Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Love, actually...
Movie: "Good Will Hunting". Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) is breaking apart Will Hunting's (Matt Damon) smugness of the previous meeting with a calculated, well thought over analysis of his behavior. This is part of what he says...
"... And if I asked you about women I'm sure you could give me a syllabus of your personal favorites, and maybe you've been laid a few times too. But you couldn't tell me how it feels to wake up next to a woman and be truly happy. If I asked you about war you could refer me to a bevy of fictional and non-fictional material, but you've never been in one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap and watched him draw his last breath, looking to you for help. And if I asked you about love I'd get a sonnet, but you've never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable. Known that someone could kill you with a look. That someone could rescue you from grief. That God had put an angel on Earth just for you. And you wouldn't know how it felt to be her angel. To have the love to be there for her forever. Through anything, through cancer. You wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand and not leaving because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term "visiting hours" didn't apply to you. And you wouldn't know about real loss, because that only occurs when you lose something you love more than yourself, and you've never dared to love anything that much."
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
How embarassing is this???!!!
I was waiting at a road divider to cross. The trafffic on the road in front of me was yet to stop, while the ones behind me had already halted. There was this cute girl riding pillion with most probably a boyfriend. Now we all know that most Indian signal/street junctions have urchins selling anything from cleaning mops to Harry Potter novels. So here there were these two girls selling roses.
Often, they are ready to pounce onn lovey-dovey couples and almost compel them to buy roses. And we try to shoo them off. Now, I observed, this girl saw the urchins and was longingly looking at the roses. As the urchin girl advanced in their direction, I could see a smile come across her face, hoping she would be asked, and maybe she would buy them too.
But to my utter surprize (and her utter discomfiture), the rose seller simply overlooked her, walked passed, and got busy with something else!! Now how embarassing is that!!!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Somedays... things just don't work out
So i accompanied some collegues for breakfast. During and animated conversation about a movie called (strangely enough) 'Mr. Azad', I was my usual playacting self, and in one animated motion, managed to spill a jug fulll of water onto the other side, in the process drenching Pritika and Snehal. I don't know if my most imploring and serious apologies (look, really, I was sorry) did any good. Both were really sweet and put me at ease, but boy! was that an embarassing situation. I'm sure I've been barred fromm the canteen then on.
The rest of the day went as usual. Some ups, more downs. Bad systems, worse food. Towards the end of the day, I managed to laeve a little early, and headed to catch the bus home. Luckily for me, the window closed as soon as I reached the counter, because the 'Mahabus' was full. It lucky, cause the 'Mahabus' takes and absolutely convoluted route. Next up was the 'Shivneri', faster nad more comfortable. And as luck would have it, I got the first and the best seat!! And as some more luck would have it, it still took me a good round 4 hours to reach Mumbai, well over the usual 3-3.5 hours.
SO you see, some days, it just doesn't go your way. Just doesn't.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Lizards spook me off
Undoubtedly, they are the dirtiest, most ugly, hideous and disgusting things god wasted some precious time on creating. The serve absolutely no purpose on this planet, and thus, have no reason to exist. But they do, which is one among the many serious incongruities of life.
They are sick, and spook the shit out of me. Today, I came back from Tekdi with Rahul and Pranav, and decided on making some nice egg poach and toast. Add some cheese and lemon juice, and I have a treat for dinner. But as soon as I enter the house and lay down the food items, I see a large grown up lizard on the wall close to the door. Tha fact that it was close to the door gave me some heart, hoping that I might drive it out. But nay, as I keep trying, out emerges another lizard from behind the sofa. In the meanwhile, I had armed myself with a broom. And then to cap it all, the two start mating right there on the wall, and make me look like a fool screaming obsenities, waving a broom and trying to 'shooo' them off the wall. Damn them lizards!
I tehn proceeded to give them a liberal spray of 'HIT'. That broke up the vulgar orgy and 1 lizard took flight, to my utter horror, into the bedroom. It's still in there somewhere, I dare not find out. The other damn thing went and hid inside the main switchboard in the hall, where the buttons and the fan regulator is. I said to hell with this shit. I went into the kitchen and prepared my dinner, but it had lost all taste. As i kept looking at the regulator, the damn thing would pop out, raise my heartbeat about 10 notches up, and again disappear into the regulator.
As I was about to decide to ignore it, I hear a strange 'plop'. The f%$#@$# thing has fallen to the floor!!! Eeeeeeooowwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!
But no, I decide to confront my fears.. a la batman. Broom in hand and Hit in the other, I stalk the damn thing and roast it in Hit spray. Luckily I managed to get the door open in time as the lizard came out of hiding from under the sofa. Again I burst the Hit directing it towards the door. The lizard, flustered by the poison, made a dash through the open door.
Ahh!!! What a relief. Though i cannot forget that there is another f%$#ing one inside, and the pervasive smell of 'Hit' won't let me forget, I feel a sense of relief. Yet, I still keep turning fearfully at the wall... Hoping there are no more lizards. Damn them again!!!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Soft Option
Soft Option
Definition: noun, used to describe the simplest and easiest among choices. To take the beaten and treaded easy road.
Usage:
1. "I took the soft option when I decided to join junior college in the science stream." - another kid I knew, when he finished schooling sometime back.
2. "It's better to concentrate on 1 things, than mess up both. So I guess I'll concentrate on my HSC and not spend time attempting the IIT-JEE exam" - a boy I know who just passed 11th std.
3. "Man, breaking up was the Soft Option! You gotta fight back" - advice I gave a friend when he broke up cause his parents wouldn't approve.
4. The whole world wants to do engineering, MBA, without even knowing what they really are and what the people really want to do. They do it just because it's the well treaded path, the Soft Option" - a collegue at work.
5. "Not knowing what I want to do, is the easiest justification for taking the Soft Option." - Me, now.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Shivaji Mahraj ki Jay!!!
So today is the great Shivaji's birthday. In fact, all the time I was in Mumbai, this was just another festival (if you can call it that). That's probably due to the more cosmopolitan nature of Mumbai, given that Shiv Jayanti is predominantly important to the Marathi folk. But naturally, it is more important in Pune, the centre of Marathi asmita. And boy is it celebrated with gusto!!!
Every major road, and every nook and cranny in that road has a group of folk celebrating it. This includes a bust of Shivaji placed ceremoniously in the middle of a small clearing and a bit of decoration behind it. In typical Puneri fashion there are loud speakers blasting away songs, abhangas, and other patriotic oriented music (but one place was playing songs about the Indian freedom struggle, which sounded rather anachronistic). It's almost like 50 big and small birthday parties being hosted in the honour of the great Maratha.
I came across this one cranny, where a typical celebration was in progress. There were about 20 odd children in the 10-15 age group dancing wildly to "Get Busy" by Sean Paul!!!?????!!!!????!!!! That was exactly my reaction. What struck me most, is that they neither understood the meaning of those lyrics, nor the importance of the birthday party they were celebrating. What a pity... tch tch...
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Godmen, Godwomen and their works
Recently, a Mata came a'visiting. They occupied the Exhibition Ground near my home in Mumbai, and filled it with busloads of people and speakers that blared music and Amma's praises till 2Am the next morning.
The same evening, Mihir was trying to convince me over coffee, that some of these godfolks do have good intentions at heart, and not all deserve the wrath of my cynicism. So it seems that this Amma gives individual attention (yeah, sounds like 12th standard tuitions) to all her 'Bhakts'. Mihir found out today the exact ruotine behind this individual blessing charade. It seems that people queue up at the stage to meet her. A lady holds a tissue to your cheek, wipes it clean and asks you for a language you understand. Then the 'Bhakt' proceeds to Amma and she hugs him, and whispers in his/her ear in your language of choice - "You are my son/daughter".
And, well, thats about it. Then you are supposed to feel happy about yourself and go back.