After more than a year, an event has finally happened which made me revive this blog. A new Maniratnam movie. Oh Yea, there are some things in life that HAVE to be talked about.
"Opinions are like you-know-whats; Everybody has one", the saying goes. And everybody has an opinion about Raavanan. Anecdotal evidence suggests that reviews by Indian viewers are more critical than the forgiving NRI gumbal that is desperate for any form of entertainment.
So yea, the movie is not all that bad. It is most definitely not boring. But, if all of Mani's creations were ranked from 1 to n, this would land at the very bottom of the heap. Why? Well, i'll dwell on the pluses before the minuses
Pluses -
- Vikram's dynamite performance: From the "saavu melam" that he beats in the opening sequence, to his shy proposal to Ash, Vikram is world class. If i were Raagini, I would have texted Dev asking him to get on with his life and lived happily ever after with hottie Ravan!
- Camera -OK, read all the other reviews to learn more about this
Minuses -
- Ash - She had her hey days, and sadly, those days are long past. And no, I am not referring to her age here. She looks jaded, far beyond her years. OK, so she does look watchable on the big screen, but if you were to take away her skin and make her eyes look black rather than green, would she still be the lead in such a big budget movie?
- A.R Rahman - Dude, yea, you did win the Oscar, but did you leave your sruthi potti behind in LA? The "chandthiranum sooriyanum" line in Usure pogudhe is the most egregious example of abaswaram. And the Keda curry song? No wonder Mani didn't give a shit about song picturizations in this movie
- Dialogues - Mani's movies have always been lauded/laughed at for the dialogues. They have always been uniquely weird - all the characters speak in crazy clipped sentences like "Vittudu.. ...Ellathayom....Ellathayom vittudu...". Nobody talks like that in real life, but somehow, they kinda made sense in the universe Mani created in his earlier movies. Here, Suhasini's dialogues are more verbose, and yea, everything goes to hell. I cannot write anymore on this topic, i am still tired from the onslaught of gramathu thamizh that is probably not spoken in any gramam on this planet. See, there is NOBODY more boat-club-road-chic and urbane than Suhasini and Mani, so WHY O WHY do they insist on doing something they really don't have a clue about?
And then, here is the biggest biggest flaw in the movie....Dev's character. The problem does not lie with the fact that Mani tried to create a positive Raavanan and imbibe shades of negativity into his Ram. He has done this before and succeeded - remember Mammooty in Thalapathi? He played Duryodhana's character and he was portrayed as this modern day Robinhood who Rajni (Karna) would give his life for. Nobody had a problem with that movie, and it remains one of Rajni's best. That movie succeeded because Arjun's character (played by Arvind Sami), served as a perfect counter point to Karna and Duryodhana. And the audience took sides with both the good guys and the "bad" guys (at least in the eyes of the law). Dev is no Arjun, and the movie suffers for it. Mani should have had the guts to make him either perfectly good, or super bad. He does neither. Dev ends up looking like a boring A***le. You neither like him, nor can you bother taking the effort to dislike him. What a cop-out.
And speaking of cop outs, is Mani being paid to make movies for Ash and Abhi?
So really, the movie is not bad, but that isnt saying much; anybody can rehash a famous epic, and draw plenty of inspiration from earlier epics they already adapted into cinema (even Thalapati was about a Robinhood that an honest government official wanted to arrest)
Mani, we really expected so much more from you......
PS: There is a very bright silver lining here; Remember Dil Se? Yea, everybody likes it today, but 10 years ago, it was universally panned by critics and flopped. And then, Mani quit messing around with bollywood (atleast for a brief while), totally went back to his roots, and gave us..sigh...Alaipayuthy. Hope history repeats itself.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Movie Review - Guna
Did I hear you say this review is 17 years too late? Well, blogs did not exist during my 8th std days (thats when the movie was released and yes, I am OLD). Anyway, isnt it always better late than never?
I had time to kill during the weekend, and I had to feed my Thamizh cinema cravings. I absolutely could not watch another movie starring self proclaimed "little" superstars, "megastars", "thalapathis" etc. So I decided to go back to the real deal, to a time when there were two real superstars. I watched Guna again.
Kamal is always guilty of making movies far ahead of their time (recent examples - Hey Ram, Anbe Sivam) and the box office punishes him for his efforts. Guna is one such movie - very few people appreciated it when it was released, plus, the timing was really bad. Guna was released the same day as Maniratnam's classic Thalapathi with Rajnikanth. However, commercial success or not, Guna is a brilliant movie, and its small flaws can be forgiven.
The story:
Its about Guna - an "obsessive psycho neurotic". He is totally delusional. He somehows believes that under his scarred exterior lies pure divine goodness, and he is no different from Siva himself. And he believes that he will meet his Abirami (Parvathi) someday and she will elevate him from the squalor of his surroundings and it will be a divine union of souls. He does end up meeting a girl, convinces himself that she is his Abirami and abducts her. Many plot twists later, does she end up reciprocating his love? Do they live happily every after?
The performances:
Kamal is the God of acting. He makes you fall in love with his character...Guna is annoying, endearing, childlike, and mostly nuts, and he still makes you root for him. You want the heroine to fall in love with him and your heart breaks for him in the final scenes. The heroine Roshini is very pretty. There is a certain innocence to her face, and you can see why Kamal so readily falls for her. She didnt really act in any movies after that did she?
The music:
1992 was Illayaraja's last golden year (Rahman's Roja was released the next year). I remember traveling to Ooty and Coimbatore before Diwali that year, and literally, every patti thotti was playing Thalapathi and Guna endlessly. Guna's songs were mostly situational - you would not really want to play them in your car stereo, but watched along with the movie, his songs are brilliant.
Though Kanmani anbodu is everybody's favorite, I loved Partha vizhi paartha padi. The whole movie is about this concept of divine, other-worldly love, and this song totally nails it. The percussion sequence towards the end of the song for the Shiva Parvathi thaandavam is brilliant. Even more divine is the background score in Raagam Hamsanadham, just before the song starts. This is when Kamal falls in love with his "Abirami" and this tune is repeated throughout the rest of the movie whenever Kamal is overwhelmed by his emotions. The chorus during the movie's ending is especially haunting. If not for anything else, Ilayaraja's back ground score is a good enough reason to watch the movie.
The classic scenes:
Despite being a commercial failure, Guna has found a place in the history of Thamizh cinema for some fantastic scenes.
- Kamal in his doctor's office during a therapy session - He whips himself into a frenzy, rapidly pacing round and round a tiny room, describing his fantasy of living on a cold moutain with the smell of his medicine and his Abirami. The camera picks up dizzying speed, your heart beats in tandem, and the scene comes to an abrupt end with Kamal crashing into the room's door. Brilliant!
- Another beautiful scene is when Kamal thinks his mother is dead, and then finds her hale and hearty. He cries with relief, love and anger (at being lied to), and you cry because he didnt get an Oscar for that scene!
- "Manidhar unarndhu kolla idhu manidha kaadhal alla...." Kamal's voice, the Guna caves in Kodaikanal, the wonderful camera work...sigh...
- "Abirami sonna pournami dhaan" - The heroine wants Kamal to marry her, he insists they wait till the full moon. She does not want to wait and she tells him that it is Pournami. He immediately agrees and says "Abirami sonna pournami dhaan" (if Abirami says so, it is the full moon then). The dialogue ends there, but I really like the reference to the Abirami Andhadhi here. The scene alludes to the events surrounding Abirami Battar - a saint who was a true devotee of the Goddess. In response to his pleas, when he was singing the verses of Abirami andhadhi, the goddess flung her earring into the sky and the new moon night turned into a full moon night. The movie has other references to Abirami Andhadhi - the songs Partha vizhi has a few lines (Idam kondu vimmi..) and Kamal repeats these same lines in the climax. Thamizh vaazhga, adhai valartha Kamal vaazhga!
Ofcourse, the movie does have flaws. It is too long, there is a lot of crying, SPB's coughing and wheezing is plain annoying and the Unnai naan ariven song is way too long and depressing. These flaws aside, the movie is a brave attempt and stays true to its story - about love that is beyond the understanding of mere mortals. The movie also ended up beyond the understanding of most Thamizh audiences. Sigh....
I had time to kill during the weekend, and I had to feed my Thamizh cinema cravings. I absolutely could not watch another movie starring self proclaimed "little" superstars, "megastars", "thalapathis" etc. So I decided to go back to the real deal, to a time when there were two real superstars. I watched Guna again.
Kamal is always guilty of making movies far ahead of their time (recent examples - Hey Ram, Anbe Sivam) and the box office punishes him for his efforts. Guna is one such movie - very few people appreciated it when it was released, plus, the timing was really bad. Guna was released the same day as Maniratnam's classic Thalapathi with Rajnikanth. However, commercial success or not, Guna is a brilliant movie, and its small flaws can be forgiven.
The story:
Its about Guna - an "obsessive psycho neurotic". He is totally delusional. He somehows believes that under his scarred exterior lies pure divine goodness, and he is no different from Siva himself. And he believes that he will meet his Abirami (Parvathi) someday and she will elevate him from the squalor of his surroundings and it will be a divine union of souls. He does end up meeting a girl, convinces himself that she is his Abirami and abducts her. Many plot twists later, does she end up reciprocating his love? Do they live happily every after?
The performances:
Kamal is the God of acting. He makes you fall in love with his character...Guna is annoying, endearing, childlike, and mostly nuts, and he still makes you root for him. You want the heroine to fall in love with him and your heart breaks for him in the final scenes. The heroine Roshini is very pretty. There is a certain innocence to her face, and you can see why Kamal so readily falls for her. She didnt really act in any movies after that did she?
The music:
1992 was Illayaraja's last golden year (Rahman's Roja was released the next year). I remember traveling to Ooty and Coimbatore before Diwali that year, and literally, every patti thotti was playing Thalapathi and Guna endlessly. Guna's songs were mostly situational - you would not really want to play them in your car stereo, but watched along with the movie, his songs are brilliant.
Though Kanmani anbodu is everybody's favorite, I loved Partha vizhi paartha padi. The whole movie is about this concept of divine, other-worldly love, and this song totally nails it. The percussion sequence towards the end of the song for the Shiva Parvathi thaandavam is brilliant. Even more divine is the background score in Raagam Hamsanadham, just before the song starts. This is when Kamal falls in love with his "Abirami" and this tune is repeated throughout the rest of the movie whenever Kamal is overwhelmed by his emotions. The chorus during the movie's ending is especially haunting. If not for anything else, Ilayaraja's back ground score is a good enough reason to watch the movie.
The classic scenes:
Despite being a commercial failure, Guna has found a place in the history of Thamizh cinema for some fantastic scenes.
- Kamal in his doctor's office during a therapy session - He whips himself into a frenzy, rapidly pacing round and round a tiny room, describing his fantasy of living on a cold moutain with the smell of his medicine and his Abirami. The camera picks up dizzying speed, your heart beats in tandem, and the scene comes to an abrupt end with Kamal crashing into the room's door. Brilliant!
- Another beautiful scene is when Kamal thinks his mother is dead, and then finds her hale and hearty. He cries with relief, love and anger (at being lied to), and you cry because he didnt get an Oscar for that scene!
- "Manidhar unarndhu kolla idhu manidha kaadhal alla...." Kamal's voice, the Guna caves in Kodaikanal, the wonderful camera work...sigh...
- "Abirami sonna pournami dhaan" - The heroine wants Kamal to marry her, he insists they wait till the full moon. She does not want to wait and she tells him that it is Pournami. He immediately agrees and says "Abirami sonna pournami dhaan" (if Abirami says so, it is the full moon then). The dialogue ends there, but I really like the reference to the Abirami Andhadhi here. The scene alludes to the events surrounding Abirami Battar - a saint who was a true devotee of the Goddess. In response to his pleas, when he was singing the verses of Abirami andhadhi, the goddess flung her earring into the sky and the new moon night turned into a full moon night. The movie has other references to Abirami Andhadhi - the songs Partha vizhi has a few lines (Idam kondu vimmi..) and Kamal repeats these same lines in the climax. Thamizh vaazhga, adhai valartha Kamal vaazhga!
Ofcourse, the movie does have flaws. It is too long, there is a lot of crying, SPB's coughing and wheezing is plain annoying and the Unnai naan ariven song is way too long and depressing. These flaws aside, the movie is a brave attempt and stays true to its story - about love that is beyond the understanding of mere mortals. The movie also ended up beyond the understanding of most Thamizh audiences. Sigh....
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Want to get around? Leave your car at home!
Departing from our Thanksgiving tradition of a Vegas trip, I insisted we go either to San Fran or Napa. Really, with the kind of rents and taxes we pay here in the bay area, coughing up air fare and car rental fees is really painful. So, we decided to have a short and sweet night out in the big city. Parking at the Sunnyvale caltrain station was cheap, just 2 dollars for 24 hours.
The train ride was painful though - a really long hour and fifteen minutes. However, after we reached San Francisco, I realized the true bliss that comes with being a backpacker. We did not have to worry about traffic, or maps, or finding parking, or dodging crazy bicyclists. Of course, on the sidewalks, we did have to contend with a lot of second hand cigarette smoke and spitting (oh yea, they do that here as well...ewww...)
But the beauty of the city eclipsed all the grubbiness around us. San Francisco derives much of its character from the various hills that the city is built on, giving a quaint old world feel to the city streets. Amidst the boring sky scrapers, flashes of beautiful architecture still remain. The city's population is incredibly diverse, and much to my chagrin, there were a lot of incredibly good looking women around, intent on giving me a complex.
We contained ourselves to the Union square area for this trip. It is a lot of fun, and a shopper's mecca, surrounded by immense flagship stores (Macys, Armani, Tiffany etc etc). I paid for not doing my due diligence as a tourist by missing the Macy's Christmas tree lighting ceremony by ten minutes. Still, we managed to find our way to the base of the tree squeezing past milling crowds that you would normally find only in Ranganathan street.
A short trek past Union Square took us past several fancy art galleries. Of course, most of them had their doors shut to ward off pesky tourists (self included). One art gallery seemed welcoming enough, and we were rewarded with glimpses of rare prints of Renoir and Rembrandt. We then made our way to the Millennium restaurant for a spectacular meal (and it deserves an entire blog post, so more on this later).
After a lazy morning with lots of shopping (I now consider it my patriotic duty as an American resident to stimulate the economy with my hard earned dollars), we finally made our way back to the oh-so-dull bay area. I cannot wait for our next day trip - I really want to relive the sixties and its magical flower power in the legendary Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Trying to get my life back...
The details are a tad too personal for me to write here. Lets just say, I had the fortune and misfortune of experiencing the highest of highs and lowest of lows that any person can experience. The high point lasted all too briefly, and I am now trying to pick up the pieces of my life.
I briefly considered deleting this blog completely. Everything really seemed pointless. But, after wandering around my newly rented apartment, with truly nowhere to go and nothing to do, this silent space was all that I could turn to. There was a time when I had a life right? When I read books, cooked, traveled, had an opinion about things? Maybe its time to be myself again. Writing is a start.
I briefly considered deleting this blog completely. Everything really seemed pointless. But, after wandering around my newly rented apartment, with truly nowhere to go and nothing to do, this silent space was all that I could turn to. There was a time when I had a life right? When I read books, cooked, traveled, had an opinion about things? Maybe its time to be myself again. Writing is a start.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Bay area veggie - Rajjot
K now has a big reprieve from my anti-California/pro-midwest tirade. The reason? My new job, or more specifically, the location of my new workplace. I am now just a mile away from "little India" in Sunnyvale and this translates into some really cool vegetarian lunch choices (and no more subway!! yaay!!!)
One of the best places in the bay area to get vegetarian food, especially if you like home style cooking is Rajjot. Located at the intersection of El camino and Wolfe road in Sunnyvale, it is hard to miss. Don't let the lack of decor or mismatched furniture put you off. The food is seriously good, at extemely reasonable rates (a piping hot desi lunch for about 6 bucks!). I've tasted almost all the vegetarian dishes in the menu (except the sweets), so here are some of my favorites dishes:
1) Samosa with channa - The potato stuffing in the samosas is perfectly seasoned, and you get more channa than you can finish in one sitting
2) Rajma/Dal makhani/Yellow dhal and rotis - This is one of my lunch staples. For $2.50, you get a generous serving of rajma or dal (or any other veggie side dish). The rotis are piping hot, and served with mixed vegetable pickle and sliced onions (very dhaba-ish)
3) Saag - There is no paneer, but the saag by itself is creamy and flavorful
4) Malai kofta - Sure, it is sinful with waaay too much cream. But, with the flavor of ghee and a sweetish tinge, just a tablespoon sized serving is good enough to spice up your meal
5) Gobi/Masala/Paneer/Aloo paratha - These massive parathas paired with raita and pickle are filling and satisfying
Unless you are eating by yourself, Rajjot is not really a sit-down kinda restaurant to take your family to. But, it is the perfect place for takeout. During lunch, anytime after 12:15 pm, the place could get crowded, so do try to get there earlier. You can phone in your order, and don't let the rather gruff staff turn you off. They have tons of customers, and i guess, they believe in giving customers an authentic indian experience in more ways than one!
One of the best places in the bay area to get vegetarian food, especially if you like home style cooking is Rajjot. Located at the intersection of El camino and Wolfe road in Sunnyvale, it is hard to miss. Don't let the lack of decor or mismatched furniture put you off. The food is seriously good, at extemely reasonable rates (a piping hot desi lunch for about 6 bucks!). I've tasted almost all the vegetarian dishes in the menu (except the sweets), so here are some of my favorites dishes:
1) Samosa with channa - The potato stuffing in the samosas is perfectly seasoned, and you get more channa than you can finish in one sitting
2) Rajma/Dal makhani/Yellow dhal and rotis - This is one of my lunch staples. For $2.50, you get a generous serving of rajma or dal (or any other veggie side dish). The rotis are piping hot, and served with mixed vegetable pickle and sliced onions (very dhaba-ish)
3) Saag - There is no paneer, but the saag by itself is creamy and flavorful
4) Malai kofta - Sure, it is sinful with waaay too much cream. But, with the flavor of ghee and a sweetish tinge, just a tablespoon sized serving is good enough to spice up your meal
5) Gobi/Masala/Paneer/Aloo paratha - These massive parathas paired with raita and pickle are filling and satisfying
Unless you are eating by yourself, Rajjot is not really a sit-down kinda restaurant to take your family to. But, it is the perfect place for takeout. During lunch, anytime after 12:15 pm, the place could get crowded, so do try to get there earlier. You can phone in your order, and don't let the rather gruff staff turn you off. They have tons of customers, and i guess, they believe in giving customers an authentic indian experience in more ways than one!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Movie Review - Kuselan
Whats up with malayalam movies? Well, atleast the ones they remake into Thamizh superhits? Their first two and a half hours plod along, at a pace that would give snails major superiority complex. Then bam! The final thirty minutes of the movie end up being absolutely incredible. Cases in point? Kathalukku mariyathai, Chandramukhi, and now, Kuselan.
It would be a blessing for the audience if the moviemakers would spare us the ordeal of the first 2.5 hours and just cut to the chase. But then, nobody on this planet can get away with a forty five minute movie. So, we are forced to endure an interminable number of puerile Vadivelu jokes, haphazardly thrown together montages of Thamizh cinema, and all the mandatory shots about a poor but peaceful family holding hands and prancing along the shores of a lake where dolphins leap out every now and then (yes, really, dolphins!!!! In Thamizhnadu!). And then we get to see Nayanthara, a lot of her in fact. The pleasantly plump fresh faced actress of Chandramukhi has now morphed into this entirely different person thanks to seriously thinned eyebrows, rebonded hair, and God knows what combination of diet and liposuction. The innocence is all gone, and she frankly seems rather angry that her nutritionist took her lunch away.
The still chubby and natural Meena is a welcome contrast, with her trademark wide-eyed charm and a subdued, gentle performance. Pasupathi shines with his sincere portrayal. G.V Prakash's musical score does not rise above the ordinary. Cinematographer Aravind Krishnan does a superb job, especially with his extreme closeups of Rajni's face; every single emotion is captured, while the Superstar's age is miraculously masked.
After patiently waiting out all the barber jokes and other "comedy", us loyal fans are finally rewarded with a truly brilliant performance by Rajnikanth. Sorry, calling it a performance is inaccurate. The Superstar does not act. He simply plays himself. It is as though he listened to all our complaints post Sivaji - the boss. Sure, even in this movie, he romances a young heroine, and appears in a number of super hero get-ups, but these are just for the movie shoot around which the entire film's plot revolves. He good naturedly spoofs himself, and appears to genuinely enjoy doing it.
In every scene, he makes the audience hang on to each word he utters. There is a lot to be said about the movie's climax, but then, that would be unfair to the reader who has not watched the movie yet. Rajni moves the audience with a never seen before display of real emotion. I can only say this - if you are the Superstar's fan already, you will worship him after watching Kuselan. Even if you are not a believer yet, you will be converted. In Kuselan, Rajni's soul shines through. And how!!!
Monday, July 28, 2008
The 'grinding' lady
My childhood days revolved around a plethora of gentle souls popping in and out of our home everyday. Their regular visits were interrupted only during the most intense cyclone, that would promptly render all roads virtually impassable.
We never really needed to look at a clock to check out the time. The paalkari's (milk lady) early morning cry meant that only 30 more minutes of blessed sleep remained before we had to face another grueling day at school. At 9:00 am, it was Sakunthala's turn, feeding my mom with the day's gossip along with menu ideas when supplying the day's veggies. The 'poo' kari (flower lady) would show up just as the evening lamps were being lit, with a face as cheerful as the blooms in her basket. My mom would passionately swear that she was robbing us by gradually reducing the number of jasmine flowers per foot of twine, and the pookari would defend her trade like her family's honor depended on it and magnanimously give us a 'free' 2 inches of threaded jasmine.
The lady who fascinated me the most was our 'araikara mami' ('the aunty who grinds' being a literal and rather weird translation). Impossibly tall and skinny, she would show up every week. After patiently making small talk with my paati, she would sprinkle a few drops of water on our old fashioned grinding stone. Then, she would magically transform soaked rice and dhal into fluffy dosa and idli batter. I would sit next to her, utterly fascinated. Somehow, I could never comprehend how, in the abscence of sharp blades, just a dull stone appliance could work so effectively. I would often playfully drag my fingers along the batter's surface, and mami would never say a word; smilingly, she would simply maneouver the grinding stone away from my fingers.
I took her presence for granted. Now looking back, I can only remember the haunting sadness in her eyes, even as she quietly smiled at me. Was she unwell? What financial troubles prompted a lady like her to take up such physically intense work for a livelihood? In this day of instant dosa and idli batter, what does she now do for a living? Or, has God been kind to her...maybe her son now earns a good paycheck and takes care of her?
After I moved to the USA (its now exactly eight years since), I miss all of them immensely - the milk lady, the watchman, the flower lady, and the grinding lady. I really do. They have always been there for us - even spending many hours with my ailing grandmother, giving her the company that she yearned for. I am now too far away to return their affection - I can only thank them with all my heart.
We never really needed to look at a clock to check out the time. The paalkari's (milk lady) early morning cry meant that only 30 more minutes of blessed sleep remained before we had to face another grueling day at school. At 9:00 am, it was Sakunthala's turn, feeding my mom with the day's gossip along with menu ideas when supplying the day's veggies. The 'poo' kari (flower lady) would show up just as the evening lamps were being lit, with a face as cheerful as the blooms in her basket. My mom would passionately swear that she was robbing us by gradually reducing the number of jasmine flowers per foot of twine, and the pookari would defend her trade like her family's honor depended on it and magnanimously give us a 'free' 2 inches of threaded jasmine.
The lady who fascinated me the most was our 'araikara mami' ('the aunty who grinds' being a literal and rather weird translation). Impossibly tall and skinny, she would show up every week. After patiently making small talk with my paati, she would sprinkle a few drops of water on our old fashioned grinding stone. Then, she would magically transform soaked rice and dhal into fluffy dosa and idli batter. I would sit next to her, utterly fascinated. Somehow, I could never comprehend how, in the abscence of sharp blades, just a dull stone appliance could work so effectively. I would often playfully drag my fingers along the batter's surface, and mami would never say a word; smilingly, she would simply maneouver the grinding stone away from my fingers.
I took her presence for granted. Now looking back, I can only remember the haunting sadness in her eyes, even as she quietly smiled at me. Was she unwell? What financial troubles prompted a lady like her to take up such physically intense work for a livelihood? In this day of instant dosa and idli batter, what does she now do for a living? Or, has God been kind to her...maybe her son now earns a good paycheck and takes care of her?
After I moved to the USA (its now exactly eight years since), I miss all of them immensely - the milk lady, the watchman, the flower lady, and the grinding lady. I really do. They have always been there for us - even spending many hours with my ailing grandmother, giving her the company that she yearned for. I am now too far away to return their affection - I can only thank them with all my heart.
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