A topic suggested!

A topic suggested!

So what does one who asks for advice get? Advice! So on hot autumn night, the author sets to the taks of finding something worthy to write about. (Actually, it does not require too much fuss, just some ability to think on the topic for a while. Now that you have been reading this blog, you should have realized it.) Nothing comes across to the mind as a topic, which can occupy the thought process for more than a couple of seconds. Then finally settle down to seek help! A friend suggests trying to write something with emotion, and the emotion to be portrayed – romance. The suggestion was made with a certain person in mind. Moreover, given cupid’s current monopoly over a certain part of the brain (or should it be the heart?) it comes across as a worthy idea. There are many perquisites to this, as listed
Ø incase a blood relative comes across my blog, there is awareness created(chances are high of my absconding then)
Ø Incase there is 'the' certain person visiting this blog, well, it would be worthy.
Ø In addition, gives time to think about writing for the certain person.

After having suggested the crux of the topic, dear friend elucidates the manner of the post. (Takes the form of a letter, must be romantic…) this may not be a worthy attempt, but nonetheless, it is just an attempt. Better to try n fail than have never tried. Therefore, to try, we all use the help of Google these days. After some vain research, finally, it seems that inspiration for the same; (inspiration already defined) comes from within. Let us set the ball rolling then. Consider reading a love letter from the author addressed to a certain person.

Dear Hjkl,

I haven’t the foggiest of how to start this letter! It is sans an introduction.

I arise from dreams of you
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright;
I arise from dreams of you,
And a spirit in my feet
Has lead me — who knows how?
To your window, sweet!

The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream —
The Champak odours fail
Like sweet thoughts in a dream;
The nightingale’s complaint,
It dies upon her heart; —
As I must on yours,
Oh, beloved as you are!

Oh lift me from the grass!
I die! I faint! I fail!
Let your love in kisses rain
On my lips and eyelids pale.
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My heart beats loud and fast; —
Oh! Press it to your own again,
Where it will break at last.

A vain attempt at copying poetry, you think! True. I Am love struck. I don’t know how many fathom deep I am in love. Yet, when I hear you voice, I fall in love all over again!

Signed…
jhgf

Guess this the most that could be done now. Let’s see when the real opportunity arises.

Ok folks! Show’s over. Damage done!

Coffee Shop

Coffee shop!

There is nothing altruist or philanthropic about this post, just a little something expletive to make blogging a habit.

Sitting in a coffee shop with great company sipping cold coffee! (Cold, ever since a freak accident with hot coffee) That is what most people do these days. In addition, it is catching on a consumer base spread across age groups.

Spending around four hours like such can be very invigorating to the mind. It primarily has to deal with the plethora of people you observe! This post is dedicated to them. (Completely expletory, don’t you think?)

When we entered in the afternoon, we had just a few people sitting around. Mostly Couples – dating can be so much fun, for the observers. People tend to be very nice and sweet to each other with no benevolent intention. At least that is as much as observation was today. Then a few others were hanging out with their peers. Male herds were mostly jealous of the lucky odd male who braved all odds to bring a female along for a date. Then there were the hetero group of friends, such as us, who prove to be eye candy (despite all variations of colour n size n make) for the opposite sexes. The location or scene of crime was a nice coffee shop. As we entered, we rush to seats with the best view - of the road, of the coffee shop and of the neighbourhood. Our usual seats are not taken, and we settle in. The corridor - that’s where we generally sit. It has the best view considering the above-mentioned criteria. Open to elements also. What started as a very humid Sunday afternoon, random drizzles came as respite spells. Hence the four hours.

The one thing that we need to understand about the coffee shop is that they charge you for the time you stay. Can u imagine why else would they serve you coffee at the price of a full meal and add tax upon it and still let you hang around? Therefore, the theory of time is money is proved. (In case you are wondering where this going to, I warned you forehand, this is an expletory practice.) (In case you are wondering what is expletive, here is the definition, in this context it is anything but the first usage.

Expletive
1.A profane, vulgar or obscene oath
2.(linguistics) A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position
Example: - It in It is snowing
3.(linguistics) A word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning
Example: - bloody in I'll give you a bloody good hiding. …)

So then, it is some random gossip about people you know and people you do not, interspersed with observing the periphery and the people around. Our first candidates were a couple. The normal guy/girl next-door kind of people. The guy was trying his level’s best to take a picture of his beloved (!?!) on his mobile phone while the lass was brushing off all of his attempts. You can imagine what fun we had watching the replay of Newton’s law of action and reaction. (Physics ma’am – I still remember, you can be proud now!) Then came around a bunch that would not have passed beyond the sophomore age. And they take up a seat similar to ours for the obvious reasons. What a bunch! College Romeos and wannabes. One sometimes spots a wannabe stud with hair straightened and colored. With the coolest mobile phones and then finally the icebreaker... terrible sandals. No, the kind of rubber slip-ons that make u wonder where this person has emerged. Or else it will definitely be sound. Light travels faster than sound; and when they begin to talk; you want to go back in time n undo things. (Desperately hope my physics teacher notices the physics in this post!) As we fill each other on the happenings of the society and go on observing the other coffee sipping Homo sapiens, we notice an uncle standing in his balcony, in the neighboring apartment complex, having a great view at the coffee shop. He must have been sexagenarian or beyond, and was very keenly observing the happenings in the shop. It may have been a ‘God, kids today!’ or a ‘why weren’t coffee shops available during our glorious days’ kind of a thought process happening. In addition, there are the occasionally cruising through the streets, Mercs and BMW’s that leave us wanting and wishing.

Then two of our friends joined us for coffee. After which we continued our watch even more passionately. People came and went. Big cars, small cars and all that in between – the aura (or faux) of opulence is directly proportional to the size of the vehicle and so is the kind of company. Then there were the bikes. Mostly friends just wanting hang around, or the lone souls who come single and go with a pillion rider. And the ones who take the walk. This category is the simple person – employed/student; just wanting to have a cup of coffee and have a nice time observing what the other person is doing. After all man is a social being! From being a couple friendly place in the early afternoon the coffee shop become family friendly as the evening grew upon us. There is one thing that the coffee shop always proves to be - a place for friends to hang around, irrespective of the time. After having pinched and nipped our wallets and paying for all the time well spent, we finally left when a busboy prompted at our occupying the seats free!

What a Day!

What a day!

This weekend starts of with a CSR calling up for offers! Then the comp goes bonkers, rather the console does not cooperate. The evening was a misery. It is Statistics! Mode, mean… hmm, I was out of it in school now it comes back with a bang. Then comes some very gruesome English. Believe me; I was subject to torture having to hear the person talk. Then like much awaited respite, a friend drops by. A blogger himself, he definitely requires mention. It is always so much fun having to spend time with people with whom you can share sensible conversations. Alas, there are so few of the kind left on this world. Once the monitor was functional, routine work on the www. During a chat session, an erudite friend delivered an in-depth definition of inspiration vs motivation. Then after all that, I sit to write this post. Phew!

Forget the statistics; forget the English! The evening, that was interesting. After his arrival, we sit to talk about a mutual friend. A very sweet dame, who can be clearly vulnerable to whatever friends say. She, in short, cares a lot for members of her social circle. Old stories from college fill the room with nostalgia. Then discussing some abstruse topics; - what differentiates motivation and inspiration; some random musings about how clichéd the family circle can be - all in the earshot of the family! Well it does help to keep everybody appraised about general perceptions. So with what do we end up? A couple of hours and a great time spent. In addition, some fabulous ideas and some random stuff that we can ponder upon. The purpose of his visit was to discuss a few intricacies of his plans to motivate people to write. Moreover, with me… a person who has never taken writing for serious all this time. A perspective of this person: he is charming to say the least. Has a great mind, underutilized sometimes and Ambition. Well sometimes, excited about a pair of smart shoes, and otherwise thinking of why we see a crescent like a ‘U’ and not the otherwise? U can imagine the might and range of his thinking. That’s the influence of statistics. Then there are his predictions – seems to work out for a couple of people, let’s see if it does in my case. (I owe him a Louis Vuitton pair of shoes if it does. Thats what you see at the top. Vain attempt to place it right.) Let me leave that at that, anything more would prove to be revelation. So with all that done, and a few ideas and thoughts being smuggled in and out of our craniums, its time to bid adieu and get to the www. A very erudite and selfless friend gives me insight on the inspiration vs. motivation concept over chat. Plainly stated, inspiration is from within where as motivation is from others. The ‘urge to’ can be called inspiration. Ever thought about this?

Well, inspiration is there. Now motivation is in place. After logging on to orkut and some random souls sending you friend requests and one line scraps... you finally find solace blogging. Not to forget wikipedia. Then eventually you decide that its time to write some thing sensible.

Hmmm… Did this post even come close to being sensible?

Dated!?!?

incase u are left wondering what the 'Dated' at the end of the post signifies, well it is when i actually wrote the post, the post gets published much later.

This day that year!

How could I not have written about this?
Aug 13, 2005 night. Get dropped off at the MAC to go to London. What trip! The flight from MAC was delayed. And after a very long day, it was just the apt time to fall sick! Stand at the boarding gate and rush to the loo!!! What a day! Reach Mumbai. Delayed flight gets us stranded in the air port for 8 hours. The food – terrible. Just what makes you feel even sicker. After what seemed to be a million trips to the loom I finally decided to go see the doctor. God bless him! After ORS/electrolyte and a heavy dosage of antibiotics, lesser trips to the loo and then finally – the boarding call. OK, so we board the flight and I fall asleep for the next 14-15 hours to see the Big Ben without even realizing the stopover at Ahmedabad or wherever that was. Phew!
The trip back was relatively nicer. Completely recovered. Heathrow – Mumbai. And the n from there to MAC. Well from a Boeing to an airbus. Very bad if you get the emergency window seat next to the engine or turbine or whatever that thing is called. The 14 hour fun trip from Heathrow to Mumbai was fun but from there to Chennai was horrible. It left me dazed, deprived, and half deaf. Not to mention the Maharaja’s service and food needs really needs an overhaul.
This was a year back, when we carried hand baggage – a hand bag and a backpack. Now, well no trips in the near future to comment on travel experiences.

Dated: 14/08/2006

Repentance

Close to 0040 hours. Just finished reading an article about Guenther Grass. He was awarded the Nobel(lit) in 1999. Now he admits to serving on the Schutzstaffel.
Germans-Nazis-Hitler-Schindler’s list!!! As one grows old, perhaps one feels the need to go back in time and do better the things of the past. As one ages, Ok, as one matures with age, one really understands what Repentance means. Am I also a part of this lot? Guess so…, No; it is a definite Yes. Why else would I say ‘Thanks for being my friend’ after having ignored a ‘cheer up’ sms? All of 22, look back into the so many months that I have been what have I done to repent? Why do I feel guilty? Too many to list, yet for the sake of killing time I shall make an attempt.
Ø Disregard/disrespect for the people who I hold close to heart. It may be because I take them for granted, but alas commitment or relationships don’t seem to weigh more than regard, respect and all that.
Ø Oscillating between love and hatred. [The opposite of love is not hatred, its indifference] if you are thinking ex-boyfriend, well I let romance pass me by. No repentance. But when kith and kin have to bear with such extremes of ones personality, you look back in retrospect and want to correct it.
Ø Not having studied properly
Ø Pizza
Ø Lying
Ø Too much TV
Hmmmph… all those are the cravings that I repent for. What would life be at 70? What are the things that I would repent for? Well, one thing is for sure now, I do repent for having wasted a lot of the earth’s resources, my dad’s money, my mom’s patience, my sister’s time… but at 70? Well I am not so very interested in living till then, am sure I will have to repent for every breathing second then. God Bless

Dated: !4/08/2006

2B or not 2B?

Well, that was on an invite that I’d received a while ago and more than anything else, it has been occupying my mind for ‘oh-so-many’ days.
2B or not to B? A very dangerous question if one were depressed and on an extreme high. But since I am only maudlin and mooching around delirium, the question does not actually come across as an extremist’s point of view.
All this may be yet another one of my really obscure thoughts on life and in case you have tolerated with it this far, I presume you have a great level of tolerance and give you an applause for the same.
This topic is definitely an all time favourite. [Slightly in third person and majorly impersonal]
Ever wondered what many people in your social circle are thinking about at the moment? It’s definitely got to be a “2B or not to B” situation in question.
One such person has a problem; a real 2B or not to B issue. Dreams of making it big, venturing with the who’s who of the field, lots of travel… and if one has been working for it and yearning for it for quite sometime and it all of sudden slips… dreams shattered… all because of something as trivial as money… or the lack of it. Think of someone who has planned everyday of every month of every year ahead, this person has to go back to square one because of this. Can a pedantic soul recuperate from such a disaster? Thoughts galore. I can sit at this desk and pen down my pity but would the same avenue prove to be a gateway for me if I were to be facing a situation like this? Perhaps yes, only whatever was penned down would never see the light of the day.
What would this person do is a question that remains unanswered. When confronted with a question, ‘what do you think I should do now?’ it left me speechless. Dwelling close to depression, actually a freaky thing, gave me the creeps to even think of the answers. The only solace being that what rubs off this person is the optimism and the positivism. Hence I shall retain my sanity abt this frnd. God bless.. Everyone.
PS: never ever have I seen money play such a pivotal role in making and breaking destiny. And am sure you are pondering on a 2B or not to B thought.

Dated:14/8/2006

No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell:
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that write it; for I love you so,
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
If thinking on me then should make you woe.
O, if (I say) you look upon this verse,
When I perhaps compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse;
But let your love even with my life decay:
Lest the wise world should look into your moan,
And mock you with me after I am gone.

William Shakespeare.

Hmmm… it is Shakespeare season in India, with Omkara releasing in the near future. The first adaptation of Othello the moor of Venice, that I have seen was a Malayalam film called kaliyattom. In the movie, Othello is played by Suresh Gopi (who won the national award for his performance in the film), Desdemona by Manju Warrier.
Omkara has Ajay Devgan as Othello and Kareena Kapoor as Desdemona. Not that I am film critic or anything, but when there is a scope for a gr8 script and some good performances, you have some idea of the actors who would fit the role. Saif Ali Khan seems to be the perfect(my pick) choice for the role of Iago. Hmmm.. I really don’t think I would waste my time and money in watching the movie for one too many reasons. The performance of Kareena Kapoor vs Konkana Sen, I know these two actors are not in the same plane, but nevertheless, would be rather hideous. And it’s nothing new for Ms Kapoor to play a romantic femme. Second the movie will definitely not be close to the Malayalam version of the same. Third the movie would definitely have an item number, Bipasha basu is also a part of the movie. Next reason would be a character completely wasted in Cassio, played by vivek Oberoi. The reasons that fail to beat the many that coerce me not to watch the movie are: Ajay Devgan, Konkana Sen, N Shah.

That’s abt the film critic that I can play. I wonder if anyone ever has read the above sonnet of his. But it is something in day to day life these days. The fact that not many of us ever think of others before ourselves. Not even if they are with us. Wonder what it would be to be in a state where your existence or the lack of it would affect the life of some one who was a complete stranger to you to a great extent. Ok that’s on a serious note… Life, I guess, is like that!

Indecisiveness

France vs. Spain

As Thierry Henry gives a small tete-e-tete to ESPN, I take on the strong calling from my innerself to use the pen. A decision after a very long time!!!

Two years ago, July`04, a friend of mine in a n email said that " CAT was meaningless now and that his GRE had gone well.. blah blah.." The guy is now in Uncle Sam's land pursuing his MS. Going through my email archives, I stumbled upon this one email, realising what was missing in my life - Focus!!!

A simple column during the process of making a blog - Who am I!!! (too difficult to answer, can't I just pass this one...). I dont know, other than saying I am D/o or sister of someone, I cannot describe myself. To console my poor little heart, I can say it may be because I cannot be defined in just a confined character limit :-)

Who am I? - not going over that question again. What do I want to do? - too many answers!!! When choices are plenty and practicality leaves you agape, you are left confused enough to become chicken (not from Kegg farms).

The end result is it leaves you indecisive. I have taken decisions all through my life. My parents have encouraged me to do so, and it helps in making you a better person. But now, The thought of having to make a decision leaves me in the dark, with a terrible hollow, emptiness in my cranium.

So why all of a sudden the indecisive outburst you ask? Only cos I took notice of it now. When I ponder if or not to delete a testimonial cos of the english and the person's overtly nice words, it leaves me wondering why am I even thinking (or a very long time) of how I am to act in a trivial situation. I even think of getting a friend's help.

The step to sit and write - well the decision comes as a relief. The absolute chaos of ' to do something worthwhile in life', the 'study/work' question, 'what next?'....Arrggh!!!

Terribly ironic that I wrote about being childish yet mature in my last post. [Present scenario: child in me writes blog content etc in my book; the computer using adult rewrites them onto the PC.]

Can't I just be Daddy's little girl and forget about all these not-so-important questions. But then thinking of making my Daddy proud puts me right on track; No, not the indecisive one, the one which leads me to proving my worth. Where there maybe delays in decisions, certainly no inability to decide. Alls clear now.

And for those of you who read this post and wonder what the answers to the questions aforementioned are... Well, I was never an openbook to be now. All decisions are taken prudently and with a larger picture in mind. God is in his heaven; Alls well with the World.

PS: I wonder who manages to clean up these pristine white soccer uniforms. Probably designed as use and throw artefacts.

MOOD: damn Vieirra - missed a goal; disappointed
Listening to: Football commentary.

Two worlds

My Friend's blog had this one topic that I felt I had to write about. Two Worlds he said and went on this way...

...The 'two worlds' I refer to are two different stages of a human's life - childhood and adulthood. Do you love kids? Most of us do.Rite?? Ever wondered what makes us love them? Are we even conscious of the fact that we love them.. I suppose most often it is an un-conscious process... I am attempting to understand, if not all of it, atleast some portion of it...

Well, ok, people know how much I love kids, I really don't. Being the eldest of the lot as far as my maternal family is concerned, I have to baby sit a huge army of lilliputians when the older people do their chores. This is not any peace loving person's pleasant ordeal.
Then he goes onto write about how as kids we desire to ride bikes, drive cars, have girlfriends/boyfriends, make our decisions and when we eventually grow up, we desire to be kids. Long for our childhood Here's the link: http://outofmamind.blogspot.com/

As far as I am concerned, the child in me never grew up. Come on, I have to put up with a lot of kids and even though it is not my favourite pastime they love me a lot. So lets investigate what makes us this way. I do not want to live my childhood again, once was memorable and those memories last for ever. But why do people when they grow, decide not to enjoy the little things that once made them happy. Imagine how u could still play hide and seek with 5 year olds and hold a valid drivers license, with out feeling out of place.

Elders do call me immature at times when it comes to fooling around like a primary school kid, but if being mature means, I cant just do my thing, cant roll around in the mud playing, cant eat an icecream with out a desert spoon and all that blah blah, I prefer to be immature.

Growing up, and becomin mature, some how has narrowed down the angle of thought. Do we really think about why the moon appears orange sometimes? Even if we do, do we ask people if they know the answer to it? NO, just because we as adults don't want to be seen wasting our precious time on trivialities.Hmmm... we just quit learning and exploring as we grew up. We had a broad spectrum to think in when we kids,our imagination ran wild; but now we do not think out of the box, we can let imagination run wild, mostly perverted.

I for one realise the pleasures of being a kid, and I refuse to grow up. For those who want me to act my age, all I can say is, I have got the best of the two worlds, why would I want to give up on one???

Ok.. The peace is gone. The silence shattered.

My news paper reading habit is not very tasking. I do not scrutinize the news to every li'l bit. But yes, nevertheless I do read it. Being an ardent fan of the written word, I appreciate the few interesting articles that feature in everyday news. These days however there are completely undeserving topics making the headlines. So that section is skipped. The editorials are a must read. I remember days when editorials were diplomatic, pondered on all the avenues and premises of the topic at hand and yet did not take a stand on the topic. These editorials were making people think. Their thought were theirs, but ends none of their own. Today it has degraded to the extent of favoring a particular view. The Editorial board does realize the power of the medium and hence would exploit it to the maximum. Does this ring a bell? On the lines of the news channels? Hmmmm... That's another very sad story. Common sense is so un-common these days! When people tell us their opinions instead of just plain unadulterated news, how can the junta take a stand on anything? I am venturing away from my initial thought.
So what's with the news you ask? Here goes. You may have read or even written down on the topic of affirmative action taking the help of reservation. This is by far the worst that I have read - in today's newspaper. A survey on the population of journalists in the top newspapers of the country suggests that this field is dominated by the upper caste people. A dismal amount is held by the largest segment of population - the OBC. Before I know it I may well be buying a newspaper meant for the uppercaste run and produced by people from the same caste. I may be exaggerating, but I am prepared for it. We may have learnt that caste is a social evil in school, I wonder why then is the union ministry is taking action based on such an evil. I am no communist. I will definitely allow the government to divide and rule based on caste. Afterall I do belong to the upper class and it doesn't hurt me to look down on the backward classes. All coins have two faces to them. If a person can get priviledges on the basis of his/her caste, definitely endorsing their caste in all walks of life should be a part of the package.

Anyways, that's just the anti-reservation spirit writing. But then, the last question remains. With the office of profit bill and the like happening, why are there no surveys on the grounds of caste taking place to show us the membership of Political parties. Why are there no statistics about the decision makers of the various political parties, the ministry also should not be spared. Can Indian politics practice before it Preaches!?!?!?!?!

My first post!!!!

Hmmm.. I have no particular topic in mind to write about, my mind is as clear as a crystal having the read the first page of Frost at midnite, by ST Coleridge (U noticed the URL). I shall warn Thou that this is the very first of the many abstruse musings that will feature on this blog.
My good friend from college introduced me to blogging and this post had been long overdue. Having known that the basic essential of blogging was to toy with thought I have started, with no sharp idea of where will this lead me to.
Old thoughts are prejudices and new ones are caprices, and I do require a change from this amazing state of nonchalance that my mind has succumbed to. There have been so many things happening around me that ignites a spark but none that I am bold enough to write about. Some I am nonchalant about, others, well I prefer to keep them to myself!
Retrospect - that's what this post shall be about. Afterall I did meet my friends from school after 5 long years. Looking back on the years I have lived, it does not seem to me that I would have turned out any thing better than what I am now. A happy family, great parents, fabulous siblings, amazing friends, and I thank God for them. I am sure that everyone has thought about how they would have turned to be if they were born into another family, I am no exclusion. I have finally concluded that this was the best for me. The question also arises about friendship, and it is better late than never to clear any fog. Relationships, well People who know me know that I am nonchalant about the opposite sex, and hence none to count on. The favourite word for this post seems to be nonchalant, maybe due to the subdued state of activity happening in my grey matter. I must stop running around the bush and start thinking of something, anything to write about.
Incase you have really had the patience to read the above infantile gibberish, I applaud your patience and apologise for the misery. I had already warned you about the absurdity of this blog.