Its 6:30 pm and I am on my 7th floor terrace.
For someone whose Bday it is today. Sunday, June 1, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A Toast
It calls for a celebration when a couple scores a quarter of a century. Though I would try and make my presence felt today by quoting a few lines about them, the fact is that no one beyond the couple really know the value of their journey together. It does sound strange to me but still I would address them as a 'couple' today rather than parents coz it is that day of their life which is exlusive to them and no mother.. father.. daughter can take their share in this..25 years.. though not so long.. but is still a long time.. To keep together in all the ups and down of life and nurture a bond so strong as that we 3 share today is quite a task..
Although they would love to disagree but to me their's is the most beautiful relationship in all those that i have ever witnessed. They may be different people..they are different people but they fill in for each other's lacunas so well that it is comendable. It is this that makes them so perfect for each other. They may not be the best individuals around..but they make the perfect couple together.
This celebration would be incomplete without a 25th wedding anniversary toast being raised to the eternal couple.. I love you Ma and Pa. And this is for you, for my parents.. Cheers..!!!
Monday, May 12, 2008
"Forever in Love"
Scene 1 : May 2008, UB City Bangalore.
Its a beautiful evening: ladies standing tall in high heels with flowing dresses, men smartly dressed in their crisp shirts, a shade of green splurged on this canvas by the numerous trees planted spaciously in this little open area of UB City in Bangalore. There are neatly erected rows of chairs with the bold demarcation between the sitting areas for the elite group and the young budding professionals. On our left Black Dog has lavishly displayed its golden coloured whisky, a glass of which is complementary with the ticket, along with unlimited yummy snacks. And to top it all the weather couldnt have been more perfect with the cool breeze blowing setting us all in a mood to listen to the best symphonies we ever might have heard.
And then sharp at 8, the focus light which all this while wasnt sure where to focus knew exactly what to do. A beautiful man he is (err.. man.. umm beautiful.... YES..). All these years I was so madly in love with his tunes but today I fell in love with the man himself. Never seen someone so humble and sexy. There is something about these aged Americans. Its like their charm grows with their age. He looked sexy in a plain white shirt carrying a soprano saxophone and sporting those curly locks which only he can carry. Yes I spent an evening watching Kenny G perform live in front of me.
Scene 2 : March 2003, PICT Girls Hostel, Pune.
Its 11 pm. Me and my roomie are under our sheets trying to force ourselves to sleep. Her bed is right next to the window (the massive window-it stretched across the biggest wall in the room and faced the front of the college campus). And Kenny G's Breathless' old tattered tape is playing on a borrowed cassette player. It had just rained and the smell was fresh in the air. Cool breeze and full moon peeking through the window into our rooms had just kind of set an atmosphere. We start with our usual bed time talks and invariably like every other day our conversation deviates and lands at what is being played and how we cannot get sleep if we dont listen to it every night (atleast me).
And I remember how I then became an ardent fan of his music, of his tunes. And it is today after so many years that I have listened to him again and I still feel that peace, that calm possessing me as it did then and if it wasnt for my friend I would have gone off to sleep at UB City on that chair.
Its a beautiful evening: ladies standing tall in high heels with flowing dresses, men smartly dressed in their crisp shirts, a shade of green splurged on this canvas by the numerous trees planted spaciously in this little open area of UB City in Bangalore. There are neatly erected rows of chairs with the bold demarcation between the sitting areas for the elite group and the young budding professionals. On our left Black Dog has lavishly displayed its golden coloured whisky, a glass of which is complementary with the ticket, along with unlimited yummy snacks. And to top it all the weather couldnt have been more perfect with the cool breeze blowing setting us all in a mood to listen to the best symphonies we ever might have heard.
And then sharp at 8, the focus light which all this while wasnt sure where to focus knew exactly what to do. A beautiful man he is (err.. man.. umm beautiful.... YES..). All these years I was so madly in love with his tunes but today I fell in love with the man himself. Never seen someone so humble and sexy. There is something about these aged Americans. Its like their charm grows with their age. He looked sexy in a plain white shirt carrying a soprano saxophone and sporting those curly locks which only he can carry. Yes I spent an evening watching Kenny G perform live in front of me.
Scene 2 : March 2003, PICT Girls Hostel, Pune.
Its 11 pm. Me and my roomie are under our sheets trying to force ourselves to sleep. Her bed is right next to the window (the massive window-it stretched across the biggest wall in the room and faced the front of the college campus). And Kenny G's Breathless' old tattered tape is playing on a borrowed cassette player. It had just rained and the smell was fresh in the air. Cool breeze and full moon peeking through the window into our rooms had just kind of set an atmosphere. We start with our usual bed time talks and invariably like every other day our conversation deviates and lands at what is being played and how we cannot get sleep if we dont listen to it every night (atleast me).
And I remember how I then became an ardent fan of his music, of his tunes. And it is today after so many years that I have listened to him again and I still feel that peace, that calm possessing me as it did then and if it wasnt for my friend I would have gone off to sleep at UB City on that chair.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Haunted!!
Have you ever felt that your past keeps following you everywhere you go and it never lets you off? No I am not talking about the people or the associates from the past who cross your way in the present. That would be a pleasant encounter for me. I love reuniting with people I have lost in touch with. But it is absolutley scary when situations from the past are put in front of you in exactly the same form as before. Situations that you dreaded and ran away from or lost to. Situations that you swore you would never want to face. And they come to you at the time when you have almost just started to forget about them, only difference being that this time they involve people who are presently very important to you as someone was in the past and this very thing tore away all the the relationship threads that you shared with them. I dont want to face the same thing this time around as well and lose another something or someone that is precious to me. That is the scariest thing that I have ever experienced. Good or Bad.. It was my past and I am DONE with it. But I guess it is not done with me. This is worse than the feeling of deja wu because here everytime new people are involved and it doesnt last just a few moments.
And today was that day.. after a long long time that I felt numb in my feet and shivered with the realisation that I was reliving my past all over again..!!!! To see it do the dirty dance in front of my eyes in its full fury left me speechless, although I fumbled with some words which didn't make any sense to me let alone to anyone else. For those few moments I had lost sensibility to comprehend what life was presenting to me. For once and for all :
'To Dear Life - I am tired of your Satanic gifts which present my dirty past wrapped in the most colourful of the covers. You rather not give me anything than give me this. Its lot of effort to forget the dread that this act of yours leaves in me and everytime that I think I have succeeded you only get back at me with more of this wrapped in even more beautiful covers. Should I stop believing in you? I dont want to be one of those who have lost faith in Life. But you need to stop troubling me.'
Well does life get any better
More yesterday than today
How I thought the sun would shine tomorrow
But it rained . . .
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Any takers for Flattery?
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" is attributed to Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832). But we still are unaware of the context in which this was said. Was it said with the flatterer in mind or the one being flattered. As far as my experience goes its only the one being imitated who gets to bear a smile as he witnesses his ideas, his thoughts, his style and his originality being stolen..oh did I say stolen? I am sorry, "imitated" it is. Ah! keep the crap aside. This is no imitation. Not acknowledging the genius of someone who dared to think otherwise and not crediting him for something which has caught the eye of many does not refer to imitation. This is stealing.
"So?? Imitation or stealing, I dont care. It sells. I get noticed and become popular." - say many who are on the other side of the court. They say he was foolish enough to not have fully utilized his capacity. "If he wanted he could have done what I am doing. But he didnt. He lost it. His loss was my gain. You see talent never gets wasted. It just gets credited to people who deserve it."
There are some things that I am good at and its nice to see people imitate me or emulate me as far as these are concerned. But when I try my hand at something totally new, to which I am a complete stranger, for which my confidence levels are bare minimum and I rely on my 'much-experienced' friends' advice to do better at it and when I see these friends 'getting inspired' by this approach of mine, the kind of high that gives me cannot be expressed. To top it all, they never accept the 'getting inspired' part and I dont bother to mention it to them. I am elated and believe that 'Imitation is the best form of flattery' whether the accidental flatterer accepts it or not.
Although I have another something once said by someone more popular - "Talent imitates, genius steals" by TS Elliot.
"So?? Imitation or stealing, I dont care. It sells. I get noticed and become popular." - say many who are on the other side of the court. They say he was foolish enough to not have fully utilized his capacity. "If he wanted he could have done what I am doing. But he didnt. He lost it. His loss was my gain. You see talent never gets wasted. It just gets credited to people who deserve it."
There are some things that I am good at and its nice to see people imitate me or emulate me as far as these are concerned. But when I try my hand at something totally new, to which I am a complete stranger, for which my confidence levels are bare minimum and I rely on my 'much-experienced' friends' advice to do better at it and when I see these friends 'getting inspired' by this approach of mine, the kind of high that gives me cannot be expressed. To top it all, they never accept the 'getting inspired' part and I dont bother to mention it to them. I am elated and believe that 'Imitation is the best form of flattery' whether the accidental flatterer accepts it or not.
Although I have another something once said by someone more popular - "Talent imitates, genius steals" by TS Elliot.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Flocke
He is by far the cutest polar bear I have ever seen. Look at the way his pom-pom is jutting out. He is called Flocke (Snowflake). Found him here (on page 18).Friday, March 28, 2008
A tribute to 'Ramble' .... Ramble is still alive
Life can be such a bitch. It has come a full circle for me and I dont like this circle game that it plays. You reap what you sow. Be good to others and good shall happen to you as well. These philosophical statements dont even look good in the books let alone when they start applying themselves to your life.
With time I have learnt to appreciate what people do for me. People....umm..I mean good friends. And as far as the rest of the world is concerned, I have always been very apprehensive when it does something for me. Nonetheless, I spent too much time learning that art and meanwhile lost a lot. I lost him.
I have a lot of good friends who would give their right arm for me. And I feel I maintain a nice symbiotic relationship whereby I return with interest all that they have done for me. But I am never appreciated. Is it coz just like me they are taking their time to learn to appreciate or is it coz they dont have enough to appreciate about. May be I am being too calculative here, but isn't that something which all of us do at some point in time in our respective lives.
First love:
One can never forget his/her first love. 'How cornier can it get?', I used to think. Love is Love. You love this person today and then you love another person later and then another and finally you get married and you love this one person for the rest of your life. And in the middle of all this how can you ever think of your 'First love'. 'Love' has become such an over rated word, I used to think. So much so that I had stopped using it. I wanted to be true to myself. But I wish I had not tried to be so rational and just played the fool every young teenager does and told him that I loved him so dearly. So much so that I agree to the corny statement - One can never forget his/her first love.
But its true that life moves on and it waits for no one. You are smart if you can keep up with it. And I think I have been able to do just that. I may have not done a good job but I atleast have done the job.
With time I have learnt to appreciate what people do for me. People....umm..I mean good friends. And as far as the rest of the world is concerned, I have always been very apprehensive when it does something for me. Nonetheless, I spent too much time learning that art and meanwhile lost a lot. I lost him.
I have a lot of good friends who would give their right arm for me. And I feel I maintain a nice symbiotic relationship whereby I return with interest all that they have done for me. But I am never appreciated. Is it coz just like me they are taking their time to learn to appreciate or is it coz they dont have enough to appreciate about. May be I am being too calculative here, but isn't that something which all of us do at some point in time in our respective lives.
First love:
One can never forget his/her first love. 'How cornier can it get?', I used to think. Love is Love. You love this person today and then you love another person later and then another and finally you get married and you love this one person for the rest of your life. And in the middle of all this how can you ever think of your 'First love'. 'Love' has become such an over rated word, I used to think. So much so that I had stopped using it. I wanted to be true to myself. But I wish I had not tried to be so rational and just played the fool every young teenager does and told him that I loved him so dearly. So much so that I agree to the corny statement - One can never forget his/her first love.
But its true that life moves on and it waits for no one. You are smart if you can keep up with it. And I think I have been able to do just that. I may have not done a good job but I atleast have done the job.