Black or White ? (Maybe both)

Unwittingly, today was a black-and-white day. A chip off the ol' block. What started out as a to-be relaxing Sunday, soon turned into a big headache. Not knowing what to do, and with no sleep in sight, I decided to go black and white. First, was a trip down history - Casablanca (Simple storyline - no pollution of the mind, and left you with a feel good factor). "Here's looking at you, kid", which is one of the favorite quotes of a movie according to pundits, simply put, was one of the most simple, yet powerful dialogues you would hear, especially when Rick (Humphrey Bogart) says it at the end to Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). That child-like innocence on Ilsa's face, radiating naivety and beauty in return would make marshmallows go mellow. One would say that such a story would be "too childish", "too soft" in today's day and age and would not sell at all, but watch it with an open mind, and in the context of the War (especially when Marseilles is sung in opposition to the Nazi anthem), and you would not disagree with the 1.5 Lakh votes giving it an 8.8/10 (Source :IMDb)

The movie perfectly set up the retro mood, and thus followed a medley of good ol' timers - "The Turtles", "Sinatra" and closer home Kishore Kumar and Mohd. Rafi.

The best part about the whole thing was that the movie moved at a pace which you could follow and appreciate. There was no nonsense, it was clean and yet touching. With life moving at 365 km/hr and some more, this was a perfect way to relax and recharge your batteries on a Sunday! The music which followed was again a welcome break from the (may I say ear-splitting) head banging music, and the humdrum of the AC, the honking of cars etc. (I think you get the picture).

The chef d'oeuvre was of course the dessert, and having gone back in time, it hardly seemed appropriate when I went into Gianni's and saw the various gelatos on offer. Again, they looked so extravagant. As I always like to analogize, here too I tried to look for my good old. And that's when my eyes fell on the menu item "Hot Chocolate Fudge with ice-cream". Absolut(ely) undiluted, it was a scrumptious combination of an uncomplicated taste of vanilla and chocolate. A made-for-each other; the undeniable chemistry as in Casablanca.

My recommendation (and it's a serious one). If you are having one of those weeks, and looking at a weekend to completely rewind yourself, throw all peer-pressures of being labelled an old-fashioned goose. The black-and-whites were super-hits then. They ain't too bad now. They didn't need the garb of color to catch attention. And unlike color, with age they don't fade.Wine, as they say, gets better with age.