. But its perhaps just the green of Wimbledon that makes it a little more endearing. And for some odd reason you never feel a champion till you have won at Wimbledon. I mean all the others are equally good and important, but… i dunno….!!!

So … got to see some interesting games. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, the British hero of the times, Federer, Maria and some very promising French and Spanish players.. unknown .. but giving the ranked players a run. Russian women dominate the scene in their sheer numbers as do the Serbs and the Croats. And it was interesting to hear Serena Williams take a humorous dig at the number of women contestants in the tournament from that region, by stating that she almost felt like she was a Russian too; the number of ‘ovas’ that were present being taken into account. Maybe, she said, I ought to change my name to Williamsova, just so I do not feel like an alien !!

All this took me back to the days just out of School and my days at some serious attempts towards the game of tennis. The Senior Cambridge Examinations, the final year at Sherwood, as they were then called, finished by November and admissions into University began June - July of the next year. This inordinate wait of almost 6 months was when most of us had no clue what to do with ourselves. So my Mother noticing me wave a tennis racquet at a club that one of our more affluent friends took me to, felt I had it in me to be a player. And I found myself enrolled into the RajKumari Amrit Kaur Coaching Scheme at the NSCI Stadium, New Delhi. The courts were gravel for the beginners and the incentive was to mature to the grass courts across, where the more senior higher level guys were hitting the ball at the speed of knots. I went pretty rapidly from the beginners to the C court and then the B in those few months. It would have been a few more weeks before I would have been invited to the A, grass courts, but after the University opened and College began, tennis went off the grass and off from my curriculum as well. Pity. I did enjoy those hours at the courts, its rigorous regimen notwithstanding. Every time you missed a volley or made an error on your ground strokes, it was 10 rounds of the 400 meter track of the stadium with our racquets held above our heads ! Tough eh !!

Huh.. nothing comes easy in life .. not even a game !!

My love to you as ever ..