A Decade

Comes the end of another year and its been a decade since I got out of college n Yoooo...... wat a decade its been!!!! donno if it exactly shaped the way I dreamt but I was definitely dreaming all the while,as it shaped…

Hmmm… looking back its been quite a journey… the haphazard “rule-the-world” college dreamz seems to have narrowed down to strategic priorities…It surely has been an “unruly” decade…. after the first couple being dominated by “Rules” … starting from the day of the week when we clip our nails to the length of our hair … from the time we sleep to what we eat …n lemme not talk about anything to do with studies.…. dictatorship was the way of life from all quarters….

Democracy that come with the 20’s dint help my discipline much. Liked the freedom that came n dredged the responsibility it gave… the “unruly” decade meant we set our own rules, own visions, own syllabi and our own exams n all this at a very fast phase….. the brutal rat race of the 20’s had jus began… no way could we fall back on the structured cushion as in the past……

The ship had lost the comforting sight of the coast….. and this is where we meet our most favorite teacher ….. life!!!

The 20’s puts some steal in u, it hardens your beliefs, your desires, your dreams and ….YOU (exclude tummy) , the bruises of various failures would sweeten the taste of success….

On a personal front the decade was not of any grt start… every year disillusioned me on how different the reality was from what I presumed it to be… a lot of trial n error went into rectification. Well the 2^nd half has been reasonably good, with focus, goals, little bit of hard work, courage to dabble risk, kick starting new ventures and a sense of achievement…. All these followed the all possible negatives of the first half….all that could go wrong did go wrng...(even my spells ) Sign!!! The teacher does teaches her lessons well.

The decade seems to have signed off well and with marriage being a stabilizing factor, it keeps u grounded, signifying what you need from what you want…. (okkkk …got it…. haven’t mentioned anything about the return of dictatorship, no I don’t think so too )

For a change looking forward for the coming one….. lets see how things go…. Or rather how we make things go…..

At heart I still feel the games quite a few of us play are so small…… we arnt living in gruesome times of the French revolution, the freedom struggle or the world wars…. The current times are so accommodative for personal expansion, conscious growth & with no set limits, these are best times for setting a play ground for real men (n of course a lot of women) to fall hard on the field and raise high from the dirt….. jus play the game……. hmmmmm… I like getting dirty...

Bloomy

BLOOMY…… THE BLOOM OF OUR LIVES…..

The spitz named after the region it originated from, Bloomy was way to big to be a pomeranian so was his face…. couple of things which he inherited from his dad…..

Bloomy…. first saw him in the November rain of 2000, jus a couple of months after the millennium baby’s birth…. Came home in my mom’s arms from the same place where my roots are……. Born in the very house where my ancestors were…. He was FAMILY…

He getting of the train in my mom’s arm wasn’t a nice experience I suppose…. His ticket did cost me bribing the TC…. Well I did wonder how the tc got to know the cute little white teddy had life in it!!!!!

His welcome ceremony was a quite affair… admiration coupled with anxiety…. The first pet in the house….. and the first every animal my mom ever laid her hands on…. (okk I don’t count to be one)…. I remember the first few months not being any grt with his habits not in place and so was his name……. my sisters christened him as Whistle…. Not taking into account of the snoots which he has to encounter…. Well I do take credit for altering it to sessile and eventually BLOOMY…. THE BLOOM OF OUR LIVES

Bloomy was a darling once he got his manners and schedule right….. but as with the genes with contribute its wagging tail…. the “poms barking” was way to imbibed in him…. He was such a eeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh with his early morning barks…. My apologies and thanks for all the neighbors who dealt with it.

Bugger was way too active…. Loved the way he used to run all through the garden and the house…. Ofter skidding his way on the marble floor but not taking his mind of the target outside which came as a squeaking cycle or stray crow…. It was a wonder when he chased birds on the terrace… as if his territory was at stake…..

Bugger did have a very disciplined lifestyle…. Used to wake up by say around 5,30 and wait till six to wake mom up… well did like the early morning open air…. Watching his friends go by… barkin at the newspaper n the milkman….. well the qualities of pickin the paper wasn’t imbibed into him…… so he made sure we weren’t getting any lazy…..
His morning fiesta would last for an hour n a half till the blazing sun pinch… coming in wud great him with baked bread, milk n splashing water…. .... waiting for bread was one thing which always made him restless….. n why he chose a doormat to keep his slices of bread still remains a mystery…….. after the hard morning his way to slumber extends till my mom disturbs him in the evening by a door bell….. inbetween moving into each of his self proclaimed pit stops and bites of pedigree….. .. has an active evening with his walks and barks used to desperately wait for each one of us to get home…. Time immaterial….. well his warm eyes, wagging tail and close hug were things which made us feel good to be back at home………..

Well cant remember all the grt moments I had with bloomy…. The long walks…. The long thoughts….. the big cuddles …. And all the game we played…..

Walks with him were very good….. the lazy bum that he was never preferred distance… was quick in his job and had to return home…… he used to get quite a lot of attention on his walks…. I mistaking it to be for me…...hmmm… bugger did have an attitude to see the other way…..


Food was something he would cherish …. Especially anything baked and had egg in it…. Wud disappear a whole loaf of cake at a go….. embarrassment when a guest at home was unavoidable…. But will give it to him …. He has been the icebreaker in a lot of conversations at home…. Any topic wudnt go without involving him….. was a gem of a guy when it comes to kids the gentleman that he was…. My then a year old niece chaitu used to hold him with his mouth and nephew pulling him by his tail……….

The bum he was he was a genius in his own terms….. he did recognize us coming home from quite a distance… I say “mom” and he cud dish her out of anywhere……

Remembering the endless hours I have passed jus looking at him…. His eyes his innocent face….. u come home after a hard day, any time of the night …. He his there happily welcoming u with his open arms……. U use him as a punch bag hurling all the dirt and frustration at him…. He still stands tall with same inviting looks…. One call and he is there in ur arms…..

Wonder why God decide to dip only dogs in faithfulness……. Wat a wonderful creature he has been….. he did teach me quite a lot of things in life…

September eighth being his birthday…. Always a special day with cake and bone…. We did forget his 9th birthday last year…. .. never ever to celebrate….

BLOOMY ….. did bring in a lot of BLOOM into our lives…….. Until he decided to take it away along with him…..

BLOOMY
8/09/2000-24/03/2010
He left a lot of scratches on our doors..... and our hearts too...

Evening with Sir Jeffrey Archer

We blocked the evening of 18th of May 2009 of our calendar to get a glimpse of one of the finest story teller of our generation… Sir Jeffrey Archer.

As the day arrived we did keep our standard time of arriving 2quarters past the scheduled time of 7… rain was at the mercy of our blame along with the usual Bangalore traffic… some times wonder if the traffic really improves in our city …. We would have to find an as effective alternate reason for our lack of integrity… hmm….

Anyways Jeff seems to be with ease at the 500 odd crowd straining themselves to get a view of him. at the Landmark bookstall in the citymall.. …. Probably the visits to other Indian cities and the previous one to Bangalore has made him get used to our very exclusive desi crowd-pschology. The next one hour was an insight to his latest work ‘Path of Glory’.... Must say his sense of humor was laudable while talking of his books and dodging questions of the audience. He made quite a few references to the grt RK Narayan and the members of our cricket team (cricket being his fav sport)…. What probably saddened us was his astonishment that RkN's home town dint have a statue of the great man… hmmm…. how true never thought of it….. (trivia for those who r from Bangalore : RKN’s fictitious place “Malgudi” was supposed to be inspired from ‘Mal’leswaram and basavana‘gudi)’

What followed was a 3 hour loooooooong Q for his autographed bestsellers....thats like 500ppl multiplied by at least 2to3 books each along with the pics which he smilingly obliged...... admired the enthusiasm n patience the man seem to have at 70.... We got 4 of his works signed by him ... and a couple of pics :)

The day turned out to be gud.... its not that i am a celeb worshiper that i had to hop around....but jus that we had to spend the evening and this was worthwhile a task.... it gave us an experience how it wud be to meet the author of ur childhood classics .... (childhood??? he is one of those i read even now)... well bought back memories of the first book of his i read..."shall we tell the President".... probably my first after the likes of Hardyboys, Enid Blyton, Famous Five, Agatha Christe, not to forget the hours spent on the likes of Tintin, Astrix and the Archies and the Jugheads…and ofcourse tinkle…all thanks to my cousin ignited the reading (n thinking) habit in me.....
…. phew those were the days!!!!

Spent the night pondering over the various books ‘ve read along with the reflection of the those early years of reading …

Wonder what kids of this generation call their first book as ……(Harry potter???)

Rock On...

There couldn't have been a better timing for this movie to hit the screens... well atleast not for the 4 of us who followed it to the screen on the Saturday forenoon.. we did expect a DCH from the feel of it..... Reality hit us when we saw a sea of college-goers (or shud i say bunk-ers)... we didn't exactly look like them ... and "uncle" wud be too much of a word to describe us.. . common man its jus 6 odd years since we walked out of the college gates....
Anyways the first scene/ song does take you back to the DCH days we've all been through.... looooooong loooong ago "once upon a time...". Reality hit for the second time to what ppl call a midlife crises...
The movie takes u back n forth between the dreams we built as youngsters and the reality we choose to live a decade later...How we wud want to forget the facede of our life, , as we associate it with our unfulfilled dreams.. we compromise n succumb to the time & circumstances giving up the uniqueness, magiK within us & get comfortable with the acceptable standard of society, washing out our dreams & identity in the process....
Well it is not that i have reached my "midlife crisis" or something but the events in the near past of my life flashed on the screen as the movie went by.... certainly an eyeopener to all the symptoms of attaining "THE CRISES" in the near future....
Back to the movie on screen, ROCK ON... it did live up to its name as India's first movie on Rock music with some grt sound tracks and hair-dos... good performances from FA AR and not to mention his wife.. it did lack some unconvincing scenes... & I did have to literally ROCK ON ..the bad last seat....
At the end taking a leaf from the movie... it did make me open my eyes to give myself another chance b4 its too late.... as they say better late than never....... and watching the college-goers i wish they would relate to it as India's first movie on Rock music... even after 10 yrs from now....

Bang Bang Bangalore …

A weekend eve is generally filled with a lethargic aggression of finishing the "must-dos" which we seldom have choice of foregoing….. anything to do at a bank is one such thing and ur zeal ‘to get out of that place and get done with it’ always seems to beats the necessity of the very chores….Thus I land myself into this persisting endeavor on this fine overcast Bangalore Friday, eager to chop the last few crops for the week leading to a relaxed weekend…. soon realised that I was not the only mellowed "Friday-dressed" creature out there…. Smiles flied around between the know faces followed by the usual addresses as if it was the last time they met before the eternal weekend.

The known surroundings ………the known people …. That makes it a very much "known" ComfortZone…..

Untill……… the tranquility broke, followed by the news of broken-peace voiced by a couple of privileged sources with gr8 communication network…. Suddenly you have a few celebrities getting undivided attention of a curious mob waiting for some sound bites… realizing eventually that the havoc did was of sound bites--much louder though… shattering not only the matter on its vicinity but also the hearts across the radius…. The bombs blew…one after the other systematically every 10 min across the city on this peaceful July friday….

The mob in the bank seem to have for once forgot the basics of banking n money… with ears getting crushed by the cellphones to get in touch with the near n dear… to assure them n their own self of their safe being only to be frustrated to find out that our telecom co.s work on first-come-serve basis….

The news did create a stir of emotions at the bank…. 7 bombs in a row at a well distributed interval….. It was not an event in some distanced unknown land, it was our own city,our own home …. The park, the bus stop, the junction which we all knew so well …. Jus as our backyard n probably the path we all traveled every other day……

Suddenly things turned scary …. The very known surrounding became hostile……… the known people become the intimate strangers …… the "known" ComfortZone did lack-- COMFORT…
Trust seem to slip from people … from place… from oneself …. from GOD…. .

As the sun moved…. as we sneaked back safely to our adhobe........ as facts came into light.......... as we realised that it was jus some small affair with small bombs and not with any intent to hurt people ….…. Our minds were getting out of its worst fears…. Things slowly started turning out to be not so horrible ….

Untill next day ….. Ahmedabad happended……

And as days passed by the news poring in of live bombs being found at various quarters seemed like a normal affair.Looks like… like poverty, corruption, traffic, indiscipline, incompetence, politicians, bureaucracy, pollution we are going to be tolerantly-comfortable with diwali being celebrated every other day….

Wimbledon 07

Fedex showers rained on British Summer …as Wimbledon turned 130…

History repeats itself at Wimbledon…with a successive Fed-Nadal final and Federer matching Bjorn Borg record of 5 consecutive victories. not a easy win though, with brilliance evolving itself as Nadal with each passing game... only making it tougher for the World No.1 to hang in there. Sunday’s winner depended more on chance as it was a battle among equals.. jus that the London’s grass seem to love Federer’s smile more and made the wind blow in his favor…..

Good healthy rivals do bring the best of each other … so was proved once more with us getting to see King-of-Grass’s rare “scream of joy” on his breaking the Lion-of-Clay’s serve in the 5th set….

A grt inspiring Game from the two geniuses….

and as far as women are concerned….. I still think none look gud holding the ‘Rosewater Dish’ than Steffi Graf....

Otherwise things remain the same at Wimbledon as last year… Jus that Tradition turned a year old at Wimbledon

French Connection…

The French connection did have its share of nail biting matches on the 2007 circuit….

The traditional rivalry between the French and the English defining ‘opposites’ seem to extend to the Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The bright red Parisian Clay of the Garros had to be in defining contrast with the lush green striped Grass of the Wimbledon. Even the players seem to be rigid by showing their favoritism , maintaining the exclusivity in wearing their kingdom’s winning crowns n fighting hard to elude themselves’ from the rival triumph, all this proved excessively by Sampras, McEnroe, Becker and now Fedrer, all confirming their loyalty to the Queen by not wanting to get too dirty on the French Clay, so as to retain their presentable best in whites for the Wimbledon at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to be followed in a few weeks after their French connection..... Only the impartial few world citizens (6 to be precise ending with Andre Agassi) seem to lend their service to the ancient empires on equal basis.

And with Nadal having electing himself as the Eiffel towers bigget fan for the 3nd consequietive time and proved his love to it by not even knowing the Queen’s language, he seemd to have stuck his legs in clay for quite some time to come …….. as Federer still not wanting to hit the right note with the French…… After Nadal’s lionlike sharp looks/cuts in keeping Roger off his space, now it wud be the latter's turn on the Greens. They seem to have taken over the mattle from Agassi-Sampras, n with no grt challenge from masters like Courier, Becker, Ivanisevic things r up for these two….

Switzerland known to be the best in the orbit of Swiss Banks, Swiss Watches, Swiss Choclates & Swiss Federer…. The Swiss have this knack of reinventing all these time n again and looks like its time to work on the last one… well he has certainly carved his name along with the greats at this very moment. Just has to work on surprassing that greatness to follow the swiss legend of "eternity"…. The french open being quite a diappointment to his fans and record books… he should be looking right now at retaining Her Majesty’s Crown next month ….

As no talk on French is complete without the mention of its women… the red clay carpet did provide a perfect venue for the french haute-couture with lots of its internationl colorful “models” hitting the “ramp” …. hey they had an accessiory too--- tennis racket!!! with our own ash doing her bit too….. in the stands this time ….looked like it was a re-run of Miss Universe contest??? All of this was very much interupted by some classy strokes (with the racket) by Henin, she wud have felt out of place… poor gurl… jus knows tennis n collecting trophies…. {not much help on the Ftv rgt :( }…

Something seem to have replaced talent in womens’ tennis circuit, have the “Steffi Grafs’” gone the dinosaur way……

Stationery Dreams...

A pit stop at a stationery shop made me take a detour my memory lane……

It started with a casual evening stroll to buy some paper n clips at a busy market place dogging the veggie vendors n vehicles to reach an array of shops staging clothes, gifts, toys…. ending at the corner was my destination…. Well quite empty, with jus a couple of orders before mine…. made my eyes relax casually on the colorful assortment displayed…. this lethargy did cost me my place in the queue…. with a crowd of “ready to school. Kids” + their “proud moms/dads” stole my turn, with orders much larger than mine….

Well each kid seem to make the best of his time n choice ranging in the form of notebooks, colored pencils, pens, labels … the list wud go on had i been aware of the endless necessities…… gudness… wat a range of choice today’s kids r offered with???? mindblowing….. I surely envy them…….. for a whole lot of reasons…. But not to mention the little joy we had too…. at our good old times……….. THOSE TIMESSSS…………

Now that’s where the detour starts……….

Took me to those few days prior to school re-opening… fresh after the hot summer hols, in the cool monsoons of the june ......... the smell of wet mud ..... the fragrance of freshly stitched fabric (which eventually wud be the most used dress for the entire year) ..... and thatof paper oozing from the fresh brown bound books…… n with eagerness to put the best of the writing in them(at least for the first few pages)… ….

hmmmmm............. how we used to spend time arranging the bags n pencil boxes with meticulous care…… colorful pencils….(camlin was my fav), scent ‘rubbers’ with cute cartoons impressed on them (seldom used, dint wan to get the shape spoilt) the labels ranging from superman…. Sassy cars….. to our cricketing heroes…….

Shoppin for school was the best way to end the summer hols…. n the nearest n the best stationery station had to adhere to my demands starting from 6 to 7 variety of notebooks ranging from ruled, un ruled, mixed, squared, fourliners, drawing books to name a few… to the thousand erasers before I chose a couple ......... to the hundred pencil boxes b4 I stuck to one (hey remem… there was something called double deck boxes with magnets) ........ to the pencils, labels, pen-pencils. etc.....hey n color paper for "craft" classes:)...... b4 graduating to geometric boxes n pens.........

Wowoowowowowow… wat a wonderful trip that was………….. followed by the torture my mom had to go through to bind the books n stick the favorite labels to my beloved subjects (very perticular bout tht) ……… jus cudnt wait for the last few holidays to get over n don the NEW uniform, NEW bag with NEW books, NEW class, NEW teacher, NEW year……… n to share all the NEW with “gudoldfriends”……

Well the years to come replaced all these with jus a couple of unbound books n pen in pocket……. avoiding the annual customary visits to those ........................ Stationery dreams ...............

Music Sense ....

Learning guitar is one of the amusing things I have done in life. Well filling the enrolment form had been one of the though business decisions ever taken. It’s just the company of my buddy that pulled me up there and stick to my decision. It took nearly 3 months for me to disclose this new venture to another soul. Fear of shame—partly, cos of my questioned ability to last long in this new hazard.

All this was thoroughly acceptable, given the history of music in my cells. The taste buds in my ear were never too sensitive to the sweetness of music. Well not that I din't have my favs …….. a hum here n hum there, but were quick enough to reach the point of boredom. I was this dark horse in the family of singers’ n music lovers. As a kid my mom’s efforts to feed me with some ragas turned out to be futile.

Expectedly my first few classes turned out to be quite a struggle, trying to figure out the different ways to handle the instrument and get a certain rhythm on the movement of my irrepressibly hurt fingers. Hmmmm… did admire a few of my friends ranging from being amateurs to some being the masters in the game of Music in various ways...
So my first few classes were spent admiring the instrument…
…I think guitars are like gals ….
- Its all about moving your fingers at the right places …. To get the right tones…
- Its all about handling them carefully, ….. If you want to produce the desired sound. (though the undesired one dominates the greater part of ur life, until u master it).
- And at times their shapes get similar too…… Ooops!!!! Was it too sexist a comparison??? My Apologies…...


Well when more than a quarter of a year spent on anything with a pinch of dedication would surely ignites the passion in you and I am happy I stuck to it. have started appreciating the sound of right notes from the wrong ones. The sense of achievement in getting the right sequence, when you have a million options to go wrong.

And b4 u jump into conclusions about my exaggerated achievements… lemme warn u.. I jus can play a couple of lullabies, “happy burday” included, (lemme know if anyone birthday is round the corner)……………. So it’s a pretty looooooooooong way b4 I am playing on my knees for a damsel. (ok kkk that’s not (shudnt be) the main criteria though:))

Actually the achievement I was talking about was of my understanding the meticulous process gone through by all those masters who have taken a dip into the universal symphony time and again to create and recreate the pearls of disturbance equivalent to the harmony of eternal silence. Its as if silence sculpts the sound to create Music……… with thousand of years of research and thousands instruments to create that unique gem and light years of passion burning into dedicated practice …. and all these converging to create those melodies… a salute to all thosee legends time immemorial… who played their part…. in this divine universally understandable language called MUSIC….

I certainly wud love to add quite a few on my fav list and more than a few on my fingers in the near future…..

Support?????

Support the Protest against Artist’s Arrest…for his obscene paintings of certain religious deities.

Did u say SUPPORT?????

Of the billion natures’ creations and a million by man. This certain Mister of ours finds one of the very few objectionable things to wet his canvas. In the name of modern broad-mindedness, art seems to be restricted in vandalizing the dignity of human endeavor. Agreed that the history of art has its own share of nudity or many such things that could be seen as offence now. But things of one period in history need not necessarily be agreed upon at other times. From the houses we build, the transportation we use, the cloths n the attitude we wear, to the language we speak has undergone enormous change with the various trial and error and R & D, but the creative juices of our artists have dried up n stuck with the age-old formula.

Well if the reason of crossing (or not crossing) lines is that of the free publicity they get along with the big $$$ cheques these “master pieces” generate to the maker, the endorser n the “elite” buyer who sees a lot of “value” in it…… then its business not art. … have a ‘PG’ rating and sell it … and if it is something to do with the intumesce interpretation of a great ‘creator’, which we ignorant lot is ignorant about, then his attics shud be free to be filled with all his gyan.

The word Freedom seems to have been battered and manipulated to suit every person’s selfish need. Unfortunately, unless the greater word of responsibility is attached to it, its true meaning can be distorted in the mask of “personal choice”, “free adult mind’”, “the freedom of expression”, “of speech” and of “personal opinion” and any contrary seem to be In-defendable. There are certain lines that are not be crossed, because of the dignity in not doing so. Jus because something is in existence or happens doesn’t mean that it has to be publicized; then we wouldn’t need walls and cloths to cover the already known acts and things.


Any Religion runs on its own sanctity and faith and has its own truth that can’t be proved jus like the origin of mother’s love or hen first-egg first riddle. And something like religion is highly social when compared to spirituality, which is highly personal. So certain things in a society has to be respected jus like we respect the traffic rules (which we ought to do). Well in this case, its not that any action by certain organization in a violent way is acceptable but jus that our certain Misters wudn’t understand any other language…and sounding a bit too insensitive… anyone who have it in them to paint their parents(who r on par with gods) in those compromising way alone has the right to depict anybody else in those ways… (Forgiven --if he is really such a manic)

Traffic Signal...

The Traffic signals have been unavoidable necessities of our lives. Our pleasures and pain, more than once are depended on them in our daily existence. Its probably one of the few places where the green outscores red as our fav. color….. and now talking about color green, with all the trees making a disappearing act, the signal seems to be the only place we could enjoy watching it…..

With most of our daily life being spent on TV commercials and traffic signals, survival of the fittest depends on how well we cope up living with them. The former to a certain extent is avoidable, but the latter???….. hmmm… not until you shift ur base to Timbuktu….. …well to be fair to the human brain…. It does has created quite a few “weapons” to fight this ‘battle of survival’ with the likes of ipods, FM radios, cell phones invading the market. But there still seem to be quite a few excited souls, throwing around their rage and horns, trying to make their intentions very clear of their only purpose in life --- ‘not to get caught by the Red virus’. Well wouldn’t want to blame them, after all time is measured in seconds only at the Olympic sprints and traffic signals.

The traffic signal just amazes me, with its capacity to change emotions at an instant. It has been a great teacher of patience, giving us enough time to look around the new corners which we haven’t and the faces which we wouldn’t ….. The Faces…. more importantly… as they give us a window to the immense experience each of them have lived with…..

The phrase “Traffic signal”, which combines the colored bright lights of red, amber & green, takes me back to my kinder garden days where I first heard of them as a rhyme followed by its visual impact at the nearest street as explained by my dad along with that humming rhyme……That particular signal has probably been the only signal which has formed a pic in my memory……… though the times changed along with the lips that sang the rhyme ….. from myself n friends to……. younger siblings n cousins to….. nephews n nieces…… but that particular “pic” has still been unchanged………. and so was that signal….. until Now…where the canopy of gulmohar trees covering that wonderful street where this signal stood were uprooted along with a piece of earth to give way to a concrete under pass….and now why would anybody need a traffic signal when there’s a flyover????? Well someone does…. Jus as a memory……..

Happy Burday!!!!!!

Hey wish my blog a very happy birthday….
Its been exactly a year since my first blog rolled out….
12 blogs, 1 fwd, 1 pic n 2 craps…. one a month doesn’t seem to be a gud number. Well thought wud write one a week at least, when I started… 40 less on count…

Doesn’t do any gud for my reputation either as its not that I have deliberately kept the number low…… hmmmm…. .. jus like the other things which wanted to do have done to my repu……

Well when it comes to the other things I wan to do -- both on a daily basis n the near future dreams (near future : started when I was probably 8). --- range form the daily acts of jogging, swimming, cleaning up my room, reading, getting up early……. to the master dreams of world tour, charity, scuba diving, Africa n the himalayas… hey not to forget the childhood dream of learning to paint, mastering a game or a musical instrument….. as the list surely goes endless I better stop b4 making a fool out of self.. .. hey I forgot gardening……. L OooooooooooOkkkkkkkkk I am stopping…. Well with numerous other habits (or lack of them) of mine wanting space to mention I silently sweep them below the carpet to avoid inviting despair…..over the time have found a way to knockout the guilt of escapism

Well I wonder how come I haven’t endowed in any of these enterprise till date having noted them on my list of dreams ages bac….. Some time I really wonder if I really WANT to do any of these or is it jus that they are the “politically correct things’ to do…. Well I wudn’t say that I don’t enjoy any of them …. Adventure n traveling is something which revive me time and again among other things……….n there are some which I actually don’t love doing like getting up early n jogging alone…. Naaaa that’s not something I really wan to do …. Its jus that when I see my half naked self (I said half naked) in mirror or see a certain person called H Roshan … I run for my hoes………well who wants to leave a cozy cot n blanket on a early inhuman icecold morning?????

REASONS……… I seem to have a trillion convincing reasons for not doing the things I ought to do and not single heartfelt one to actually make me do

Procrastination, comfort zone, laziness, n deep slumber have been a constant in me until the climatic conditions take charge n changed a few things as they sweep across. Well I did enjoy certain adjustments the weather around me has initiated in my life. Its just that the wait for an other sweep to do some more instead of me taking the charge has become the worrying factor. Now I don’t thing I want to promise myself to make any drastic changes in my style of living as more the times the promise breaks… the more static I become…. Its not that I haven’t thought about the repair work I need to get underway…. Jus that after all the planning n zilch outcome…… the only planning I’ve decided upon is …..ACTION……

First Act n then decide….. cos the moment I set myself to decide upon something.. my brain supposedly starts thinking…. Their by goes to my comfort zone n my lazy self takes over…… (wow … I think gud….. jus hit upon my next strategy …shall see how it works (or flops))….

Hey coming back to blogging….. its not that I don’t like to do it…. I jus love writing…. And is very much in my comfort zone…… jus that…. I have another REASON saying I am tooo busy….

And on "REFLECTIONS" 1st Burday… I gift it a promise to keep it updated on a frequent basis….

(frequent????????? See I again don’t want to commit on the time interval)

A must read........

Malgudi Days...

A visit to ‘Crossword’ coincided with the Centenary Birth celebrations of the legendary R K Narayan, with some of his great works drowning the display ........ on an occasion like this and adding to the fact that its been ages since his works have crossed my mind ........ resisting the temptation of invading the centenary editions of his prized collections ........ the "Malgudi days" and "Swami and Friends", wouldn’t have been inevitable .............

Well back home, lying on an easy chair,...... with the company of the trees screening the Sunday forenoon’s chilled rays above along with a mug of hot choc n the bound pages of the mentioned marvels, would certainly vouch for a wonderful weekend afternoon.

As I glance the title “Malgudi Days” a smile erupts followed by my palate lingering with the taste of nostalgia ....... the long wait for the day and the hour of the week, when this piece of art was made to flow on the canvas by director Shankar Nag, added to it the genius of R K Laxman’s mesmerizing cartoons and the gratifying music by donnowho, which goes like .......... TA NA NA ….TANA……….. Ahh....

“Malgudi Days”, the simple, 'meaningless', gratifying epic ................. bringing back to life the Albert Mission School, The Sweet Shop vendor, Malgudi Railway station, the Statue of Sir Frederick Leawley, the Road Roller, The M.C.C. (Malgudi Cricket Club), the amazing Swami with his doti -topi and his always look of distress, along with his friends, the fragrance of a pre-independence rural Indian setup………n the touchy climax of swami n his friend departing.

As the pages flow from one tale to another…. The mastery descriptions of the author, (more imposing than a 70mm), adds a lot of flavors of emotions n expressions to the soul of each plot, that its visual format wouldn’t be able to justify…………… now how can the “emotions” in a line like “A donkey was standing near the gutter, patiently watching its own sharp shadow” …......... be expressed in a visual format…..

The magnanimity of nostalgic contempt which each of these simple, short, innocent, insignificant arrays of events brought to life are made worthy enough to take notice off the occurrence of almost exact incidents, at some point of its readers lives- defying the times, generations, cultures, geographies… each one of us belongs to….

As the afternoon ends with the tale, the last few pages had to say, the evening passed on with a sense of serenity as the pieces of nostalgia still ooze their taste. The errand list is added with a request to dish out a Malgudi Days dvd (if available) before the next Crossworld visit, to lighten the bookshelves of RKN’s other masterpieces.

A tribute ........

Hrishikesh Mukherjee....

Some people with whom we wudn't have any personal relationship, but who tend to have an overwhelming influence on the thoughts we think, the range of emotions we rake,........ they are the ones who add up a few goodies on the “best things of our lives list” …….

It’s not about those whom we consider as our ideals, but it’s about those nice ppl for whom we develop a special liking, for the great work they have performed in their chosen field of life. Its about those whom we have not bothered to know on any other plane other than their work……………. those whose work speak for themselves…..

One such mastermind is Hrishikesh Mukherjee…. was in ignorance to give any space in my thoughts, nor knew much about this great filmmaker till the day when he ended the last walk of his life……My knowledge about him was limited to Anand, Abhiman and Chupke-Chupk…… was unaware that it was his grt mind & hands that rolled some of the finest Indian Cinemas to have hit the screen…. starting with my other fav Raj Kapoor’s Anari to Anand to Abhiman to Mili to Namak Haram to Sadma and forgetnot to mention Satyakam………… the grt works were a tribute to the various human emotions they portrayed. Each of them had the capacity to initiate new set of thoughts to erupt in our minds…. Could now actually see why all these movies had the kind of similar impact which made one sit-up.... and allowed similar kind of reactions for such vried human traits each contained....... the new found knowledge that these gems came form his factory, made me look in awe at this great filmmaker on a day as this…… I had actually tumbled upon most of these movies without any voluntary interest, but my eyes got glued as the plot unveiled each time i saw any of these .....…explained now by the common hand that pulled the strings…...and not to forget the healthy giggles like Chupke chupke, Golmal, the non-stupid, non-cheap humorous delectations ................. did i forget to mention the clean music each one had????

Well coming to my fav and the best of the booty ………….Satyakam…. What a film its been... its one of the best of all the “best’s” … the cast (the only movie of Dharmender other than Chupke chupke I’ve seen and liked), the plot, the direction, the emotions, the frustration, the triumph of the human sprit, it is one-hell-of-a-movie…. what a wonderful portrait of the pre-independence dreams and the post-independence reality… the joy of a free nation turning into a catastrophic, corrupted disgust, the man who had it in him to fight it all in the battle against unknown adversities, a man who stood straight for his principles with the whole world against him…… my salute to the filmmaker who produced this one master art……. Satyakam…. not a movie one cud repeat watching though… bout once seen, stays for a long while……

Wondered why a movie like that is not been talked about unlike his other piece… Anand, which I personally felt was a gud one but not a great ….. Taking a risk of being at the adversity of the majority, for me, watching Anand the only thought that comes is as to why a dying man has to “fake” virtue to prepare a set of ppl to mourn on his eventual death…. that “set” of ppl wud feel more unhappy about his death than the pleasures he has brought into their lives, wud have admired it, had the ailing man walked alone into darkness without the knowledge of the those around, without any emotional turmoil left behind after the changes he brings into lives… this is where I liked satyakam…. In here you don’t pity the state of the dying protagonist. In fact a volcano erupts in you to fight for the purpose which he stood for, the principles he had ……to help ppl to help themselves........... rather than to help ppl to find temporary pleasures in life….... Anand being in public flavor wouldn’t give me a better chance on my vote on Satyakam…. But for me …. Satyakam speaks the same language of The Fountain head probably in a lesser “image” …..

Tribute to the great film maker with such fine thoughts to sow seeds of them in millions of hearts through one of the finest medium…….

Hrishikesh Mukherjee…. his films would stay…. for a long time ….

TRAIN of thoughts

There are days which gives a new perspective to certain things around us,which we generally fail to give a thought. One of those days I had this rare opportunity, though not out of choice, of traveling in an unreserved compartment of the train….. Things jus happened that way and as the train approached swimmingly I realized that I needed to search for an empty seat rather than the usual search of coach nos. and ended up in the above-mentioned place….. There unfolds the interesting events of the evening….

The compartment was peculiar, half the compartment was divided for the luggage and so only 2 sub-compartments i.e.16 seats were available .......and as the Indian railway statistics go, there were thrice the capacity, and me entering in only worsened the things…. I stared with a smile …… imagining my plight with barely some place to stand among this cluster of ppl all around.

My eyes wondered around, catching up the various faces of my newfound mates and making assumptions of their varied backgrounds …… surprisingly, eye contact with most of them happened at ease & followed by a smile. Conversations flowed as fast as a shrilling stream and getting to know people happened in place of the usual hostility associated with the “class” travel. Well needto mention the kind souls who squeezed themselves to give enough space to place my ……. watever..

Babbles revolved around interesting topics of lives, food, occupation, politics, travel places,.. railways etc… this set of ppl traveling for about 50 hours is such “admirable” conditions, become a family by now… actually enjoying their journey of life……. they were so open ….dint have to ‘look-gud’ to the world… dint have to be defined by their dress, makeup, shades, cells, attitude, artificiality, pretence …… they were wat their flesh and blood, their crystal clear soul were. …. being themselves…. being human…….

There was this follower of Islam after all the topics he covered, from his cherished meeting with Indira Gandhi, to stories about his younger days, found enough space to kneel and say his prayers!!!! (the admirable thing bout these men) ….silence prevailed to assist the man reach his almighty ….. after all the laughs, views and biscuits passed around and lots of insight bout the various corners these members of the “family” come from…….. thoughts left the train……….. and went to the unknown destination….. jus wondered how little I know bout the grt land which I call mine…… there’s so much……unknown, unexplored……. than the limiting knowledge which the media gives us….. wondered how different we all are…. how we differ in our food, clothing, culture, traditions, language, thoughts, behavior, u name it …. and its different…… and still we stick in oneness…… thoughts went to fantasy of peeping into every household and get the essence of the lives that reside in this grt land of ours………

Got a glimpse of wat Swades talked bout ….. and wat Mr. Gandhi enjoyed traveling in these“Classes” ………..

Thoughts brought me to the “1st Class” of the train, the prevailing silence, the colored books/laptops blocking ppls eyes, the cell phones taking place of the men next to cut a talk, enough space for themselves but not in the hearts ….. the artificiality, the pretence, each person wanting to be everyone else other than themselves’……….. (jus a general statement, not intended to hurt ppls sentiments :) ) This experiance is gonto entangle me for quite some time... so are those wonderful souls whom i may not get to meet again..

felt so looooossssssssst, jus can't describe but felt a sence of happiness, sence of oneness ……… felt like packing the minimal necessities, a cam and sweep the planet on a tour ……………

Well next time I travel ….. its gonto be here … not out of compulsion but out of choice…. For the variety called INDIA.

Bad Banking ....

Had to scream this out…. Got reminded bout the similar experience which one of my best buddy had … well when its all bout money….. it had to be the Banking Industry….
along with a not so gud experience which one goes through in a “multinational” bank …
for an authorization I wanted to extend the net-banking service to make some transactions abroad…… sounds simple right????
That’s wat I thought until my Course of Action began ……….

Day 1 :
Followed my To-Do list that allotted a couple of hours on this task……. n common sense asked me to tour towards the ‘Bank’s Branch in question’.
So a fresh start on a Monday morning was greeted by smiling luscious lips across the counter. gentlemanly manners asked me to do the query here…now starts- mistake no.1….. dint realize that her knowledge wrt my query is proportional to the size of her skirt…. She asked me to use the phone-query system n that the branch wudn’t be of much help. Now occurs the mistake no. 2…… I cud’ve called up right there …. But chose to get bac n call later at night as always…….

Day2:
The call to the query department turned out to be as futile as the previous day’s visit…. After 20 mins of punching numbers and being confirmed about “how important our call is to them” jus like the courting couple assuring each other in a newly found romance….. Well, finally a lovely voice made me forget the wait … and the extended exchange of pleasantries delayed my query… talking bout the purpose of the call turned the initial admiration to descent as she redirected me to the bank office.

Day 3:
Time scheduled for the current visit increased than the one b4..... Made sure to keep my manners aside and walked across the initial desk towards “I know my job well” kind of a guy, who inturn redirected me to another floor. The guy minus the luscious lips n the sweet pleasantries, gave a form to fill to get the authorization done… only hitch was that not having the company’s seal ensured another scribble on my schedule…

Day 4:
Took the all filled form to the bank n handed over to the respective person, who promised me a week’s time to get the work done…. Mistake no3. No acknowledgement of submission as he promised me that the query wud be logged in immediately.

The week passed into a fortnight as the bank waited for my yet another arrival on the (I guess) 22 Day after a wait followed by ‘call u back in an hour and confirm’ promises.

Day 22:
The 2-floor visit greeted me with an unknown face with the same ‘may I help u smile’.
Told him about my ‘unrecorded issue’ which only ended in me filling up another form and a promise to do the needful… ………..

So my wait continues to time immemorial ………………………

My other arrangements of getting the money through a source other than the bank proved expensive n tedious….

Isn't Incompetency ...... the mother of all #@$%- ups??

Times when I wonder how easy it was with our gud old nationalized banks, where our personal trust in the known face across the counter mattered than that of the reputation of the bank.

Wimbledon

Wimbledon…

The Court, the Grass, the Strips on it, the green Enclosures, the Players in White, the Audience, the Hats, the Skirts, the Claps, the Silence, the Rain, the Wait, the Rolex, the Royal Lineage, the Police, their Helmets, the 15000 florescent Balls, the Ball Boys n Girls, the Gilt Cup n the Salver, the Referees, their Jackets, the IBM Scoreboards, the Intensity, the Wind, the Aura ,the Prestige, the Tradition,the British….

It’s
The All England Lawn Tennis Club
Church Road

Wimbledon

London SW19 5AE

Watching Federer-Nadal in the wimbledon final was a treat to the soul after quite some time… it took me back to the days of Edberg, Becker, Sabatini, Navratilova when I first started following the game…. It had to be The Wimbledon, the Vatican for Tennis, to showcase the game for any new tourist…. That was a time when I presumed that tennis was always on the green…only to be enlighten by the awareness of other rivals it had … the green carpet still continues to be a treat for my eyes… not that the others are any less… but…. u know right….

The initial reverence was followed by the years of intense rivalry of Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi or that of Graf-Seles showdown with the other greats like Courier Ivanisvic Sanchez Vicario popping in-between on this venue…. man. …they created fanatics for the game out there….. None looked gud holding the ‘Rosewater Dish’ than Steffi Graf.... wat a idol she’s been along with here hubby n his rival… Steffi at Wimbledon was the best thing one cud ask for…..

I don’t remember the last final I missed watching here …...
how much each of the Gentlemen and Ladies who played, wanted to conquer the grass than any other surface… and to be honored at the Queen’s land…. Its always been a matter of prestige…..

Its always been tradition …………… at Wimbledon…

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Confession Box

Hed been on my mind for the last 15 days now… need to get over it .......This unfortunate soul had to get killed by me….. a squirrel .. thought it wud miss the back wheel too…. But destiny had other nasty plans ………. Had to quiver itself towards a painful death …. Wonder if it had a family of cute ones to take care of!!! ….. man… that makes me guilty of a massacre ….. waiting to see how this score needs to get settled……..

Till then … I pray for its journey in the other world…..and for its family’s welfare…

blanked out affections...

Had to chauffer my thoughts down the memory lane for a period spanning from the “once upon a time when me was still a baby…. to the time I cud carry a load of books on my back of less than the teens age”…… the time when I had a privilege to expend a part of my summer hols at my granddad’s place, getting the luxury of being pampered by one and all added with lots of embarrassing attention which I probably don’t get now from any corner though I crave for ……. :(

One such endearing soul was this masseur who gave his customary visits every weekend n has been rendering services since an age-old time. There was nothing professional about him other than his work… he was family…. he fondled me enough giving me the freedom, opportunity and authority to demand his attention for my needs of getting entertained with the lousy games I invented where he had to always loose..... man.... was I such a pain….as always…….. That endearing soul gave himself to my whims and fancies out of his unconditional universal love he had towards everyone….

As education gave me the lessons on ‘manners’ and ‘behavior’ my interactions become very minimal with this man on every visit and reduced to jus a ‘smile n walkaway’ routine…. It reached a stage where those memories got buried in the recycle bin situated in some unknown part of my brain…..

And finally……all this had to be retrieved by a mention of his death which I wasn’t aware that occurred a couple of years ago ….. I don’t even know the last time I exerted a little to think about this person who played his instrument flawlessly in the blemished orchestra of my life…. I don’t even remember his face … jus his features ……the day showed me the dark patches that I have allowed life n time to paint on me…..such an unfaithful abstinence ....

may his soul rest in peace …

Rahul & I ...

Rahul…

Is this the most popular name in the country???
There isn’t a day without being pelted by that name from some or the other quarter … added with various surnames.

There was a time in my life where a couple of friends answered when called by this name …. followed by a phenomenon called Rahul Roy ….. whose jazzy hair actually swept the country till he arrived on the screen for the second time (god knows when he did that) well to give him some credit he was the trend ‘setter’ for the mane on the generation to follow………. Months later got a glimpse of the handsome son performing father Rajiv’s last rites who got lost with his Columbian gf only to resurface to keep the dynasty alive… as ‘Rahul’ got a Gandhi by its side.
And there was Rahul Bajaj…. Who preferred his Surname to take the Indian middle class for a ride for almost a decade and a half… and how can I forget to mention the great Rahul Dev Burman who makes Indians jingle all the way.

As time flew by, Rahul re-surfaced without any surname in loads of characters mesmerized by Shahrukh Khan in a dozen n half movies making ‘its’ popularity raise like its beholder's movies, followed by loads of ads which had the sons, boyfriends, husbands, brothers called by this famous name.

And there was my fav the chocolatee cute Rahul Khanna on the MTV and Rahul Dev heating up the ramp.

Between these ... rose the great Indian wall, Rahul Dravid….... this is one surname which gives a lot of respect to Rahul along with a Bajaj and Burman. What great men they have been!!!

And so over a period of time, lots of Rahuls have entered my life as neighbours, nephews, cousins, etc… wonder if their parents r so transfixed by the name that it had to fall on their children.

Now as the Gandhi scion looks like taking the mantle of his father, grand mom, and great granddad, gave me a jitter as to the success ‘Rahul’ bought to its bearer, making it a most sort of and lucky name.

Untill ……….. a ‘Mahajan’ was associated with it. What a graph Mahajan has given to ‘Rahul’ --- father’s death, popularity, BJP Ticket……… and Cocaine……

Well if someone’s behind to get this “lucky” name ……… read Mahajan.

I am curious to see how ‘Rahul’ is going to resurface in my life as time flies by ….

but to think of it ……Whats in the name anyway?

faithful wonder ....

Got Kissed.....Got Wild....Got Killed

Before we could get a glimpse of the work of India’s latest offering to the world, she gets tarnished and the work destroyed. It would be interesting to check out what’s going on in Kaaya’s mind …. like Cinderella, where life splashed her with all goodies of the world for a night, only to strip her to the minimal next morning. Perfect rags--riches-–rags story added with a great emotional turmoil, which can’t be gauged. She could be left poorer than the poorest soul emotionally unless she manages herself well…… Guess she can actually start writing her comeback second book about her own self, which surely is a great script. :)

If you get an eye on the phrases that are supposedly “lifted” from other authors, you will start wondering about all the fuss that’s created, those phrases seem so harmless, they could occur to anyone, like a phrase “I LOVE YOU” does not have a owner, these could have occurred to most of us at some point of time. I feel they are more of a inspirational writing for better expression of thought than copying the thought itself….. at least, the book’s not a copier machine output and those forty copied phrases they talk about is actually spread across the book for anyone to actually take notice of them.

Well we all have grown up reading/being influenced by a lot of great stuff and obviously our own thoughts are more or less a collective mixture of them added with a dash of spice which our own individuality and experience oozes. I think every act we do is a copy from something, from brushing teeth to driving to what ever.... the fact that we buy a book is because its got something new which the authors own imagination gives and I guess Kaavya should be given at least the credit that she wouldn’t flick a Shakespeare’s classic, changed names here n there and put her name on it ….. right

Wonder how the usage of those phrases alone could be a determining factor of sales or popularity if any. The ugly head of capitalism pops up in publishing, where the driving force of a book release is more a money matter that even dictates the number of pages, and the permissible content of a book than the thoughts that they convey. Well its not that I have read Kaavya’s book and impressed by its “thought provoking” material nor the fact that I have been captivated by her beauty and the Harvard status is in anyway influencing me in taking a stand for her sake. Its jus that the role that money plays in the whole set up pisses me off…….. Jus like Meg Ryan’s sweet little book place was eaten away by Tom Hanks corporate swindler.And for all the publishers and fellow authors who think they are offended by such “copies” they have the law to sanction it.

Capitalism ……….. something is wrong somewhere …. Jus like anything else…

If such inspired writing amount to “stealing” or the other royalty issue, then Ford should have been the only car manufacturer in the world and every cell phone sold should increase the pockets of Alexander Grambell’s great grand children in the name of royalty. Or every love story that’s written amounts to plagiarism of Romeo Juliet. And the British Queen should get a dime for every English word uttered.

Hey if anyone of you is fortunate to lay hands on opel …. Please pass her on ……

to get KISSED ……… and get WILD……

Bangalore Showers ...

Come the second half of April and the customary showers to clean-up Bangalore are on. A nature’s lineament that has a task of cleansing the year round material n emotional filth that scar our city. The shower probably delayed its arrival by a couple of days on purpose .......... knowing the kind of tribute we pay for our fellow men. Well we did need nature to do the clean-up act, for all the blood that shed and the fire that blazed, which probably gave a “complex” to the sun god, making him pack his bags n hide behind the clouds. Anywayz, A nice Saturday afternoon to bring us some chill after days of burning sun n city was always welcome. Rain surely did bring a smile back on Bangalore, added to the great Indian win in “doosra Lagaan” scripted by Bangalore’s own boys rahul n robin.....

Nostalgia did made its rounds..... by the smell of mud, making me kick the footwear to get a naked touch of the nature’s finest gift…… But the mind and heart cudn’t want to do justice to it........ as was partly occupied with the thoughts of the 8 souls n other 243 spited ones, which were not as ‘worthy’ as the one they gave tribute too.

Bangalore…. did show its “true” colors, to give reality a check, after years of talks jus around its silicon valley status…

At times like these.... I think...the city never sleeps ……. it can’t ….. in shame…. as all that we do ..... is to think bout it, talk bout it .... n finally forget it.... i guess nature needs to do a clean-up on our minds too..........

Friends..

One of those days...

One of those days, when nothing seems to go your way… you get up with a rick in your neck, ulcers in your mouth, ………seems like even the sun woke up at the wrong time… n then you recall the thorny, important chores scheduled for the day, the meetings that can’t be ignored, the things that got to be done…..

And then … after your inevitable morning routine, the day kicks off … smelly socks, sore throat, stiff neck, ruptured oral cavity and hotttttt sun…. your bike, the only gud thing that runs, runs out of fuel….. added to the adventurers journey of the day…. you forget to carry the important papers that form a matter of discussion with your client, and all the calls you receive for the day form the matter of disgust,…..grrrRRR “smash the phone”.... nothing seems to go right …..................aaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAAA……............. feels like fleeing to Africa……

As the “SOUL” of the day is set …. even a scope of delicious icecream wudn’t save you …..the clock takes it own sweet time to tick as you go bout questioning your existence on the planet….. and virtually doing nothing other than pulling your hair!!!!

One of those days ……. When nothings goes your way……… untill the sun sets ---at the right time……….. AND THEN……… a couple of calls gives way for a brush with your buddypals….. you kiss the phone, suddenly has bcome the best thing in your life, …..your bike rips, as a tiger thats found its prey…… and your “Soul’, ---enlightened as that of a monk on top of a mountain….. FINALLY you meet the "gang", 'your own', 'pieces of you'….. …….. your struggles for the day seems ages, pain past, and the evening looks as if it shudn’t end……. and WHAT A TRANSFORMATION…….jus over a cup of coffee, lotz of senseless words, PJ’s, few moments of silence, and loads of laughter over nothing…… suddenly the whole meaning of life is defined, and Africa seems to have become a distant place….

“Friendship”, …. hats off to the men who coined the word for this relationship, one of the finest motives for us to lead our lives, the most treasured possession which money can't buy….. “Friendship”…. probably tops the list of the best things in life …… jus like………….hot cup of chocolate on a rainy day,… long silent drive on an open highway,… the lush green leaves and colorful flora one the primitive days of spring,… a beautiful smile of an innocent child, ….the wagging tail of your pet,…. sun going down the beach,…. snowfilled mountains ……and ofcourse Africa….. the list cud go on ………

At times like these, when you look bac, and see as to how fortunate you are to have a bunch of grt guyz …… whom you are proud to call them your friends…… with whom you can share the thoughts which your own mind hasn’t heard off….. whom, you can always count on no matter what ……who are 'there for you' regardless the time, distance,place……. with whom your ego seems to have lost its form and feels non-existent….. with whom you can see parts of your own, which the mirror couldn’t …… with whom you are YOU…..

My Thanks, to one of the finest intangible, invaluable creation of life……..

By the way, the sun did wakeup at the right time …… on one of those days....

check this site ... me got the third place... :)

http://www.indiainspired.co.in/

here's my article...

http://www.content-type.com/-410714931/essay+contest.doc.htm

Surya M

To Mr. Valentine

To
Mr. Valentine.

Permanent Address: Heaven …I hope..
(after exciting millions of heart and corporate cash vaults)

Temp. Address only on 14th Feb: In hearts freshly exchanged and on nerves of those who takes care of their respective hearts.

Before my calendar reminds me of the people I need to wish on their birthdays on the dawn of Feb… the world seems to be gearing up for celebrating the day presumably in your honor…. Well congratulations … the next big festive celebration of a man after the Christ himself….. u probably taught that in between the hatred filled 364 days let’s put in a day dedicated to love. But just the way the eternal meaning of “love” has under gone changes as Thames flows by…. that 1day of yours seem seems to have changed too, to follow the “two is company” rule ….. irrespective the gender.

I would like to bring in to ur notice that there is a certain population who don’t seem to be too happy bout that 1 day of yours…. blaming you for being so insensitive to those who don’t need/have another soul to “complete” them… … and for those who have to answer the annoying questions bout what they r doing on the Vday, whom they r goin out with or simply “WHAT… u rn’t goin out???? questions …. ..as if the sky falling on Astrix’s head has came true..…

Well when it comes to me…… I don’t know if I belong to the “don’t need” or the “don’t have” category… but to confess … the pendulum has moved on either side … jus waitin for it to settle …… but tell u wat red roses have never been on the ‘best things list’ of my life ….. they look so plastic …smell so perfum-ish .. …. Jus like the ppl possessing them ….and when it comes to them ….. I don’t understand whether they r assuring themselves bout their ‘love’ to each other or jus want ppl around watching them to acknowledge the they “belong” to the “happening” n “fortunate” set of lives… well all I do is to give a “u don’t know wat ur wasting” smile … and assure myself about the important schedules/things I have…. But there’s one thing u have really helped me in ……. If I have a business of my own …… I know when n when exactly to put my selling expenditure and do my business promotion…… thank you for that …. Its all about money,Honey!!!

And all those organizations which seem to be against you …. Jus make sure to enlighten the ignorant lot bout ur grt cause by free publicity in form protests ….nothing against them …. They do their part and steal a bit of limelight … and ofcourse give company to my ‘class’of ppl….who don’t have to self-pity as there is a lot of support …

So for all those who have been saved from the red roses n chocolate hearts …… HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY ….. is wat the message say while doing its rounds …..
Hey wait a minute …… shouldn’t I include your name in this list tooo …. Jus couldn’t find ur gurl friend’s name …

n as I wait for more water to flow and the pendulum to stop…..…. The Show must go on…………..
Thanking you,


Yours “lov”ingly
Surya

P.S : And with all the things in “…..” I am referring the best dictionaries to get the right meanings ….

Rang De ...

Rang de ...

Awake …

Before the world takes “Lord” Bush’s remarks about fearing Mother India and its good old neighbor, seriously and repeat the Mighty British Empire’s saga, which kind of already began …. Let us arise from our state of clever ignorance of ignoring the uncomfortable …..

Rang de …. Puts a mirror in front of us, which went missing for the last half a century in imbibing the “comfortable” way of living..... after generations have spent their lives dreaming, thinking, praying, craving and fighting for a cause....a distinguishable cause….

Rang de …. brings back to our mind the issues ….. which we wouldn’t like to see, hear, think for the uncomfortable feeling it produces …… where we can always wash our hands by blaming the "system", “politicians” or even Mr.Gandhi for every goddamn thing, thus alienating ourselves not gettin our hands dirty …. Guess the “Chalta hai”…. has gone too far.

Rang de …. doesn’t talk about pseudo patriotism of Pak bashing or Cricket loving ….. nor does it preach about the kadhi clad culture which was a weapon for a specific time and purpose …. jus like wars are not fought with swords anymore.

Rang de … talks about ownership of our country …. Well we would do much more than blaming our maids or broken vacuum cleaners for our messy homes …..

Rang de … talks about responsibility ….. and the first trait of being responsible is Confusion …. That exactly seems to be the state of mind of our director too …. because the moment the boys of our movie grow up to be “men” the story falls apart … the twist which has excited the critics in spending a lot of ink ….. but tell u what… non of them/us could have ended the movie in a better/worse way than what it has been …… because our own confusion would have done the unimaginable, just like blasting trains or making salt were different means for a same cause… though looked like a unworthy act but did nurture a revolution….

Well we could start abstaining…. from throwing paper as waste on roads to throwing paper as money to get our jobs done…


Well apart from the wonderful script, Mr. Rakesh Mehra does a great job with the camera, the landscape, AR Rehman and the troupe………….. the shots are just amazing …. the contrast and the similarities between the protagonists and the historic figures they play is breathtaking...

Highly Recommended…..as it’s food for thought …. to awake and arise……

and highly not Recommended --- Popcorn …. The tummy is already upset with the feeling of our unworthy existence…… after watching the likes of Bhagat singh and the massacre of Jallianwala bagh…

RANG DE …………. LET’S ADD COLORS TO LIVES!!!!!!!!!