Rear view mirror

I'm just a dreamer

2010-07-24T18:28:00.001+05:30

The clear blue sky

The mild sunlight

The occasional breeze

The fallen leaves

She looked pretty

Playing with the kittens

Her hair concealing half her face

The mystery half revealing

I sat there

With my eyes glued on her

A kitten in my hand and five around

There was music in their purr

I talked to her with ease

And likewise she’d respond

My presence was no surprise

I realised we’d been together for long

But I was falling in love with her again

I asked her if we could leave

With an approving nod, she turned to me

And smiled the most beautiful smile at me

I stood up and gave her my hand

And pulled her towards me

I could see her clearly now

My girl was standing right in front of me

I leaned forward to kiss her

The moment had completely gripped me

Just then I heard the doorbell ring

The maid had arrived to clean the house, and I woke to reality!

And then it comes back!

2010-06-14T12:07:00.000+05:30

It was 4 years back that I started this blog when in the last World Cup, England crashed out in the quarter finals. And today, after their opening match last night, as the last words of my first post said, we’re back...even stronger. A much better manager, more matured players and a good qualifying campaign will instill that faith in all the English supporters. Last night's result would have been sweeter had Robert Green washed his hands after the fish 'n' chips he munched for dinner before the game. Nevertheless, it wasn't a losing start and the other two group matches are seemingly easy. A lot of improvement is needed if we are to better the last time’s performance though.

It’s always an amazing feeling when the World Cup begins; the prospect of watching the 32 best teams compete for the coveted title of 'World Champions', the hysteria that surrounds the world, the fervour, the madness, the rivalries, and in all this, the world coming together to cheer for the beautiful game! This year’s official anthem is arguably the best in the history of the competition and brilliantly captures the spirit of the tournament and essence of Africa. I’ve been tripping on the song since I heard it, nearing the level of addiction, so much so that it is my caller tune for this month! :)

Personally, a lot has changed for me in these 4 years. From bidding adieu to the life of a software engineer to realising my age long desire of pursuing a MBA, from living the best year of my life to surviving the worst, from parting with my beloved Delhi to embracing the 'wonder-weather' Bangalore as my new home for some time. It’s funny how we don’t realise how much happened in our 'believed-to-be' mundane lives, unless we look back at the time that went by. I believe it’s human nature to base our lives’ assessments on our present and the very recent past. I am no different, but I’m glad that with the regular urge of writing something, I’m prompted to think otherwise.

Bangalore welcomed me with open arms, a light drizzle and a lovely breeze. And then it wasn’t difficult to start liking the city. I’ve always wondered how good weather plays such a huge role in inducing happiness in people. It always has an enormous effect on my mood and the weather here is just the kinds to keep my spirits high. It is the first time I’m staying away from home, all by myself, and I was really looking forward to it. Always wanted to test myself and challenge my limits. The time during the MBA did that to an extent and I’m sure this phase too shall contribute to that cause. It’s been good so far, and with every passing day I realise that it is going to be one helluva learning phase in my life. Honestly, I am upbeat and quite kicked about it, and I hope that it marks the beginning of an awesome life ahead. As of now, I do believe:

When I get older,
I will be stronger.
They’ll call me freedom...
Just like a wavin’ flag!

Keep Walking

2010-03-31T00:33:00.000+05:30

I knew where I wanted to go
I knew where I had to be
So I walked

It was a path new to many
Daunting, yet the only one left for me
And I walked

Crossed ways with a few who mocked at me
And others who parried me
But I walked

Some walked a few steps with me
And some others prayed for me
And I walked

I stopped at times when I felt lost
And at times I’d cry for me
Yet I walked

Now I’ve been on this road for long
Never thought so long it’d be
A lot it has already shown
Some more, it seems, I'm yet to see
Long or short, whatever is left
Tough or tender, however it will be
I will walk.

To St. Valentine, with Love

2010-02-13T01:37:00.000+05:30

Cupid strikes
He’s hit
She evades

Cupid waits
He tries
She resists

Cupid strikes again
He’s hit again
She evades again

Cupid’s baffled
He’s hurting
She’s indifferent

Cupid’s pondering
He’s cursing
She’s receding

Cupid flies away
He waits
She waits...too

Facebooked

2009-12-18T19:38:00.004+05:30

In the past few months of joblessness, if there’s one thing that I’ve been regular with, other than sleeping for long hours, it is giving Facebook quality time from my limited remaining hours of the day, managing to login there about 10 times daily! Whenever I’d open my Internet browser thinking of something interesting to do, after a few vague and unsuccessful attempts to reach an engaging website, I’d inevitably start typing facebook.com. I actually realised today that even if I had nothing to do there, I’d just go because I feel I have to. It’d satiate some unknown urge within me and even if I have to torture my eyes to go through countless Farmville or Mafia Wars activity feeds on my homepage, I’d do it, cursing their hundreds of users as I scroll down to look for ‘meaningful’ activity.

But while I religiously keep doing this every single day, occasionally a modest 3-letter word rings in my head: WHY? Just why am I doing this? Is it just me? And the earnest response from within is: NO! Backed by figures, there are millions of users around the world doing the same thing. Then follows a string of questions: Why is everyone doing this? Why is there this need to spend hours of our day staying logged on to a social networking website when clearly we could be doing something more meaningful with our lives? Why is it important to comment on somebody’s pictures? Why is it that we even end up commenting on certain status messages that talk about how some acquaintance is feeling? Why is it that we want to check out what groups the others are a part of or what/who they become a fan of?

To all this, I could just think of one rationale: we have a need to ‘connect’. An unsaid desire to know what the others are doing and making them know how our life is treating us. I’ve always believed that every human in this world is connected in some unknown way. A heart speaks to another, even without words or gestures. And a way to acknowledge this connection is to communicate. And that’s what we try to do, directly or indirectly, by writing status messages and waiting to receive comments from all those who get to read it, by playing random games with or against others, by posting our pictures and checking others’, by sending birthday or anniversary greetings, by joining interest groups, by sharing reviews about a movie that we watched or a restaurant that we ate at or a place that we visited or an experience that we were a part of! All this, just to ‘communicate’! To reach out and keep that unknown connection alive and to nurture it by feeding it with little doses of ‘Facebook Indulgence’ to replete its hunger.

P.S. By the time I finished writing this post, I’d checked my e-mail thrice to see if there were any new mails from Facebook! Good job, Mark Zuckerberg! :)

I Found Happiness

2009-09-22T12:27:00.003+05:30

Nothing compares to catching up with a dear friend after months and reliving the old times.

Nothing compares to meeting new people and making friends.

Nothing compares to singing karaoke non-stop for hours.

Nothing compares to eating the poori-chana-halwa combo.

Nothing compares to a long drive back home at 3 am, listening to ‘Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison’.

Nothing compares to being the "only one in the queue" at the CNG filling station.

Nothing compares to having a fun filled evening in an otherwise stale phase of life.

Never Know

2009-09-16T20:45:00.002+05:30

It’s raining outside
And inside of him as well
The raindrops knocking at the glass window
Of his temporal existence they tell

The clothes and the curtains dampened
Likewise, his spirits too
The sky turning grey
Enough to restrict his vision to a foot or two

The sight of a kid on the street
Dancing merrily in the rain
Reminds him of his cherished childhood days
The time he can’t regain

The puddles on the road
With the paper boats afloat
The washed green trees
And their fallen yellow leaves

The peacock’s crested head
And its large fanlike tail
The earthworms from the sand
That slithered on the garden rail

A smile crosses his face
As he remembers the life that was
As distant as it is now from him
He savoured the little trip to the past

The present wasn’t so pleasant
All the planning fell apart
Not that he could do much about it
Bad luck played a big part

It consoled him for a while
To know that he’s not alone
There were hundreds of other mortals
Fighting the same battle on their own

He wished he knew the end
To this pain and distraught
To the annoyance of being a victim
Of circumstance and not his fault

He looked out in the grey
In a hope to find an answer
A vibrant rainbow appeared at the horizon
And the smile returned; this time it was wider!

She came. We talked. She conquered!

2009-02-13T02:20:00.002+05:30

Words were few but the feelings grew
And I wanted the night to get longer
The time would oppose, but a connection arose
And it only became stronger

But she had to go back to where she belonged
Too much at stake, she didn’t wanna be wrong
“Whenever I sing, she’ll listen”, she said
Her words etched in my heart, never will I forget!

The Next Bend

2008-05-05T19:25:00.005+05:30

Come 19th May, and I'll set out on a journey which takes me to a life which was long awaited, had been dreamt of in the past, then forgotten, virtually given up on at a point in time, but one fine day emerged from nowhere and presented a sweet surprise! The journey which takes me back to a life where I won't need to wait for the third day of the month to receive my salary slip, where I won't need to worry about the income tax returns, where I won't need to invest a huge amount of money in investment plans to save on some of my hard earned money which would have otherwise helped pump the government's treasures!
For the next year, I'd officially be a student again.

The last day at work this Friday, launched the countdown to the big day, when for the first time I'll leave the luxuries that come with being at home with family, to search for a space for my head, not only outside the bounds of this city I'm so in love with, but also this country that I feel strongly rooted to.
Going away from the friends who were always around in the good and the bad times and some relatives who have always been special, the restaurants that have given me reasons to honour their tables time and time again and the coffee shops that have been the homes for some of the best conversations I've had, the occasional photowalks that kept my Sunday mornings busy and the more regular, beloved post-dinner walks in my own company!

!!SNAP!!

Putting the sadness to rest, there's a new world to look forward to, and my word am I excited! I feel like a kid inside, who's promoted to the next grade in school and is waiting for the new session to start. Awaiting a new set of people that I'd call batchmates, some of them who'd become good friends, some who'd add their names to the ever overflowing list of acquaintances, and some who I might never see again after a year, but all adding to the experience of learning from each other, of togetherness, and contributing to each other's personal growth. It'll be the year that will finally give my career the direction that I had been longing for. And hopefully, at the end of it, I'd finally be having a good time at my workplace for all the right reasons. And for someone who loves travelling, spending quality time in two new cities, meeting their natives, getting an opportunity to immerse into two new cultures and maybe managing to pick up snatches of their local languages, it all suits me perfectly fine!

As promising as it sounds, I can expect this year to be highly taxing, as is characteristic of B-schools. But as the saying goes and I do believe, "Once you're in it, you'll get through it!"
I hope that this will turn out to be one of the most memorable years of my life. Insha-Allah!

Tagged # 3

2008-04-10T00:20:00.019+05:30

Tag time again! This one's a questionnaire given by Sherry.
I don't know if anybody would be interested in reading this, but I need to honour the tag! Here it goes:

Name three most valuable assets?
Never really got down to thinking about it, and I'm still not able to zero in on just three. I think everything that forms a part of our lives is important, however small or seemingly insignificant it might be.

One truth in your life that haunts you every day?
None.

If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the four blog buddies you would take alongside with you?
And the Oscar goes to...

Skeeter: She'd do all the cooking! And we can have long conversations about food all day! :D

Sherry: She'd be the best one to write about the experiences there, most beautifully!

Elusive: We're planning to get married, so we'd get to know each other more! ;)

Crasiezt: With all the order in life, one needs some randomness too! :)

Where is the place that you want to go the most?
Take me higher, to a place where blind men see.
Take me higher, to a place with golden streets.

If you can have one dream to come true, what would it be?
Everyone lives without fear!
Everyone breathes fresh air!
Love for all...Hope inside us all...And no despair!

Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most?
Can't write about it here.

What are you afraid to lose the most?
Passion in life.

What would you do if you found a briefcase full of money?
Will keep it back.

If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
I would. Time runs out fast and then you are left to wonder if there ever was a "right" time to say what you wanted to say!

List out 3 good things about the person who tagged you.
- A superb writer; at times I can't even understand what she writes! :D
- Comes across as a pure person; hope that's true.
- Has started to like my favourite band! :)

What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
I'd search for a SSS girl: Single.Sunder.Susheel!

Which type of person do you hate the most?
It's hard to hate humans. Inside we are all the same!

What is your ambition?
As clueless as ever!

If you were given the chance to have one super power, what would it be and why?
It'd be of Peter Petrelli's from the TV series Heroes. He has the ability to imbibe the super powers of everyone he comes in contact with! :)
I'm very similar to that character too.

For you life is?
...to keep learning!

If you could do one thing different in life, what would it be?
I would be nicer to my mother and I'd want my dad to be nicer to me! :D

Are you a shopaholic?
No. I'm a miser!

Which actor/actress would you like to be?
One actress I'd like to be with is Minissha Lamba! (Yeah I know that wasn't the question :D)

One song that gives you goosebumps? [My Question]
Faceless Man, by Creed.

Do you have any plans for tomorrow?
Did you mean to ask me out for a date? ;)
It's the weekend; I pity anyone who doesn't have plans for tomorrow!

Now, as the rules say, I have to pass it on, so I tag Skeeter, Elusive and Amoeba!

Instructions: Remove 1 question from the set, and add in your personal question to keep the count to 20, and then tag a few people in your blogroll. List them out at the end of this post and notify them in their shoutbox about the same.

Jodhaa Akbar

2008-03-23T21:37:00.004+05:30

It was a long wait before today, when I finally got to watch the movie. I have been listening to its soundtrack almost daily since I got hold of it and each day I have a new favourite from it. Such is the quality that A.R. Rahman can offer, and this one surely will go down as one of his best works ever; the best in my opinion!

Coming to the movie, I'd say it's 200 minutes of living the history in its grandeur. The daunting duration never poses a problem as the screenplay takes care of it and there isn't a dull moment to mention. Lavish costumes, magnificent sets, the imperial canvas...they all take you back in time and I won't be surprised if you wish to be a part of that era to have a taste of the royal treatment!

The movie had some magical instances which will be talked of, over and over again. Akbar's moment in trance and swaying to the enchanting Khwaja Mere Khwaja stands out! The cinematographer has done an amazing job at capturing the war scenes, and more or less throughout the movie. The sword fight between Jodhaa and Akbar is beautifully worked out. And the spectacular rendering of Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah is a treat to the eyes!

There is nobody in our film industry who could have played the character of Akbar better than Hrithik Roshan. He epitomizes perfection and brings out the best in him to stand up to the mountainous task of portrayal of the great emperor. Aishwarya Rai fits the bill perfectly as Jodhaa. The director, Ashutosh Gowariker has to be applauded to have executed the project with such brilliance to dish out a masterpiece!

This one's definitely from the top drawer, not to be missed or ignored, and might just finally get us an Oscar, hopefully!
One of the movies which you walk out of feeling all good inside.

Finally...

2008-03-18T21:39:00.003+05:30

...a day to feel overjoyed.
...a day to forget about the recent tough times.
...a day to look forward to better days.
...a day to feel happy for making my dear ones happy.
...a day to feel reassured that I ain't useless after all.
...a day to thank everyone who stood by me and prayed for this day to come.
...a day to thank God for blessing his child, yet again.

Hung Up

2008-02-24T04:02:00.002+05:30

Apprehensions and worries galore,
Uncertainties fill the air.
Self doubts starting to creep in,
He moans in despair.

Till some time back, all was well.
All planned out, and seemed to be the best.
Then one fine day, a light from an unexpected source
Shone dimly but unsettled everything that looked on course.

A new glimmer of hope arose
Old dreams returned on a new night
He thought this was his chance to make it,
And was ready to fight the fight.

So he played his part
And stuck to his task
Then all he could do was to wait,
With the deepest desire, that luck becomes his mate.

But in a few days, he got the first blow
One dream squashed before it could grow
The light turned out to be somewhat low
Were the signs of things to come beginning to show?

It has hit him hard
A reality check of sorts
Is there anything to look forward to?
Or is he headed to another dark?

He thought he could lay his hands, on what now looks like slipping away
As much as he wants to be in control, there isn’t any way
The storm of thoughts inside his head, has taken his peace away
Leaving him vexed and troubled, yearning to find the right way.

Nirvana!

2008-02-08T13:11:00.000+05:30

Exhausted.
Depleted.
Jaded.
He sleeps.

Dreamless.
Undisturbed.
Serene.
It’s like quietus.

Bearded.
Disoriented.
Bemused.
He wakes up… A week has passed.

He smiles.
And slips back into the blanket.
Lights Out.
Cut!

À la carte

2008-02-06T11:08:00.000+05:30

1 Plate Veg. Steamed Momos: 30 Rs.
1/2 Plate Veg. Singapuri Noodles: 25 Rs.
1 Coke: 10 Rs.
2 Mc Swirl Cones: 20 Rs.
2 Pao Bhaji: 60 Rs.
1 Extra Pao: 10 Rs.
1 Kesar Kulfi Falooda: 35 Rs.

Eating all the above on a cold, winter night, in a span of 90 minutes, with your brother: Priceless! :)

Tagged # 2

2008-01-17T19:32:00.000+05:30

Another tag, and it's by Skeeter again. I gotta post a picture that I think is my best shot till date or something very close to my heart. I choose the former and it is this shot of the London Eye, which I took in April 2006.

:-)

2007-12-05T11:55:00.000+05:30

Winters are here, and I love it! The time to eat the best food; sip on a variety of chai 'n' coffee; feast on ice creams & desserts.
And to top it all, that walk to remember!

:-|

2007-11-13T08:50:00.000+05:30

Why is it that the things which so naturally seem to be ours will be the hardest to have? So much so that we might never actually have them...

Ye Mera India...

2007-08-18T17:04:00.000+05:30

15 August, 2007 : India’s 60th Independence Day.
A mid-week holiday, a day to fly kites, a day to feel good about our country, just to forget about it the next day, till we have another national holiday to do many such things again!
It’s good to be a nationalist and rave about one’s country, but is it an easy way to comfortably adorn this attitude, when convenient, and be ignorant about all the areas where we lack and where we need to improve?

I agree, “koi bhi desh perfect nahi hota, use perfect banana padta hai!”, but then, are we doing enough to make our nation one of the greats in the world?
A month back, millions of people of our country voted for the Taj Mahal to seal its place in the Seven Wonders of the World, but when I visited the monument this Monday, it just did not seem as if we really care about it as much as we showed through that poll!

These pictures speak louder than words:

Mangal Sen thinks he's written his name in the golden pages of Indian history!

I never thought we were so bad at both these languages to have such a hard time reading that!

I am an Indian, this is my country
I have the right to be free, the right to be me
But with that, I have a moral responsibility
To respect the fundamental duties, that the constitution expects of me
You may ask me, “Is it a price to be free?”
I’d say, “No it’s the love for my country, just as my country loves me!”

Hope that every Indian feels this way...Jai Hind!

The Week That Was!

2007-08-02T14:53:00.000+05:30

It started last Sunday, when I went to watch Strangers at PVR Plaza. I was way too excited, as it’d mark the start of this year’s Osians Cine Fan for me, so much so that I reached there half an hour before the show timing to get the ticket. But talk about bad luck and I’ll top the list!
They had changed the movie and postponed the timing as well, so now it was to be Shoonya at 7.15 p.m. Now that I was there, I wouldn’t have gone back without watching the movie, so I bought the ticket and went to Barista to have a quick bite; came back well in time and settled comfortably in the waiting lounge in the theatre premises. Across the room, around another table, were 3 gals, out of which 2 looked good, and that’s all to this story! Well, not really. ;-)

A nice movie, on the match fixing scandal in cricket; KK Menon was good, as usual, Naseeruddin Shah as classy as ever, and Tulip Joshi, the pretty woman.

After working for over 2 years, one always wishes that there were no Mondays in the week, I’m no different. I reached office, hoping that it wouldn’t be a heavy day to cope with. I didn’t receive any email from my team lead in the first couple of hours of the day, and I knew it was one of those lucky days!

I was browsing through some random videos when I happened to watch the trailer of the Goal-2: Living the Dream! The first part of the series was an absolute treat for the lovers of the beautiful game and I was desperately waiting for the second part’s release; found out that it released a long time back in many countries. I could not wait any longer, and the search was on! Managed to find the full movie on YouTube, and the Monday was just not the same!

Loved it as much as the first one, and just can’t seem to get enough of the track “Feeling a Moment” by Feeder, which features in the OST of the movie; someday I wanna feature in a video with this song in the background…Amen!

Having watched Goal-2 the previous day, I felt like re-living the Goal-1 experience; so I did and Tuesday’s gone, gone with the wind! The sounds of Feeling a Moment continue to fill the air around me...

Wednesday was just a regular day at work, but I was happy in anticipation of a fun-filled extended weekend!

I got up early on Thursday to catch the first movie of the day, Mithya, but thanks to the Delhi traffic, I could not make it in time for the show... just not the start I expected, nevertheless I bought a ticket for The Woven Stories Of The Other, a Philippines’ movie, based on a tribal war in some forest village of the country. I didn’t understand much of the movie and almost slept in between. I was hoping the other movies that followed would make up for these 97 minutes!

The next one was Resonance, a Bengali movie, with a solid star cast, primarily 'coz of Rahul Bose, with Rajat Kapoor, Raima Sen & Rituparna Sengupta. I took a seat in the third row from the back, about 15 minutes before the start. I began browsing through the daily bulletin, and just then 2 pretty looking gals came and sat beside me on my right, leaving a seat in between, where I had kept my glasses and the film schedule, how I wish I hadn’t!

After a while, a guy enquired if that seat was vacant, and as it was, I picked up my stuff from there to allow him to sit. Instead he asked me to shift there, and I readily did! :)
The movie started well, but became much of a drag after about half an hour of its running. I was getting restless, so I initiated a conversation with the pretty gal A, sitting next to me. Apparently, she was getting bored too. And we talked about boredom! :D
When the movie ended, more talk followed. We talked about a few movies of this year’s Osians, and when we discussed Shoonya, she told me that she saw me at the theatre that day…

Ting Tong! Dance to the song… God made a plan, for me to just play along! :)

These were the same 2 gals I saw at PVR Plaza the other day. And the story continues…

The next movie, “we” watched was Footsteps, debut venture for the director Suman Ghosh, starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Nandita Das in lead. A brilliant movie about an old man in his twilight years, his relationship with his daughter and his bonding with the neighbors’ 5-year old kid. The cinematography was superb too. I met the director at the end of the movie to thank him for giving us 90 minutes to cherish.

It was time to head back home now, time to offer a lift, time to exchange numbers to seek to keep in touch!

Come Friday and I was up earlier than the previous day, to avoid missing out on the first movie of the day, which I so wanted to watch. The roads looked clearer and it was a comfortable drive at an average speed of 60 kmph, until I was faced with a traffic jam again! Stuck in there, the hope of reaching Siri Fort in time was fading. Even when it cleared out, it was near to impossible to cover the remaining distance in the little time left. I had made peace in my head with the sorry possibility of not being able to watch the movie. I reached at 9.55 a.m., just in time for the show, but I doubted if I’d be able to get the ticket. But as it was destined to be a good week for me, I was lucky to get the ticket and watch the movie, Crossroads. And the next 90 minutes that followed couldn’t be better.

“The film resembles snippets of collected photographs of everyday life. It brings together similar yet unconnected people in search of something to overcome their mundane routine - a mixture of games of perception and reality, the absurdly comic and the absolutely accurate, a mystery and a family drama. It traces patterns and drops hints that for these individuals there lies a far greater drama in the ordinariness of ordinary stories than in the melodrama of spectacles.” – synopsis from the website.

Aptly named, the movie showed different people, standing at some crossroad in their lives, knowing not where to go, which path to tread. Undoubtedly, my pick of this Osians!

The next was Shame, a documentary about the life of a 30-year old woman, Mukhtaran Mai, in a remote village in Pakistan, after she was gang-raped by the members of an influential family in the village. An outstanding film, the director has done a great job.
The last one for me that day was Moonlit Forest. No offences meant to anybody related to this film, even remotely and to all those who liked it, I just couldn’t understand why was this film even thought of to be made! I was intrigued by the title, but what I got was nowhere close to what I expected it to be. So I headed back home; it was my mum’s birthday, spent the evening with her, hogged on Domino’s Cheese Burst pizzas and the ever so yummy Chocolate Marble Cake that my masi had baked.

After 2 activity-full days, I decided to take it easy on Saturday. I had a plan to go for Strangers at 4.30 p.m., so had a lot of time before that to laze around. I had my brunch, watched TV for a while, caught on a short nap, got up and set off for Siri Fort. It was to be a “Meeting Old Friends” Day; just at the entrance, I met this friend of mine, with who the last form of any communication that I had was about 1.5 years back. It was good to meet her after so long. While I was talking to her, I saw another familiar face approaching me, a friend from college. And in no time, a colleague from office as well!

Now I was waiting, looking for someone who was expected to turn up, when the pretty gal A, dressed in white, came and stood right beside me! (Yeah, it was planned this time :D)

As we approached the auditorium, it started raining out of nowhere. It was fun getting drenched, I don’t even remember when was it the last time that I had allowed myself to do that, in college days I guess. All soaked up, we went in to watch the movie, fought with the people in-charge to finally grab the reserved seats for jury!
It was an awesome opening half an hour, with Jimmy Shergill at his personal best. But then as it progressed, it became predictable by the minute, and 2 crappy songs one after the other, made it worse enough for us to decide to move out. We went to CP to have a cup of coffee, I had an Assam tea, and then we walked to the Central Park; beautifully lit up, it’s one of the most amazing places to visit in the evening.
Another good day draws to a close; in a few hours, it will be a Sunday morning.

As late as it could be, I woke up after-noon. I had to meet a couple of friends over lunch. We went to Market Café, ordered 2 different pastas, both were good to my taste buds, and then a Mexican Pizza, which wasn’t much appreciated by anyone, but me. :)
Then we moved to The Big Chill Café for desserts, they are worth dying for!

We ordered an Irish Cream Cheese Cake and a scoop each of Belgian Chocolate and Midnight Mint ice creams. Who needs anything else to get high on, when you have all this, and cheaper...

I hadn’t had “good food” for so long, thanks to a wretched stomach infection; this meal was one to savour.

Now back home, I was in my bed, remembering the week gone by, where every day was as good as the previous one, and it just got better...

Life is about this and that
Today is good, tomorrow may be bad
In this moment, I’m just glad
For those seven days, were only fun-clad!

Tagged # 1

2007-07-13T15:22:00.000+05:30

Tagged for the first time, initially it felt a bit itchy to write about something that I myself didn't think about, but then I found it to be a good idea 'coz I atleast had something to write in a time when my brain cells were virtually dead.
Thanks Skeeter for the tag! I had to write about a few things that I’ve loved doing on rainy days, here they are:

Smiled…Even the thought of rain does that to me! :)
Listened to “The Wall”, from beginning to end, and felt bliss.
Feasted on pakodas and cutting chai with friends in college; have done the same at home too.
Walked in the rain with a then special friend.
Sitting in the balcony and watching the greens come to life!
Played football, almost every time we possibly could; on one of those days, followed it up with a game of kabaddi…still remember how we pounced on a weakling and a heavyweight among the opponents and almost buried them alive! :-D
As a kid, made those paper boats and floated them from one end of the street to another, over the pools of clogged up water.

The rain gods don’t seem to be too happy with our city now. Last year, we experienced the shittiest monsoons by far. I hope this season makes up for that. The start seemed to be good, but sadly, it couldn't sustain for long and it hasn’t been good enough…
So I keep on waiting, waiting for the pouring rain!

A Year Old!

2007-07-03T14:48:00.000+05:30

Today, my blog turns a year old. It feels good to say the least.
I still remember how thrilled I was putting the URL of my blog under the “My Webpage” column on Orkut, for the very fact that even though there must be millions of others who blog, there are billions who do not!

Recalling the days leading up to creating this blog to the moment when it was finally up 'n' running, I feel I always needed it as much. Re-reading all the posts, I could literally relive those incidents, those feelings that drove me to write all that I did. The comments from the readers sometimes served as great words of encouragement to write more and at times led me to thinking if I should even write at all. Not that I was seeking the approval of my “critics”, just wanted to know if they were right in what they said about what I wrote.

Through this blog, I found new friends and also lured a few friends into creating one of their own.

It’s been a fulfilling journey so far, serving the purpose(s) for which I created this blog.
A journey from being somewhere in the last few entries on the second page of the Google search results for “Ankur Arora” to the first entry today; I’ve enjoyed being a part of the blogosphere.

Thanks to all the readers who’ve enjoyed reading my Rear View Mirror.
Keep visiting.

Destiny...

2007-06-26T22:33:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I went for a stroll in the park opposite my house. A section on the jogging track had a lot of ants running over. I luckily saw that and cautiously prevented stepping on them. Just then a thought crossed my head that had I not seen and walked them over unknowingly, it'd have been the last moment of life for them. Were they destined to be saved at that moment or to be crushed to death by someone else but me, who would be unaware of their presence there?

Another possibility was that in order to save them, I could have crashed into a tree on the way, 'coz I wasn't looking in front. Maybe I was destined to suffer a serious injury then! There could have been a number of other possibilities too where I wouldn't have stepped on the ants and in the nick of time saved myself from crashing into the tree too; or in the worst case scenario, where I’d have realized the presence of those tiny creatures just after crushing them and then could have stumbled to end up banging my head into that tree, even when I’d have seen it!

These thoughts flashed in my head one after the other, pushing me into a sort of surreal state of mind where I could imagine a hundred things in a fraction of a second, remembering each one of them vividly and in the next moment of actuality, all I could think of was just one thing; that one thing that decides if we will take another breath, if we will walk another step, if we will speak another word...that one thing that governs our lives, whatever we do and all that we don't do...that one thing called “destiny”!

I know many will say that one makes his/her own destiny...probably that's what those ants were doing, wandering in search of stuff to build a better house than the one they resided in, or to get food for their families, to keep them happy, but they didn't know that it was the last time they will move out of their houses and never come back. The lucky ones did reach back like all the previous times, but for some, it was time out.

In 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul (can't resist to mention it whenever I can: it was a dream night for me and for all the Liverpool fans), Liverpool were the underdogs and no one ever thought they had even a faint chance to win, and it was all going as predicted when they were 3-0 down at the half time to Milan. But then it took just 6 magical minutes and it was anybody's game at 3-3 after the 60th minute. The match went on to extra-time and Milan pressed on in search of a winner, and till date I wonder how Shevchenko could not score from close range with just about 5 minutes left in the second half of extra time; even Dudek didn't know how he saved that shot. Eventually, Liverpool went on to win on penalties. They were "destined" to win, regardless of the fact that they were the "weaker" side of the two, inferior in class and skill to their giant opponents.

At times when I had fallen sick with a stomach upset, the doctor told me that it was because of some 'x' item that I consumed the previous day. But then, I had eaten that 'x' item a number of times before and after, without consequentially falling sick. Again, it was destiny that I’d be falling ill on those specific occasions and not on the rest, the 'x' being just a "created" reason 'coz the doctor cannot do without stating one!

All this and many more instances like these prove an affirmation for me that everything has got its time 'n' place, that whatever has to happen, will happen and that "it's all written"... Maktub!

~

2007-06-13T22:40:00.000+05:30

I happened to find this saved in the archive folder of my previous cellphone; something that I had written a long time back, for someone, but never happened to send it. Dunno if it'll make sense to many readers, but just felt like putting it up...

Day.Night.Birth.Childhood.Youth.Beliefs.Friendship.Love.Pride.Laughter.Sadness.Promises.Expectations.Disappointment.Restlessness.Strength.Weakness.Apprehension.Hurt.Disbelief.Numb.Life...
Death.Pain.Peace.White.Pure.God!

Harry Kewell?

2007-05-19T12:14:00.000+05:30

The day I wore my new Liverpool jersey, I got about 10-15 different pics of mine clicked, just to have that one perfect picture where I will look like a member of the squad! But alas, it wasn't to be...Nonetheless, surprisingly in this one, I think I looked like Harry Kewell...What say?

Liverpool Lives In Me!

2007-05-17T20:52:00.000+05:30

It was the sound of pouring rain that woke me a bit early this morning. I lay on my bed watching a rare sight in these wretched summers. In no time I decided to wear my new Liverpool jersey to office.

I have been buying jerseys of my favourite football players in the past and am always on the lookout for more! Before this, I have Christian Vieri's No. 32 Inter Milan and Michael Owen's No. 10 Newcastle jerseys. I don't really support the two clubs, Inter still to some extent, but I absolutely love watching these two players on the football pitch. I have always felt good when I have adorned myself with these prized possessions in cloth.

But today, the moment I put on the new one and looked at myself in the mirror, I was in a different world altogether, more or less in a state of trance! The vibrant red colour, the Liverpool logo on the chest and the sponsor's name in the centre, just a few inches above the waistline... it all reminded me of the pride 'n' passion with which I have religiously followed this football club for years now. I could hear the chants of "You'll never walk alone" loud in my head. For a moment, I felt as if I was Rafa's new signing for the next season. A moment of sheer ecstasy!

It was the first time that the name and the number at the back didn't outweigh what flashed on the chest in red, white 'n' green! :)

Here's the new merseyside hero posing for the shutterbugs! :D
Sad pic...but who cares, it's Steven Gerrard's No. 8 Liverpool jersey! It's taking me higher...!

The Namesake

2007-04-30T11:52:00.000+05:30

In a word, it's a superb novel. One of the best last chapters that I've read in any of the books so far. I just loved the way the author draws a close to the story. Every feeling, every thought, every emotion...I could feel it as much as the characters in the book.

A must read in my opinion!

And the following day, I watched the movie. With awesome cinematography and peachy direction, an adaptation from the book couldn't have been better, though I feel that it could be made a bit longer. The director seemed to be constrained to wrap up in 2 hours only. Nevertheless, it was a well made movie, doing justice to the book.

Yet it reaffirms my belief that however good a movie based on a novel may be, it would never be appreciated more than the book.

हिंदी हैं हम, वतन है हिंदुस्तान हमारा।

2007-04-24T09:47:00.000+05:30

मुझे ये देखते हुए अत्यंत प्रसन्नता हो रही है कि अब मैं अपने ब्लॉग पे अपनी मातृभाषा हिंदी में भी लिख सकता हूँ। सोचा इस जानकारी को आप सभी के साथ बांटूं। उम्मीद है आपको भी ब्लॉगर की ये नई विशेषता पसंद आएगी।
जय हिंद! :-)

Magu's Matrimonial

2007-04-20T23:51:00.000+05:30

She's a desi, hell-bent on tryin' to be positive these days; born in India, all this while she thought she was in the US, and the moment she realised that she wasn't, she has left no stone unturned to try to be there!
AND AND AND...SHE MAKES THE BEST CHOCOLATE FUDGE IN THE CITY, ABSOLUTELY SCRUMMY!!!

P.S. For any marriage proposals, please feel free to spam her blog! :D

The New Look

2007-04-18T09:08:00.000+05:30

Guess it was time...to change! :)

And they say it's a male dominated society!

2007-04-06T14:30:00.000+05:30

Why’s it that a woman can go to any pub in this city all alone, but a man has to have a female companion to do the same?
Why’s it that a woman will be allowed (read preferred) to enter a pub in minimal clothing, but a man in shorts cannot?

This country talks about raising the status of women, but aren’t they already enjoying a hell lot of privileges to ask for more? (can’t resist mentioning the separate queues at the bill payment counters and how easy it is to get things done “her” way in any office!)

Nothing against the women and all the feminist views in this regard are absolutely uncalled for; just wondering if the “rules & regulations” of the pubs in this city will ever allow an Adam to not need an Eve to enjoy a drink in the evening, with the liberty of wearing what he wants to!(Oh, did I say Adam 'n' Eve?) ;-)

Wake Up Dead!

2007-03-26T12:37:00.000+05:30

No ring on the phone…no message either!
No ping on the messengers…no mail either!
I’m too groggy…last night I had a few breezers!
The place was good…it was called T'zers!

Searching for someone who’s as bored as me
Sick 'n' tired of just their own company
I take a look around...
But there’s no such someone to be found!

I don’t wanna work…today is just not the day
I want someone to treat me…so I won’t have to pay
Or take me back home…where my bed awaits me
Where I can sleep for hours and no one will try to wake me.

But none of this is happening…
I hate this desperation
To end this desolation
In temptation of a recreation…rejuvenation…salvation!

Release Me!

2007-03-22T13:03:00.000+05:30

Questions… can’t escape from them!
Expectations… can never live up to them!
Promises… why do people break them?
Feelings… why do people fake them?
Happiness… is just a phase!
Sadness… is another!

If I could, I would
Let it go...

Dejected...

2007-02-12T12:10:00.000+05:30

I am.

Some days are just perfect!

2006-12-16T23:49:00.000+05:30

December 3rd, 2006~

Magu: Sunday, 10th Dec, Wet 'n' Wild Resort...
Me: Cool...But it's gettin colder every day...And spending the whole day in water...Don't you wanna rethink?
Magu: That's the fun...No more discussions...We are goin'!
Me: Okay...As you say!

A couple of days later~

Me: Meghad, I happened to bathe with cold water today...And trust me, it wasn't fun at all!
Magu: He He :-D Suggest some other place to go then...
Me: Let's go to Neemrana Fort...I've heard a lot about it.
Magu: We were once planning to go there but it never materialised...We can think about it. Get me all the details.
Me: Yeah, I'll do that.

Next day~

Me: Neemrana Fort Palace...Delhi-Jaipur highway...180 Kms!
Magu: Suits me! I'll ask the rest.
Me: Who'll arrange for the transport?
Magu: Shweta will.
Me: Alright then...Confirm with everyone 'n' lemme know!

Later in the day~

Magu: Everyone's cool about it...Let's go!
Me: Did you enquire about the taxi?
Magu: Yeah...Rs.9/km for the Qualis and Rs.11/km for the Innova.
Me: Too much!
Magu: I know...You check out with the one near your house.
Me: I'll do that.

Minutes later~

Me: Rs.7/km for a Qualis/Tavera and Rs.10/km for the Innova + Rs.100 & the meals for the driver!
Magu: Super! Get it done!
Me: Okies!
And the next day, I booked the cab that would take us to the Neemrana Fort Palace the following day.

A cold Sunday morning...Had to get up at 6.15 A.M...Seemed no better than a regular weekday, but the hope for a perfect weekend getaway! The cab arrived at my house at 6.45 A.M., a bit earlier than I had expected. I was getting late with every passing minute and with every failed attempt to wake Megha up! Finally, I started from my place at 7.30 A.M., an acceptable half hour later than we had planned.

I was so sleepy, I couldn't stop yawning till we reached Venkateshwara College to pick up Megha. We had to wait for 10 minutes at that place before I could see the "baby ali", dressed in all pink, knocking at one of the car doors, waiting to get in! We went on to pick up Shweta, Bose and finally Shuchi from Gurgaon!

We were on the Delhi-Jaipur highway at around 10 A.M., heading to our destination point! I settled comfortably in the designated "activity seat" with Shuchi 'n' Megha, and Shweta 'n' Bose were happy in each other's company in the "lovers' seat";-)
The journey was marked by the usual chit-chatting, munching on chips 'n' biscuits & clicking a lot of bizarre photographs.

Somewhere around the mid way, we made a long 1 hour halt to have breakfast and tea in a dhaba. The place had a number of tables and chairs laid out in a wide, open area, alongwith a small section, covered on the top by a shed made of straw. We got a table set up for us in there.
Hot gobhi 'n' aloo paranthas, cut into pieces which resembled slices of a pizza, with butter, they looked so delicious, it was hard to resist!
A few rounds of these great Indian delicacies, alongwith cardamom tea, good times started rollin'.

But as soon as we started from that place, we were faced with something so likely to happen on a road trip...a busted tyre! It took 15 minutes for the driver to replace it with a spare one kept under the backseat of the car. And we set off again...

After a smooth run for about 10 minutes, I saw the driver slowing down. I called out for him to enquire, and he smiled...One more time!
It was worse. There wasn't any other backup, so this one had to be repaired. The surroundings were full of small open kiosks, selling fruits, peanuts, biscuits and soft drinks. With nothing better to while away time with, we started clicking some random photographs. Everyone around must be wondering if it was our first trip to India...After about 40 odd minutes, we left that place, hoping to reach without any more hassles.

Finally, at 1 P.M., we were right in front of the huge entrance to the Neemrana Fort Palace, gazing at that enormous structure, dating back to the 15th century! An entry ticket of 200 bucks each entitled us to roam around in the fort, for a couple of hours.
Just at the entrance, there was a cart, which reminded me of similar ones shown in the movie Umrao Jaan. So peculiar, I'm still wondering why it was there!

After walking up for a while, we came across an open area, in the shape of a dial of a huge clock. All around this place, were beautiful flowers in colours of pink, orange and white. Shuchi went crazy seeing them and got so many pictures clicked with all of them.

A bit further, was the reception, which led to the five star rooms, ranging from 3-17 grand! We went further up to a corridor, which opened to an area where the lunch was laid out. It had been a long time since we had had the breakfast and everyone was starving for another meal. It was a lavish buffet for 750 bucks, a bit too expensive to suit our budget!
So we headed to the snack bar, just a few metres away. We were just about to settle down on a couch nearby, when Megha saw a staircase going up to a small terrace.

At that point of time, no one would have thought that it was where we would spend the rest of our day! The weather was just perfect. The sun wasn't too bright; a cool breeze once in a while kept brushing against our faces, leaving a queer twinge around the nose. It was simply awesome!
For a moment, I stood there, with arms wide open, taking a deep breath, wanting to absorb all that beauty around or maybe allowing myself to be absorbed in that picture, becoming an unseperable part of it all!

We ordered for cheese omlettes, a grilled sandwich, vegetable pakoras and french fries, accompanied by red wine, courtesy Shweta and Shuchi. I shared a beer with Bose. The food was decent, not great though, except for the cheese omlettes, which were absolutely scrummy!

We spent about 4 hours at that terrace before we decided to check out the local market. The sun was about to set, hiding behind the clouds. We moved out of the fort, heading for the nearby village.

Megha wanted some Rajasthani junk jewellery, something by the name of hasli! Weird name!
As we walked through those streets searching for them, a group of kids and shady men
kept following us. Any shop that we stopped at, they would gather there and stare at us as if we were from some other country or maybe a different planet altogether! The gals in the group kinda liked the unwanted attention. They felt like celebrities!
After spending about an hour, searching for something to take back home, all that we got were a few pieces of some 'hard as a stone', 'filthy looking' barfi that Bose bought from a sweets shop.

It was time to go back now...It was dark. From a distance, we could see the fort lit up with lights all over. It was a beautiful sight. With a desire in our hearts to visit that place again, we left for Delhi.

As we hit the highway, a milestone read: Delhi, 118 kms. And not 180 kms, as I had wrongly heard when I enquired about the place. :-)

The song of the trip was "Tere Bina", from the movie Guru; listened to it endlessly till Megha's phone battery finally gave out!
Shuchi's exclamatory "Bose ki Barfi" still sounds funny!
All in all, one of the best Sundays for me in recent times. A day to savour!
One must pay a visit to this place. With friends or family, you are bound to have a rocking time!
Cheers!

Estranged~

2006-10-07T20:47:00.000+05:30

Lying on the bed
He has a hell lot runnin' through his head
He wants to vent it out
But he doesn't know what to talk about

He picks up a paper and a pen
And suddenly, there's a message from his friend
"Hey, how are you? It's been a long time!"
And he says, "All's well; I'm doin' just fine!"

He's happy, but he's sad too
What's this feeling, even he doesn't have a clue
He wants to smile and he wants to cry
Lookin' back at all that's come 'n' gone by

"Enough of it!", he says to himself
He doesn't care if he doesn't get the best
Live each day as it comes, they say
You never know if it was or it may
Fuck fear and drink chilled beer
And life gets goin' in the top gear!

I'm on the Outside...I'm lookin' in.

2006-09-10T16:16:00.000+05:30

A cluster of random, disparate thoughts in my head:

No matter how good you are, you aren't good enough!
Ankur-Rohit-Sughosh : they rock!
I created My Own Prison...I wanna sing as good as Scott Stapp does!
I'm craving for a chocolate cake!
I wanna sleep...for a week!
P.S. by Filmschool is addictive...I can hear it loud in my head!
I hate the IT industry!
I hate professionalism. It makes you inhuman!
Why the hell did Liverpool lose to Everton last night?
I miss my iPod.
Will it ever rain in Delhi?
Why did God create irritating people?

It's funny how silence speaks sometimes when you're alone...

Punjabi by Nature!

2006-08-20T01:33:00.000+05:30

Last night I went to this restaurant, Pind Balluchi with my mom and my younger brother.
I had been there before and faintly remembered that the food served is good. But that's all to the memories I had of that place!
This time things were to be a bit different...

After waiting for about 5 minutes, we were given a table. It was furnished with 4 steel glasses, accompanied by a set of 3 bowls bearing achaar, sirke wale pyaaz and hari chutney and a glass half filled with water, and stuffed with green chillies up to the rim!

The decor of the restaurant was true to its name, ethnic Punjabi ishtyle!
As my eyes moved around the place, trying to assimilate what it had to offer, a waiter, dressed in a pathani kurta pyajama, with a jacket over it, came over to take the order.

"We'll have Dal Makhani, Butter Paneer Masala and Aloo Gobhi, with Pudina Parantha and Butter Naan, and lachha pyaaz!", I said.
A minute later, another waiter, in a similar attire, laid out huge steel thalis with 3 steel katoris in each, on our table.

As we sat there waiting for the food, people all around, were chit chatting, not very loud though, but enough to enliven the surroundings.
We could hear a collection of Punjabi songs, with the likes of "Gur nalon ishq mitha" n "Dhol jageeron da", playing in the background. I have never really enjoyed listening to such songs, except when they are played in the weddings or in the parties otherwise, but that very moment, I found myself in rapture!
I smiled and looked towards my brother; he smiled back too! Apparently, he felt the same...

For a while, I thought I was there, in the land of 5 rivers. I could smell that earth.
I felt as if there is a group of people at some distance, dancing to the tunes of those songs. I wanted to stand up and shake a leg with them.

Just then, the waiter came back with the food that we had ordered. The food was yum!
It tasted better than the last time. Mum 'n' bro were pleased too!
Once we had eaten to our hearts full, the waiter got us some gur 'n' saunf. That amazing feeling continued to surround me...
We paid the bill with a handsome tip!

As soon as we stepped out of the restaurant, my brother started speaking in Punjabi, not very fluent though, but at least it helped to keep that feeling alive.
We drove to Giani's for an ice-cream on our way back home, to add on to the "being-punjabi" feeling that we were smitten over by!

An awesome night with my favourite people around and that special feeling throughout, I had the time of my life!
Haddippaaa!!! :D

On A Day Like Today...

2006-08-08T13:49:00.000+05:30

Budged by the buzz of the alarm, he tries to open his eyes to welcome another day.
It's 5.45 am on the clock, so he opts for a short nap...15 minutes past, another alarm, loud enough to wake him up; it's his mom standing beside his bed...

His back's hurting, eye-lids defying to succumb to such an early start, he doesn't wanna get up, but he got no option! He finishes with his ablutions and is ready to move out in time, only just! He runs to board his office cab, tryin' his best not to offend the annoying cab driver, who always has an eye on the watch and is on the look out for a moment to nag! But alas, he fails again!

He settles comfortably in the backseat, the driver switches on the a.c., and off they go!
The cab stops at regular intervals for a few more colleagues to board. In the meantime, he has his iPod on, and in no time, he dozes off...
Half an hour later, a long halt... He wakes to realise that he's reached his workplace!
He gets off the cab, walks up the staircase to the first floor, flashes his access card at the door and enters what is going to be his world for the next 9 hours!

After a series of exchanges of "Hi's" and "How are you?'s", he heads for his cubicle, switches on his PC, logs in to all sorts of messengers, community websites and email accounts, except for the Microsoft Outlook, which he tends to forget, more often than not, and which unfortunately happens to be the most important one in any office! (in his too!)

His empty stomach calls for a feed, so he, alongwith a couple of friends, marches towards the cafeteria for breakfast. The menu is dull enough to kill half his appetite, still he picks up a sandwich for the moment and a cup of tea to go with it. After about 40-odd minutes there, he is back on his chair, all set to start with the day's work.

But then, he doesn't know what to do. As a matter of fact, there isn't anything to do!
So he traverses the list of friends on all the messengers to search for someone who's as idle as he is. Here he is fortunate enough to have a pool of "resources" to choose from!

After whiling away a lot of time in this activity, he overhears some people talking about some company news which he isn't aware of and after brooding over it for a while, he realises that he hasn't yet opened the all too important Microsoft Outlook on his machine!
In the midst of overwhelmingly large number of crappy forwarded mails sent by almost every member of the software engineers' community, he finds the desperately sought-after piece of information!

Alongwith these, he happens to find a mail from his client, quite important to say the least!
But just then, he sees the right bottom corner of the screen which says 1 p.m. - lunch time!
And so the client shall wait...atleast for an hour!
Another trip to the cafeteria, another disappointment; the lunch menu gets worse every day! But atleast he manges to eat up another 60 minutes!

Back again, he's too lazy to start working right away. He decides to play some good music to keep him alive. Some Creed, Pearl Jam and Zero to revive his senses!
Now he's ready to work again, but then there is no work. Oh no, there's a client mail to reply to, but it can wait again; the client is in US, so it doesn't matter if he replies now or two hours later; he won't be appreciated for a prompt reply anyway!

So he starts writing a new post on his blog; a relatively new interest that he has developed, and is enjoying it for the very fact that atleast something's keeping him busy!

Done with that, he still has about 90 minutes to piddle away! Tired of being in the small enclosure for so long now, he moves out for a stroll. After disturbing some people here 'n' there, he buys a cup of noodles from the cafeteria and is back to his seat, for the last 30 minutes of the business day!

Finally, a click on the "Reply" tab, 3-4 lines of gratifying crap for the client, with a glaze wrapper of "thanks n regards", there goes the mail! It's time to wind up for the day!
A series of "Goodbye's" all around, a flash of the card at the door, he heads for his cab, waiting in the parking lot. The first sight of the pale white Tata Sumo pisses him off; the front seat is already occupied! Left with no option, he settles in the backseat, waiting for the others.

After a 75 minute journey, through the crests 'n' troughs spread all over the city roads and a shitty long stoppage at a railway crossing, he's home again!

Physically deformed and mentally exhausted, he collapses on the bed.
The concerned mother gets him something to eat, which he happily hogs on! He switches on the television to find that there's nothing that interests him, except for glimpses of a few hot females in some music videos.(Rakhi Sawant isn't one of them!)

He soon gets bored and turns off the TV. He's tired. The day is almost over.
He lays still on the bed, eyes half open, thinking about the day gone by.
What did he do? What could he have done? And more importantly, what should he have done?
Following a serious introspection, he dozes off to dream about a better tomorrow, a day that will not be the same as today, a day to remember, a day of no remorse...

A buzz of the alarm wakes him to reality... He remembers what he had dreamt of.
He wants his dream to be real, but he couldn't break the routine! The same set of activities to start the day, turns him off. He gives in. And the hope for a better day fades away...

He's listening to Pink Floyd on his iPod... He has become comfortably numb!

Yun Hota To Kya Hota...

2006-07-24T10:06:00.000+05:30

Rarely do I get excited about movies, but I really couldn't have thought of missing out on this one. The day I saw the rushes of the film for the first time on the television, the wait for its release had begun... The biggest reason being the name under the director's column - the ever so classy, Naseeruddin Shah!

I've always admired him as an actor ; the ease with which he plays his part in all his movies - so effortless, yet so perfect! Now he emerges as more or less a consummate director, and strives to take his achievements, a step further.

A couple of days back, I was watching a special feature on the movie, where he talked about the mentations behind the film and the selection of the cast, and when I watched the movie, I was amazed at the perfection with which those thoughts were executed on screen!

The director is so clear about where to end, and he is on the right track throughout. It is so easy to lose way in between while handling four different stories in parallel, but when it's Mr. Naseeruddin Shah, there's a little chance of things going awry!

The last quarter of the movie leaves you dumbstruck! It took me a long time to sink in, the way all of it had come to a close, with the question ringing loud enough in the head :: What if?...

The title song alone forms the background score of the movie, which very well captures the essence of the plot and the different situations being portrayed.

All in all, a great movie by a great man!
A must watch...

Out Of Exile!

2006-07-22T10:03:00.000+05:30

Finally, after 3 days of blacking out of the blogs in India, following an insane act of "blanket blocking" by the ISPs, things are back to normal again!

It's such a relief for me, having been a part of the blogosphere for only a few weeks and being faced up with something like this!
Though there were workarounds to bypass the ban, but it wasn't at all comfortable to access your own web space through an alternative route; it simply ceases to be what one calls, My Space!
An attack on a possession, be it as small as a 20-day old web space, hurts still...

But now it's back to happy times for this newbie blogger!
Happy reading... :-)

Light A Candle

2006-07-14T17:19:00.000+05:30

More than 200 people killed...Hundreds of others seriously injured!
Let's do our wee bit for those who succumbed in the terror's darkness...

http://clients.ibnlive.com/features/mumatt/index.php

Please light a candle.

The Memory Remains...

2006-07-11T12:54:00.000+05:30

One fine day, in a land of jaded souls, a mutineer(well quite literally), managed to find something that would bring about weeks of much needed solace for us.
It was the famous, Condition Zero : Counter Strike!!!

I still remember the 2 weeks of "Fun @ InterraIT" (well that's precisely one of the things that my company wants us to do, didn't they say so at the time of induction?)... ;)

Planning strategies...Implementing them unsuccessfully...Managing to win a few times by killing the opponents or diffusing those bombs (I must confess, I made a mess of it when I had to diffuse one myself for the first time!)... That's all that our timesheets consisted of!
The only times when we got our asses off our chairs was to eat or to hit the loo...Revival! :D

Thanks to the partners in crime, "Seabiscuit", "Sher-e-Punjab", "Nightmare", "Newbie Prashant" and the boss, "Abyss"!
I surely was having the time of my life, but it wasn't to last for long...

And as all good things come to an end, this too, unfortunately, was destined to!

Seabiscuit & Sher-e-Punjab got another project, they had to shift to new cubicles, on the "highway", as they call it!
Newbie decided to move on in life and left the company.
Nightmare too has some jazzy mobile application work now!
And the man who started it all, Abyss, he too moved out just yesterday!

And here I am, all alone, no work(well that's official) and nothing else to indulge in too.
Lookin' back, I miss those days...Hoping the "disposable heroes" will be back in action...Soon!

-- Indian Superhero Krrish! ;)

Campioni Del Mondo

2006-07-10T08:52:00.000+05:30

9th July saw the curtains being pulled down on the best show on Earth that spreads its frenzy across masses, young and old alike, every 4 years!

This time, it was the battle of Asterix vs The Gladiators at Berlin.
I was at the Shangri-La Hotel, with the crowd of 100 odd people, wearing the colors of the teams they were supporting, drinking and smoking, chanting the names of their favourite players... just about the perfect setting to watch what promises to be the bestest 90 minutes that this beautiful game of football has to offer!

But as the gods wanted, it had to go on to 30 minutes of extra time and was eventually decided on penalties!

The Italian supporters went into ruptures as Grosso drilled in the last one! They were goin' wild shouting out rhythmic chants of "Italia" n "Azzurri", jumping in joy, punching fists in air and sharing hugs with unknown people who had just one thing in common, the support for the winning team; I was one of them!:)

Amidst these scenes of jubiliation, was a set of French supporters, in tears, shattered; they started moving out like a herd of sheep being taken back from the green pastures, to where they belong! A sad sight... I know how it feels; had a similar experience when England crashed out of the tourney!

But the history remembers only the winners, and after one of the best world cup finals in the footballing history, it was Italy who were crowned the "Champions of the World"!

Hail Azzurri

And the bastards lose...

2006-07-06T09:48:00.000+05:30

4 days of groaning following England's defeat in the world cup quarters...

It needed something really good to get over the lamentable chapter - what better way than to watch the Portugese bastards lose to France in the semis!

Ecstatic I am while I tag this pic alongwith...Who deserves these tears more than him!

Now really looking forward to the 3rd place match to watch Germany kick ass, and the dickheads goin' back home with NOTHING!

Let's get the ball rolling!

Yet again, bad luck struck its blow ; but I still keep hoping...just another 4 years to go!

2006-07-03T16:40:00.000+05:30

1st July '06, the day when England registered yet another penalty shootout exit from a world cup! after 120 minutes of hard fought battle, it took just 15 more minutes to confirm that their dream of lifting the prestigious trophy will remain a dream, atleast for another 4 years! we just did not deserve this...

dejected...crestfallen...i've mulled over it enough!
my world cup's over...don't have words...don't even feel like cursing anyone for the defeat...it hurts! a hell lot!

still can't believe it has actually happened! haven't been able to snap out of it!

but the fact doesn't change...so close yet so far!
can't get boged down...as they say "there's always a next time!"

we'll be back, even stronger...the countdown begins...just another 4 years to go!