Woke up to Shombit's frantic call that he was grounded. The Chennai Marathon was underway, and everything was apparently happening, just outside his home ?!? I was informed to stay put, because all routes in the city were blocked thanks to the Marathon.. Ok Dude. I didn't even have plans to get out of bed this morning, until you called. And then Sarin called...

Our meetings usually involve considerable planning, so Sarin's call to assemble at Ega Theatre at 12:30pm on a Sunday Morning was a little too wayward. My girl wasn't purring perfectly and for all purposes, I knew I needed a chauffer-driven vehicle. Luckily, Punnoose obliged.

When all of the city is crowding at Satyam cinemas, Ega theatre is the place to be. We got there at 12:00 and still got the tickets. The weekend shows at Satyam were sold out on Friday morning itself. Plus, Sarin had spoken with a lot of conviction about getting the tickets at Ega. The dash to the Theatre, having bathed, but not brushed, was therefore worth it.

I had had only a glass of milk this morning, and with time still at hand, we all headed to Nilgiris. Their Chocolate Pyramid pastry is oh so good. It made up for the skipped breakfast. Well, almost.

Shom, Punnoose, Sarin, Vins and myself. This was a bunch of schoolmates grouping up after ages. And somehow I felt, we were not ready to watch 'Black'. There was so much of life-since-school to chatter about. But the movie was captivating enough to leave us speechless. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his team have crafted a masterpiece by scripting a movie based on Helen Keller and her real-life Teacher, Anne Sullivan.

Best of all, the emotions were like those of a stage play. There were no glycerine effects for the numerous emotionally charged scenes, and I nearly wanted to burst out weeping. There were a lot of clichéd dialogues, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. The Big B had his usual unparalleled aura, but me thinks Shernaz Patel (as Catherine McNally) and Ayesha Kapoor (as the young Michelle) stole the show. Ofcourse, Rani Mukherjee's 'I can feel it snowing' dance sequence now finds a permanent place in all my celebrations. I perceived the tale of a girl's victory over her disabilities, as a story that celebrates life..

The chatter that was interrupted with the screening of Black, resumed full-swing at the Sweet Chariot Cafe in Ispahani Centre. Their jumbo sandwich was well grilled and it brought back memories of School.. And till we split, the discussion on our circa '98 canteen Burger (for the present day-price of a Chinna Pepsi) held the fore.