Tagged..

Righto.. so Ive been tagged by a certain, psychedelic blogger, so below mentioned are 8 random facts about moi..

1. I love the vanilla ice cream, which is nicely packaged in a white plastic ball, with a blue cap lid. The vanilla never to seems to end inside it and it reminds me of my grandfather and the beach in Trivandrum. I recall vividly eating at least 4 of these things in one go, and cleaning them with sea water and then filling it with sand, and bringing it back home as a memento.

2. On the weekends, after particularly tiresome rigorous and back breaking workouts at the gym, i come back home, giggling and blushing. The world seems like a less evil place, i see colours, birds chirping a happy song, and most importantly, i feel like a goddess. I feel exceptionally beautiful and pretty. The very same workouts on the weekdays though, don't have the same affect on me.

3. Each time I'm about to sneeze, i think of potential people who could be thinking about me, and if my sneeze has been stopped at the same time when i visualised a person in my brain, i presume he/she is thinking about me.

4. I'm shit scared of lizards. Each time one comes into my bedroom, i run behind it, with my bathroom water pusher in hand. I somehow manage to chase it out of my room. And I'm extremely patient, i will run behind the disgusting, smaller dinosaur version, for as long as it takes.

5. I count while brushing my teeth, 50 strokes for each row.

6. I have a lousy memory, when it comes to dates. I forget birthdays of my closest friends, my close cousins, mom, dad. And i have to mention my older sister Sowmia, i forgot her birthday this year. She was in Trivandrum visiting my grandmother. So, i called her on her birthday and spoke to her like i always do, which goes in the lines of "Ay machi.. Wassup di? How are things" and then i hung up. At the fag end of the day, mom asked me, whether i had wished the cousin in question, i felt like a complete ass for forgetting, called her up immediately and wished her, whilst she laughed her heart out and asked "So who reminded you?" I felt very small, because she is one person who is always loaded with gifts galore for me, irrespective of the occasion.

7. I hate 3rd, 4th and 5th standard boys, they're violent, they box each other up, swear at each other and throw movie dialogues around like "Daaaaiiii.. Unna Konnuduve"

8. I love deserted open empty roads, because I'm a speedoholic. Crowded roads are fine as well, i just seek for the gaps in the traffic and i zip by. But, if i have a pillion rider with me, i drive at 30kmph because i feel responsible for the person's life and i would be guilty for life if something happened to them. I have to mention here, my friend Archana who was once sitting behind me, while i was riding, i overtook 2 auto rickshaws which were very close to each other, i drove by in the little gap between the 2 autos, and Archana's toe got jammed in one auto rickshaw's wheel. To date, i feel guilty as hell for hurting her toe.

Him..

Metal was life, until i met him, I was always anti-bhajans, anti-old Tamil songs, and anti Enrique's girly vocals.. For the life of me, i couldn't understand how a man could strum Opeth one minute and the next minute switch to an old Tamil song, which i would have some vague recollection of.

He was not perfect. He had the temper of a rabid dog. When he got pissed, God help me, and God help the people around him.

He had the maturity of a 50 year old woman. His words of wisdom, were priceless. They still linger in my head when things go screwy.

I have a lousy memory when it comes to dates. But, here are some dates i can never forget.. 29th September 2006, the day we met and spoke all night. December 25th, the last message i read from him. He sounded unhappy and worried.

We fought like animals. We'd say the meanest of things to each other, hurt each other to the T and in less than 2 hours we'd patch up.

To say I cant live without him, would be absurd, because i lived 19 years quite happily without knowing of his existence. And I'm quite sure i can live the rest of my life, quite peacefully, without him in it. But, life just doesn't seem right without him around. I don't like waking up at 3am, and sobbing into my pillow on random nights.

I remember distinctly, one of our BIG fights, i told him.. "Just stay away from me.. Don't talk to me till your stupid exams are done with" And i logged out of yahoo without saying bye. In less than 15 minutes i called him, i got his voice inbox. I didn't hear from him until his exams were done with. After 3 days, of cold war, we logged onto yahoo messenger, apologised for 1 hour to each other. After which i called him, and he strummed a cheesy Enrique song for me.

Him : Would u dance, if i asked u to dance?
Me : No
Him : Would you cry if you saw me crying
Me : No
Him : Would you tremble if I touched your lips
Me : No no and NO..!!!! Grr
Him : Alright alright.. *chuckle*

Looking back now at that very moment, I wish i hadn't stopped him, because whenever i listen to that song now, I break down.

Script Approved..

In the movie, Pursuit of Happyness Chris Gardner's only aim was to get the internship at Dean Witter's offices, get a job there and lead a happy and peaceful life.. He eventually achieved all that and more, but NOT easily, he had to go through a zillion hellish experiences.

When i woke up, this morning, I felt nothing like Chris Gardner. I was a calm, composed woman with an air of an ice cube, IE chilled and brain dead.

As a part of my curriculum, i have to do a 10 minute Documentary. I figured, 10 mins, no biggie. Should be fun. And i left it at that. I got busy with the motions of gym, movies and the occasional bouts of self pity/depression.

Back to this morning, i had to go to college, for my Editing class and i figured, i might as well meet the old hag, who is in charge of approving our shooting scripts.

When i walked into the room, my friends and classmates were already seated around the table, with her at the head. I grinned sheepishly at her and took a seat near my friend. I looked at her script, synopsis, outline, treatment, research, and a 4 column script of ten pages. I gave a her a "Dude, what the fuck?" look. Whats the difference between outline and treatment anyway, I pondered.

I turned to look at the hag, she was being her stuck record self as usual, harping on the same sentences over and over. She has an acute case of verbal diarrhoea. She just loves chewing people's ears off. Suddenly, dad seemed like the lesser evil. I wished i could trade places right then. I preferred listening to Dad's nonsensical chatter about the Nazis,aeroplanes, shares, forensic investigations, Attila the Hun, his security agency and god knows what else, to this woman's yap-yap-yap.

Finally after a few dragging minutes, my chance to flaunt my 2 page 'script' was 'bestowed upon me'. (Oh joy) She grabs my Stic file, looks at me with a shocked expression and asks me, "What is this?" I answer back calmly, "My script ma'am"

Her : Where is your research work? Have you done your homework? I cannot accept this.
Me ( slightly worried now) : But ma'am THIS is it.
Her : Please wait
Me : (stares into space)

10 seconds later,

Her : How is it that you have missed out on all this while all your friends have done their work? Please take a look at their work

Me : Wokay ma'am.

And i walk out of the room and run to the editing suite where i find two of my friends already seated on plastic chairs. I narrate to them my tale of woe. They look more worried than i should've been at that point of time. One of them shoves at me her stic file and the other advices me to go to the nearest Internet cafe.

The walk from college till the cafe was nerve-racking. The details had JUST sunk in. If i don't, get my script approved TODAY from the hag, i wont be able to shoot my documentary, and i wont get the college equipment on the actual shoot date.

As soon as i reached the cafe, and sat down opposite a computer, my fingers shot out like a Rocket post countdown. I was done in 15 minutes. I ran back to college, with my "many more pages and details now" script.

I waited once again, for my chance to come, she took my stic file from me, after giving me an 'Oh no, not YOU again' look.

Her : What is the objective of your show?
Me : Ma'am dream big, achieve bigger
Her : I don't want all this blah blah blah of words in your synopsis. I want to know what your objective is. You say you want to do a profile on these 4 women. But their professions have no connection at all. What exactly are you trying to say?
Me : Ma'am why should their professions have a connection at all? I'm just trying to show a few well established women in their respective fields of work. Plus, I'm trying to say that WE are the future. WE have to tap our hidden potentials, stretch it to the maximum and eventually the world will be under our fingertips.

(Argument Continues)

Her : You're a lazy person
Me : Sure, what would that make YOU? (not out loud)

(Argument Continues)

Her : Okie, your script is approved, but you have to work on it further. Please mail it to me
Me : Thanks a lot ma'am
Her : Good luck ma.

During the whole arguing process, i was nervous and tense. The blood on my face had probably flown to other parts of my body. And when i walked out of that room, I was still cold, partly with fear and partly because of the strong air conditioning in the room.

Honestly, productions, shooting, handling a camera, NOT my cup of tea. I don't have my heart and soul into it at all. But after this morning, I realized, I HAVE to make a kick ass documentary. I want the hag to watch it and think to herself, Oh my, that girl has talent.

My Dad..

My Dad.. Ex- Army Officer. Social butterfly. Workaholic. Sweet tooth. Chatterbox. The Multi tasker. The ladies man. Soon to be kickass Salsa dancer. There are one too many phrases to describe my dad. And whatever I write about him, would be saying too little.

Growing up, i never saw too much of him because he was always posted to some exotic location or the other, so i pictured him as a Superhero, the annihilator of all evil in the world (he fought a war when he was 18!! how cool is that?) some-one who i caught a few glimpses of, every once in a blue moon, and he always came loaded with goodies. And before i could blink an eyelid, he'd be gone again. And my wait would continue all over again, for him to be back again next year or the year after that.

Finally when i was 10, Dad got posted to Chennai, and i was made to pack my bags and bid adieu to my grandparents and my home of 6 years, Trivandrum. Finally, we were a family. Dad, mom, me, big brother. All under one roof.

Mom was always the disciplinarian and dad, the eternal fun train. If i want something real bad, i just have to say the word 'Daddy' in the most school girlish, i'm the apple of your eye way possible and he melts. ALWAYS. Victory is mine. ALWAYS.

Now you'd think, I'm a spoil brat. Yes, I am, 105% spoilt through and through. Despite the fact that he does things for me constantly and makes sure that I get my way, I have a short temper around him. I scream and yell at him, for the most pettiest of reasons.

Just an hour back, he asked me to heat a huge sandwich for him in the microwave. The sandwich was neatly packed in a plastic transparent foil. So, naturally, I undid the foil, placed the sandwich on a plate and set it inside the microwave. No sooner, had I done this, dad walked into the kitchen and said, "Don't put it in with the plastic foil". I didnt say a word, i merely gave him a disgruntled grumpy look. So he switched off the microwave and took out the sandwich. I did'nt hesitate to chew his head off. "Do you think i'm 5 years old? Why did you have to take it out now to see if the wrapper was on or not?" With that, I walked away, muttering curses under my breath.

I settled down with my sandwich in front of the TV, 10 seconds into the munch-munch, I began to feel guilty as hell. Why did I have to make a big deal of something so silly like that? Could'nt i have just let it go?

So, the minute I finished my sandwich, I ran to dad and apologized for being a rude bitch. He looked up at me from the book that he was reading, smiled and said, "You're a girl after all, you're entitled to your mood swings, it takes a lot of effort for a person to say sorry and plus i've known u since u were that small. So vent out all you want on me"

I felt the tears stinging in my eyes. Why do parents put up with us eternally bitter selfish breed? I think, they deserve much better children.

Musicians..

I think it's a universally known fact (okie not universally, I'm exaggerating, just my friend's circle would definitely NOT comprise the whole universe) that i have a thing for long haired musicians.

This post would explain why..

I was 15, he was 18. The HE in question was my first brush with the long haired musician variety. I had an elephant size crush on the lad. He was wild, completely mad, uber talented with his strings, chubby, curly haired and bloody exciting. I was probably more in awe with him than boing boing over him. Nothing happened between us of course because either he was out of my league or i was out of his. And we abruptly lost touch with each other.

My 15 year old brain began to loathe him. (Remember the story of the grapes and the wolf, when wolfie boy couldn't get to the darn grapes he started loathing it and called it sour, same principal was set in motion here)

Now, i have this really bad habit of NOT letting go of things. I somehow can't seem to forget, move on and let peace reign. I let petty things gnaw me inside out. The musician in question, is really famous now and i hadn't heard his music till half an hour ago. I was flicking through some music channels and this band caught my attention. I instantly began tapping my feet to their music. After about 2 minutes, i looked close at one of the members and i saw a familiar looking round thing.

It struck me then, that, to hate musicians is one thing, to NOT appreciate their talent is a whole different ball game altogether. Respect talent, put aside personal differences, give music a chance to do it's thing and life can indeed be, something on the lines of, happily ever after.

Final Note : Musicians, pig headed or mature, applaud their skills and walk away politely.

The Downs..

It's been 7 months and passing
The rawness of pain has been replaced by a numbness of acceptance..
The acceptance, of a cold reality.

Where did we go wrong? Where did I go wrong?
How could you walk away from it all?
Was i living in a web of lies, spun so perfectly by a master craftsman?

I want to hate you. I want to hate you with all my heart..
But i can't bring myself to feel anything, but respect for you.
I fell in love with you, long before i'd seen your face
I heard your voice filling my senses, much before i ever spoke to you
You were all that i needed, all that i wanted..
My world was YOU.

I miss you, would be saying too little.
You took away from me, my best friend, my teacher, my love, my better half.
You left behind a flesh and blood body with a scarred empty soul.

And then there was a solitary tear which rolled down my cheek..
I cried. I cried with all my heart and soul. Angered by the injustice of it all.
I do not deserve this.. I do not deserve this.
I want to forget. I want to let go.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico..

A guitar-fighter. He pulls a few strings and then goes boom boom boom with his guitar. Now what in the world, could be more sexier than that? And throw in the long messy hair, which keeps falling into his eyes, the way his fingers move on the strings and yes the fact that the guitar fighter in question, is Antonio Banderas. *drool* I think i died and went straight up to 7th heaven.

The story is pretty simple. The guitar fighter aka El Mariachi is hired by a CIA officer, Agent Sands played by, Johnny Depp to kill General Marquez. This Marquez man murdered El's wife and child and he has been hired by a Mexican drug lord Armano Barillo, to kill the Mexican President.This is the general outline of the movie. There are a few subplots as well.

If you're a lover of bang-bang dishum dishum flicks, then dont miss out on this one. And a word to music lovers, the background score was just mmmmuah. I CANNOT explain it in mere words. You just HAVE to hear it, to believe it. Mexican music is the most SOULFUL music, (to say the least) i have heard in my entire life. It makes you want to dance, cry, laugh and it leaves you begging for more. After the movie was over, i went back to Scene selection and played the music bit of the movie all over again.

Watch Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Period.

Gymming..

Gymming. When the word first came into my life, i just groaned and thought to myself oh hell NO. There is NO WAY i'm going to waste my life in a stupid room full of huge machines.

I took up a personal training thing for the first one month, burnt a nice BIG hole in my wallet, played along and put on 2 kgs at the end of it.

I was adamant to let the puppy fat stay. Who was i without the puppy fat? The chubby cheecks and the flab in general is who i am.

Then i noticed my fellow gymmers, i really LOOKED, and i saw this : Fit, in shape, good looking men and women busting their ass on the threadmill, EFX, and lifting weights bigger than them. Satya ka gyaan hit me like a metal thing falling on my head from the skies. (like the Roadrunner show)

I HAD to loose weight.. Cute and chubby is OUT, fit and active and dangerous curves are IN. And so it began, a painful journey of eating way lesser than what i normally eat. 1 hour of cardio and 8 sets of weight training later, I’m proud to say this, i have lost, 6 kgs.

And the best part is, i LOVE gymming now. My day is not complete if i dont sweat like a pig, pant like a dog and make strange foo foo noises.

I strongly recommend a 2 hour workout to junta who is the OLD me. It gives you a natural high. For the rest of the day, you'll be all giggly and drunk on fresh air. And your energy levels would be so high, it would surprise you.

Tooral Mazha..

Tooral Mazhais are the most annoying things that can happen to us "if i sit at home for longer than a minute my head will explode" people..

Rains are associated with joy, beauty, giver of life, 2 lovers sitting on a tree and k-i-s-s-i-n-g.. and so on.. I wish i could whack the penner of those phrases and ask him/her, are you out of your mind..? Do u LIKE being house arrested..?

Back to Tooral Mazhais, they're not even REAL rains.. Tooral rains are like dogs peeing on random telephone poles and car tyres and running away to find a new spot to pee on.. The frequency of the drip-drip is unpredictable..

And its this unpredictability factor, which makes Tooral Mazhais even more annoying.. I woke up this morning late as usual, gobbled some breakfast and rushed out to my bike. Dad insisted, "Wear your raincoat.. looks like it's going to pour.." The embarrassing bright yellow Winnie the Pooh raincoat flashed in my brain, i preferred freezing to death over looking like a spectacle. So i said aloud, "Naah.. its not raining now.. i'll take my chances and not wear my raincoat pop.."

With that, i kickstarted my bike and vroomed onto the roads.. No sooner had i crossed the first traffic signal, it started to pour. So, out came Winnie the Pooh. *groan*

As soon as i reached my college parking lot, i flung Winnie into the deepest corner of my bike.. That done, i heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the good Lord for not letting anyone see me dressed as a clown..

Rains.. LOUSY stupid rains..

First Dates..

First dates are strange things. You're dressed your best, you're nervous as hell and you want to leave a good impression. It's almost like giving a job interview, without getting a job at the end of it. And now all these factors loom really large especially when the date is someone you ACTUALLY like. I don't believe in love at first sight, but i DO believe in crushes at first sight. I saw him, i went wowie and the rest is history.

So, my first date with the lad was not too bad. I would'nt term it a COMPLETE disaster. I could've babbled a little less maybe, but i was nervous as hell. My heart was bungee jumping inside my chest and my brain was on a temporary holiday to the Bahamas.

I was completely drunk on this ragged,could've ironed his shirt at least lad. I took in the details.. the ear-ring, the little patch on his left eyebrow, the hint of a stubble on his face, the chunky watch on his wrist, the uncombed messy hair, the boyish grin. I was on a date with a Greek God.

So, what happened next you ask? Do we have a happy ever after ending? Do i confess the violent boing boings of my heart to him? And does he grin and give me a nice warm bear hug? Nope. Sadly, none of the filmy eeshtyle drills happened. Instead, we parted with waves and polite tadas and vroomed away, in opposite directions.

Some things, are just too good to be true, like shooting stars, one minute they're around and the next they're gone. First dates and shooting stars are quite the same. You catch a tiny little glimpse of joy and before you can wallow in the moment, its gone.

The plane ride from hell..

First up, i'm shit scared of heights, be it on the giant wheel, the roller coaster, the ranger, you name it, i'm scared of them all. I'm the loudest to scream and the first to hurl in any of these rides. So, for someone like me to board a plane and stick my head like a dog, on that little window thing and look at the view below, is QUITE nerve-racking.

This was not my first plane ride, i've been there done that. What i really REALLY look forward to, in any flight, is the food, its all in miniature. Yummy food in blow up your nose portions, a great Indian sweet thrown in and tea or coffee, is the standard menu for an economy class air ticket.

I boarded flight IC-932 at 6.40 pm, sweated my pores out like a pig for the next 15 minutes and when it took off the runway my face was plastered on the window, and i kept looking down at the view till i could see no more of it. The next 25 minutes were agonizing because the hot steward men still had'nt served the food and i kept digging mom on the arm, whispering loudly in her ear, "where's the freaking food?"

An announcement of turbulence and bad weather later, food was FINALLY served. I was midway through my meal when the plane started jerking a little and i thought to myself, "oh yippie, i'm finally home, the plane must have landed." Instead, the captain announced his apologies and requested the cabin crew to take their places immediately. The sandwich i was eating was stuck in my throat, my tummy was brewing up a mini-cyclone and i whispered hoarsely to myself, "i'm going to die on a freaking plane OR be stuck on an island like those men and women from the TV series Lost"

But i was quickly distracted from thoughts of death by the yummy Rasagolla and 15 minutes later we were in Chennai. The first thing i did as soon as i climbed down the steps of the plane was, to touch the ground with my fingers and feel solid earth once again.

My Doctor lady..

The old - the young, the rich - the poor, the posh fancy car riders - the Enfield bad boy riders.. They all have one thing in common.. DISEASES.

I caught my usual cough - cold - i think i'm going to hurl last night's dinner syndrome. I tried age old remedies suggested by mom.. I gulped 6 glasses of steaming hot milk with tumeric powder and i also inhaled hot water with cabbage leaves with a blanket over my head. But the cough-cold monster did'nt seem to budge. I could almost hear them saying, try a little harder sucker.. *evil grin*

Waking up with a brick like feeling in my chest and a toad like voice today morning, was the last straw. I croacked.. "Mommmmiiieeee, I want to go to my doctor lady. *sniff*

My doctor lady, is an adorable really fair, rolly polly thing, with a HUGE friendly grin. She talks nonstop, UNTIL you remind her that she has other patients, waiting in line for her services. Her consultation hours officially begin from 10am to 12 pm. So i kept reminding mom to get ready FAST so that we would'nt have to be waiting for a whole hour and a half before she could see me.

We reached DOT at 9.55 am. There was boy and an old man already seated on the plastic chairs . Mom and me took our seats as well and all 4 of us sat in mute silence, in a half trance - half meditating state. The old man looked at me questiongly with a "You're an able bodied more than healthy looking young woman, you should'nt even be here".. In return i coughed and sniffed. He seemed satisfied with my answer and looked away.

The only sounds that could be heard, apart from occassional coughs and sniffs were the sounds of cars and birds outside. So the sound of an Enfield roaring startled us a little, we all turned around to the source of the roar and in comes a smart looking thatta,with 3 lines on his forehead and a Kumudham magazine in hand.

The lights in doctor lady's clinic, were still not on. It was dark as night. We continued sitting in our trance like positions. A posh looking big car pulled up a little while later, and a very cute looking thatta-paati couple jumped out. Then an autorickshaw pulled up, with a smart mother-daugther duo in jeans and pajama.

The boy smiled into space, i turned around to follow his line of vision and saw Doctor lady rolling in. The lights were FINALLY on.. Hallelujah!!

Mom and i waited patiently for our turn to come, and finally we walked into her cool a/c clinic filled with her cute gizmos. She smiled and said, "But its not the wheezing season yet." Then she made me lie down on her little bed thing, asked me to breathe in, breathe out, do 'aaaa', the usual jazz. Then she asked me for my name (a ritual she's been doing for the past 8 years) and wrote down the names of the tablets, whilst talking non-stop about nothing in particular.

Moral of the Story : More than the tablets and the medication prescribed, it's the doctor lady who makes the difference. Just catching a glimpse of her round self, and listening to her ramble on, makes a person feel fit. Doctors really are miracle workers, the modern-day knights in shining armours. I salute the profession.

Only the Sparten women give birth to REAL men..

Under the command of King Leonidas, 300 brave soldiers fought against an army of a zillion for their country-Greece.

Everything about this movie is inspiritational, an absolute visual treat and definetelty one of the BEST war movies i have seen to date. Right from the war crys, to the witty one liners used in the most intense of scenes, to the costumes worn by the armies, is brilliant..!! 300 just gave war movies a complete make-over and made all the other war movies made to date, look like thrash..

The plot of the movie, is simple. The Persians want to take over Greece, and as per the rules of Greece a war cannot happen, because the elders are against it.

But Leonidas, is not ready to see his country burning and to see the women and children of his kingdom, become slaves to Persians. So they march forward and annihilate men, beasts, animals and immortals who cross their path. They die in the process, but every little bit of blood spilt, does not go to waste.

Greece wakes up and 10,000 soldiers go to war to avenge the death of their King and his 300. As the legend goes, Spartans are the descendants of Hercules himself and they sure did live upto that legend, by standing tall to a rain of zillion arrows thrown their way.

Hail King Leonidas and hail his 300..! *bows down in respect*

Bus number 5E..

To REALLY get to know a city in and out, you have to travel on one of the PTC buses. The ultimate mode of transportation, for the common man/woman.

The bus on which i will have to travel back and forth till the 16th of May, is 5E.. It goes all way from the Gandhi Mandapam bus stop till the vadapalani bus depot, its a painful one hour ride. Now Vadapalani, is a forgotten part of the city. Every 10 steps on the Vadapalani roads will make u want to hurl. Dirt everywhere, strange odours, oggling men (despite the fact that you're wearing the most horrendeous kurta you own) and to add to it all.. the intense Madras heat. Hell, is right HERE on earth ladies and gentlemen.

A new world has opened up to me.. I have become a hard core PTC bus traveller. And my landmarks to ensure that the bus is on the right track are.. some baby donkeys on the way, a barking rabid dog, a picture of Amma in red with the 2 leaf symbol under her picture which makes her look like a rose.. (Go figure) and a Subhiksha store..

And as for my fellow travellers and people on the roads, the following junta caught my eye.. A bunch of really cute looking beggar boys buying tickets from the conductor and one boy meticulously stuffing four 10 rupee notes into his pocket, a school kid standing next to me with a bag 5 times bigger than her, the fat oiled hair smelly woman leaning against me like i was her pillar, a cute big headed bald baby with big eyes lying next to his mom on a bench and kicking his legs and arms in the air and gurgling with joy every 5 seconds after seeing a bus whiz by..

PTC buses.. something all of us mall going, coffee drinking, movie addicts MUST try at least ONCE in our life. Our day to day problems would begin to diminish and fade away and we'd suddenly realize that our lives are painfree and very shallow at times.

Worldspace password renewal..

All worldspace subscribers are subject to a password renewal which happens midway through the month.. They send a letter with a zillion digit code which we have to punch in and only then can we listen to the darn device.. It gets locked, the music stops.. and mom goes beserk.. It’s a vicious cycle.

Last month found me standing in front of mom’s grey box.. with a remote in hand, punching in the finger numbing code.. She made me do this 6 times and all 6 times REJECTED flashed on screen.

This month again the darn letter popped in the mail and mom got even more hysterical because the instructions had’nt been sent along. So I gave her strict orders to take deep breaths and meditate whilst I went to the worldspace website and penned down the instructions.

And this time she wanted to take matters in her own podgy fingers.. And I was glad.. I read out the numbers, she punched them in and voila (miracle of miracles.. there is a God after all) ACCEPTED flashed on screen.

She looked at me with a huge grin on her face, gave me a Hi-5 and said.. “Gayu and mommie make a deadly combination” She continued grinning like a 5 year old for couple of seconds more and then waddled back to her worldspace.

Moral of the story : Grown ups are not really grown ups at the end of the day.. They’re just a bunch of eager enthusiastic lollipop sucking kids with a lot of responsibility on their shoulders.

The Momminess kicked in 7 years too early..

At some point in a woman’s life, she starts to think about her unborn child. And I have reached that point in my life.. apparently.. gulp

From kid-hater, I have progressed on to kid-lover.. There’s something about this kid.. The minute she sees me, her eyes light up and she runs towards me like I’m a precious gem. It’s absolutely adorable.. I feel so loved..

She goo goo gaa gaa’s with me, calls me akka in loud screechy tones every 5 seconds and she gives me hugs of death.. By hugs of death I mean she’s very aggressive.. She pinches me first and then kisses me, she grabs fistfuls of my tresses and then hugs me.. And so on and so forth..

Now in the past, if a kid did the above I would’ve whacked the little monster and run a mile.. But now things have changed.. I have changed..

Traffic Signals..

Have you ever wondered about the life of street people.. Are they nice, are they smart, are they happy, do they have hopes and dreams which they wish to fulfill?

Madhur Bandharkar's Traffic signal is a moving tale about THAT world, a world unknown to us or rather a world we all choose to IGNORE.. Each time we shoo away a beggar boy and then throw him a coin or two, or buy flowers from a little ragged girl we are adding on to the economy of our country.

I dont want to reveal the plot of this movie because i dont think i will do justice to it.

What really grabbed my attention and kept me on my chair for 2 hours and something minutes, was the smiles on their filthy unwashed faces. Horrible living conditions, people who treat them like dirt and barely enough food for survival does'nt bother these people.

Ever willing to lend a helping hand to their fellow workers and having a good time right in the middle of the road.. taking joy from the little things in life, like having a bath from a leaking water lorry and splashing around in the water fountain of a traffic signal keeps them going.

The message i learnt from Traffic Signal : The rest of us non-street workers are too caught up in our problems that we're forgetting to live our life in all it's splendour and glory. Happiness is all around, but we're all forgetting to just BREATHE it in. And even as i typed that line, i felt like a hypocrite.. because, i was tearing a little thinking about a certain someone and wondering if i'd ever see him again..

The man without fear..

Batman Begins truly leaves a mark on any Batman lover's brain.. It's refreshingly different from all the previous Batman flicks made namely Batman and Robin, Batman Returns and Batman forever.

Batman Begins has no overdose of mushy scenes, no overhype of the superhero himself and NO SCREAMING WOMEN.. Thank god..!

Batman Begins takes us to the man behind the mask and back to his roots.. Bruce Wayne, a small boy who has a fear of bats and whose parents get killed right in front of his eyes.. His goal in life henceforth : Avenge his parent's death and kill the gun-man.. But as fate would have it, someone beats the young man to it.

So he fleds his home town Gotham and associates himself with criminals to learn their ways.. He gets locked up in prison and a nasty brawl brews between the young boy and several other inmates.. He's thrown back into his cell and to his surprise he sees a well dressed man in the shadows who invites him to join an elite group.. "The league of Shadow".

The young Bruce Wayne accepts this invitation, learns many a lesson from his mentor (the well dressed man previously mentioned) and he thus becomes one of his best pupils.

But when his mentor orders him to execute a man, Bruce refuses to do so because of his principles and his passion for justice.. So he burns down the whole place and runs back to his home town Gotham and back to his ever faithful butler, who still has hope burning in his chest for his young Master Wayne.

With the help of his butler, Alfred and a former board member of Wayne enterprises, Lucius Fox, young Bruce Wayne slowly morphs into the man who BECOMES the fear himself.. BATMAN..

What follows next, is Gotham city under the clutches of the League of Shadow who are hell bent on the destruction of Gotham and the Scarecrow who plays a minor role now and then..

Every detail in this movie is an ABSOLUTE treat for the eyes and the imagination.. After watching the final scene of this movie, which involved a Joker Card, i'm restless and impatient.. I want to scream out to the movie makers.. Make the sequel.. FAST..!

The MESSAGE i learn't from Batman Begins : Even heroes have a right to bleed.. All of us fall down with a MIGHTY THUD, but we HAVE TO stand up again and face our demons.. True courage lies only in that.. The world has no place for cowards..

My partner in crime..

When i was 13 years old my father got me a new toy to play with.. An LG computer. I was thrilled as any child would be on getting something new.

I started exploring the parallel world of the internet and I soon became a voracious virtual socialiser.. And i met people.. Many people.. Some nice, some not so nice.

But i'm not going to get into my "virtual socialising" addiction now.. That's a tale of gore which shall be narrated in another post.

Back to my LG system now.. She has been my closest confidante, my partner in crime and my best friend when life was'nt a bed of roses.

A technician from Airtel had come home in the morning, to fix a problem in our broadband. All the while he was here, he kept saying.. "This system is too slow.. You have to upgrade it" He repeated this sentence every 5 minutes with a look of impatience and disgust.

And my brain whispered an order.. PUNCH HIM HARD.. I was surprised at the amount of anger seething through my body.. I could almost see and feel molten lava oozing through every vein.

I had to bite my tongue down from screaming.. "Don't tell me what to do with my PC, there's nothing wrong with it"

My computer suddenly seemed like family.. like my younger sister perhaps.. i could'nt stand the thought of an outsider coming home and giving me gyaan on my sister.

Maybe i was just pissed off with being woken up so early in the morning or maybe, the demented book i had been reading lately, about a psychotic mother who treated her daughter like dirt, was lingering in my brain.

But one thing's for sure.. This PC right here has been my life support for the past 8 years.. i love this pile of metal with all my life..!

The evolution of mankind..

When God created Adam and Eve he hoped that they would be good to each other, make loads of babies and live in peace and harmony..

But what did they do..? They ate that DARN APPLE and the happy lazy life they led was history..

And Adam and Eve's kids didnt do much to help the darn apple situation either.. they did'nt undo their parents wrong, instead they continued screwing around, and in no time the world said hello to terrorism, thefts, murders and all those other horrible crimes an insane human being is capable of doing..

The past 3 days ive seen some pretty nasty things.. And i did'nt do anything.. i just stood by and let it unfold before my eyes..

Incident 1
I was at Landmark with a friend, we were walking towards the Exit gate and we saw a fight brewing up between an old watchman and a middle-aged rich looking man.. It was a tongue lashing war and no real harm was done, but after about a minute the youngish man grabbed a cup of coffee the old man was drinking, threw it to the ground and next he pushed him on the ground..

I was shocked.. The wind got knocked out of me.. Patience, tolerance and respect to our elders irrespective of their financial status and standing in the society was something we've all been taught, at school and at home..

Now WHATEVER the old man had done to this middleaged man he should've complained to a higher authority and left it at that.. he had absolutely NO RIGHT to raise his hand at a helpless old man..

Incident 2
I had just finished my workout at the gym and was walking towards my bike at the parking lot.. I noticed a little boy screaming PODA and running away from a middleaged man who was eating something from the
roadside eatery.. This man, yelled back at this little kid and threw stones at him..

The man was well dressed, he was in his office clothes and im sure he was atleast a DEGREE holder.. Havent we been taught NOT to raise our hands at those smaller and weaker than us..?

For both Incident 1 and Incident 2, the UNDERLYING THREAD is that human beings are UNCIVILISED, HEARTLESS, CRUEL and BARBARIC.. Being well qualified, educated and having a good job doesnt really go a long way in making a man a good human being..

If we dont wake up and undo our wrong doings soon enough.. something REALLY BAD is going to happen.. Something MUCH WORSE than the darn apple situation.. And i sure as hell DONT want to be around to see it..