The Elephant's Tail (old blog)

Updates

2009-02-08T02:07:00.000-08:00

To think of it life's good...works going pretty decent, being able to play tennis on the weekends, partying with friends, cooked tiramisu ( if u remember the new year post, this was a clear milestone)

i realize my other blogs the ones on HR and business & economics are languishing...so i'll begin doing some work on that...also my new books character keeps coming alive in front of me wanting to be penned down and brought into existence

quite a few preachy posts have come from me...even if they were nice quotes from pretty decent movies (bruce almighty, evan almighty)...which go against my pledge to be a dude and not do that...bad bad mystique :P

the economic downturn is keeping things tensed around...at yest school gang's getogether topic did turn towards this somewhere between the 3rd and the 4th joint...oh btw i rolled my first joint...not as big a deal as its made out to be...but still good to have done it

and this is also an adieu of sorts...no not permanently (and yes i do realize i'm doing this one too many times bringing it dangerously close to be taken as a flippant statement)...well last time it was coz i was wondering why is it that i'm writing...now it is because there has been a tiff with a dear someone and i'm just too hurting right now to write anything other than overly sentimental and highly boring stuff that u wouldn't want to read neways...so i'll go mend my heart...and i can reassure u when i come back...the answer is still gonna be 42 and u still wont know the right question to ask

U - The Almighty

2009-02-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Bruce: There were so many. I just gave them all what they want.
God: Yeah. But since when does anyone have a clue about what they want?

God: Bruce, you have a divine spark. You have a gift for bringing joy and laughter to the world. I know, I created you.
Bruce: Quit bragging.

God: No matter how filthy something gets, you can always clean it right up.

Bruce: What if I need you? What if I have questions?
God: That's your problem, Bruce. That's everybody's problem. You keep looking up.

God: Parting your soup is not a miracle Bruce, it's a magic trick. A single mom who's working two jobs, and still finds time to take her son to soccer practice, that's a miracle. A teenager who says "no" to drugs and "yes" to an education, that's a miracle. People want me to do everything for them. What they don't realize is *they* have the power. You want to see a miracle, son? Be the miracle.

Rab ne bana di jodi

2009-02-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

so valentine's is coming and like every other year...i have nothing to add to it...even though i've been in three relationships...i really can't say i can add to the romantic dimensions of this day...like surender suri...romantic love has never come my way...while he may seem simple and i mostly end up doing the raj thing...underneath is the same simple person

so this simple person is taking u back to the movie:

Surinder Sahni: Yesterday, I saw her for the first time, and as I saw her, I immediately fell in love.

Surinder Sahni: I don't know what love is. Until now, I've never had good luck and have fallen in love with any of the ladies. I don't even know any ladies, forget about, falling in love with one.

Balwinder Khosla: Why do guys ride motocycles? To look "Macho". Why do they wear jeans? To look "Macho".
Surinder Sahni: Oh, but who is this "Macho"?...
Balwinder Khosla: Oy, Macho.
Surinder Sahni: [excited] Oy, Macho!

Surinder Sahni: [disguised as Raj] It's love, Taani partner. I swear to god, its true love.

Surinder Sahni: She'll have to fall in love with Suri, "I work for Punjab Power" only.

the whole movie our chap spends trying to do things to get the smile back on his girl's face...and that i believe is the essence of love...where that smile on your partner's face is the most important thing for u...

ofcourse a relationship only happens if ure partner also find their 'rab' in you

p.s. ask yourself do you know what makes ure partner happy

Single Awareness Day - Blogathon Week

2009-02-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

Original post: Single Awareness Day - Blogathon Week
Valentines Day is about a month away and as most may not know it is also celebrated as S.A.D. "The Singles Awareness Day". So as a worshipper of love, Luscious Sealed Lips and The Sassy Spinster have decided to celebrate this Single Awareness Day with all of you in our own way.

We are announcing a week long (February 9th '2009 to February 13th '2009) Singles Awareness Blogathon. And we cordially invite each one of you to come be a part of this run for love. (You do not have to be "single" to be a part of this. You could be married, committed, engaged, in an open relationship or whatever to participate and celebrate Singlehood.)

How can you be a part of this?
Please e-mail or comment in the comment box, your
Name
Blog Address (Blogger, Wordpress, Live Journal, all are welcome)
E-mail Address (This shall remain private)

Next step.
After you commit to participate by giving us your details. You will have to copy paste this announcement on your blog. This way we spread the word and invite more people. :)

Rules.
1) You must update your blog with atleast one post on Singlehood between February 9th '2009 to February 13th '2009.
2) The post should be in English, preferably.
3) It HAS to be about the niceness of Singlehood. Any post which talks about the sad or dark sides of Singlehood shall not be considered. After all we are celebrating Singledom, isn't it?
4) The post can be of any nature. An anecdote, poetry, fiction or whatever you like. (But it has to highlight the beauty and advantages of singledom.)

What will we do?
On February 14th '2009, Sassy and I will check out all the blogs of the participants and update our blog with the list of links of all those who have updated. That way, we all can check out, comment and rate our favorites.

evan almighty

2009-01-31T21:49:00.000-08:00

God: Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

trysts with trust

2009-01-30T06:04:00.000-08:00

trust is a very dicey thing...its like setting up yourself to trip. I've written about various aspects of trust earlier also. Today i cover another aspect...the basis for trusting...

while to a certain extent trust is a matter of risk appetite, trust is also a matter of logical deductions. The whole thing of why you would trust one person with your credit card details and not another.

First let me supply some credentials...i make and reject friends on the net, trains...anywhere. My credit card has been used by many diff people at diff points of time, i've had million $ worth of software code on my personal comp at a given point of time...etc etc

so when i say i know about trust i'm not exactly speaking from the back of my pants

Coming to the funda of logical deductions...what are these logical deductions, its the combined derivative analysis of words, demonstrated actions, situations and inherent play of emotions.

Lets take each of these in part and then in whole:

words: trust me, i love you, it'll be done, it won't happen again

Demonstrated actions: did the person do what he said, did the person do beyond what he promised, did the person undergo an inconvenience in favor of u, were the actions of no personal benefit to that person, when taken a step forward did the person reciprocate

situations: was there a possibility of reasonable doubt, could the situation be considered ambiguous, were there unbiasable evidences to point towards some conclusion

inherent play of emotions: greed, lust, fear. These three can color your own vision as well as that of the person being thought of. In down times or dicey times its usually not the strongest person who will last with you but someone who is not afraid to lose, does not suffer from greed or does not lust; which ofcourse never happens...so you need to figure out what that person has greed for, what that person lusts for and what that person fears.

And when you think of all these...together u will be able to logically deduce...what needs to be logically deduced.

An important aspect which could easily slip from your thought, that in all this you are judging the person...not as to how that person is...but there trustability...but u still are judging and one must be conscious of this fact...

while i have given all this gyaan...i've basically seen two kinds of people...people who trust easily and people who find it very hard to trust and its mostly based on their own fears than about the people around them...

so after all this piece of useless information which you can't use...i leave you with one nice link

world's top ten con men

Hold Me

2009-01-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

Hold me baby;
Coz no matter how strong i am;
There is still that weak bit in me;
That only finds solace in your arms

spiritual, sexual...shocking

2009-01-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

ok the next two posts as per the plan were something more innocent...but coming back from the gym i was pondering on this topic...hence i will post this topic :P

so if u read the last post...it was about aghoris and nakedness in a relationship...

but i didn't interconnect the two...i will now...in just a minute...but i need to spend a few lines on a build up to that...

sex can be an addiction...done out of the force of habit...it can be spiritual...where u deliberate on every moment of it

smoking can be an addiction...done out of the force of habit...it can be spiritual...where u enjoy every puff of it

living can be an addiction...where u live out of the force of habit...or it can be spiritual...where u can feel the energy of every breathe that enters your body

so now i come to relationships and aghoris...a relationship and here i'm just restricting myself to romantic relationships...is a commune of two people...

and now switching to aghoris...the whole concept of aghoris is to end the concept of duality...of difference...and that by the most agressive way...the most horrifying way to normal people...

and i was wondering is kinky sex an expression of the same...the pain, the humiliation...of a strapon sex...of footworship...of flogging...of collaring her...i'll not go into further descriptions...but the more i think about it...the more i believe kinky sex is about stripping the partners of their dignity...that one layer of duality that separates the two...once the ego is gone...the two partners are no longer two...they may be physically two bodies...but the trust and understanding between the two...is of one person.

it may not be the only way of establishing singularity of existence between two people...it may be the aghori way...but that's what i understand it is...

nakedness...the aghoris

2009-01-18T03:23:00.000-08:00

...no its not the same as nudity...

its like shrek says...we ogres are like onions...we have layers...its about stripping of those layers

the first layer is ofcourse clothing...but it is also the most trivial...

the second is of history...of secrets...of things kept locked away

the third is of thoughts and feelings...of not feeling/thinking one thinking and saying another or keeping the them hidden

the fourth is of dignity, of vanity of ego, of self...

and like Keshi this time i'm gonna ask u questions

1. are there any more layers?
2. in a relationship what layers should one keep/lose
3. have u been in a relationship where u removed those layers...was that a happy relationship? if not, why not?

now continuing on with the topic...

Holiness cannot only be macho, but even 'crazy', god-possessed, as it is shown by the members of a rather obscure and small sect, the Aghoris.
They emulate the most extreme characteristics of Lord Shiva as the Conqueror of Death: his favourite haunt is the cremation-grounds; he bathes in cremation-ashes; he wears a garland of skulls and bones; he keeps spirits and ghosts for company; he is continuously intoxicated; and he acts like a madman.
The Aghoris willingly transgress all ascetic (and Hindu) taboos, convinced as they are that by 'reversing all values' they will speed up enlightenment. While all sadhus are supposed to be vegetarian and teetotallers (like all ordinary Hindus for that matter), Aghoris eat meat and drink alcohol.
Even more horrid habits are attributed to Aghoris: they eat the putrid flesh of corpses; they eat excrement and drink urine, even of a dog; they have ritual intercourse with menstruating prostitutes on the cremation-grounds, where they usually hang out; and they meditate while sitting on a corpse.
It is questionable whether all this is regularly done, but it seems quite certain that at least occasionally, and then in a ritual context, as a kind of 'eucharist', these cannibalistic and other 'inhuman' acts are still taking place.Aghoris preferably live on cremationgrounds and surround themselves with artifacts of death, like human skulls out of which they drink and with which they perform magical rituals.

some links for further reading:

http://www.adolphus.nl/sadhus/shiva.html

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=1JBVmho3M58

http://www.geocities.com/aghoranagasatyam/Peoplesaghoris.htm

to flush or not to flush...that is the question

2009-01-17T22:39:00.000-08:00

It is rather haunting, the notice above the Flush button in the toilet on the airliner, "Do Not Flush While Seated On Toilet."

One imagines the engineers of the toilet running tests with flush dummies with big flat butts and the suction ripping the stuffing right out of them, and the engineers thinking, "Oh criminy, you mean we wasted three years on this sucker?"

So lawyers were brought in to write the warning, which had to be short enough to be printed in large type so that old geezers would see it, who are the ones most likely to flush while seated.

So they limited themselves to those seven words and eliminated "Flushing While Seated May Suck Your Colon Out Of You And Cut You A New Orifice While Changing Your Gender In Ways You Don't Even Want To Think About."

I sat down on the closed toilet seat to ponder this and saw that, from the angle of the sitter, the warning notice is not all that prominent. A person could sit there and not notice those seven words, or mistake them for something innocuous such as "Do Not Flush Wallet Down Toilet" or "Use Only As Much Toilet Paper As You Need," the sort of signage that's written by morons for idiots, and so - distracted perhaps by sudden turbulence or feeling rushed because others are waiting - he presses the Flush button and suddenly feels the toilet grip his hinder like a python seizing a rat. He tries to pry himself loose. No go.

Now the flight attendant is tap-tap-tapping on the door. "Are you all right?" she asks.

The man on the toilet, Mr. Murphy, doesn't know how to answer that question. He is, basically, all right in that he is an economist with a shining resumé, is married to a noble and resourceful woman, has three excellent children who are drug-free and on the upward path, and he is flying to Washington to interview for a high-level position in the Department of the Treasury.

On the other hand, he is trapped in the toilet.

She persuades Mr. Murphy to unlock the door. She tries to yank him off the toilet by his wrists and then she lifts up his shirttails and tries to break the seal by inserting her elegant fingers between the toilet seat and his posterior. But he is well and truly stuck.

One last yank and she accidentally pushes the Flush button again and it makes a great flubbery sound that shakes the aircraft, and now poor Murphy feels his innards being pulled downward. He faints. And when he awakens, the plane has made an emergency landing in Schenectady and six men in yellow phosphorescent coats are cutting the toilet with an acetylene torch. They lift him out, the seat still stuck to him, and right here, as he's being carried to a gurney, his luck runs out.

A passenger shoots a video with a cellphone and that is the image that makes its way around the world via the Internet. Everybody and his cousin sees it, what appears to be a Parker House roll on a plate with arms and legs.

An economist should not get stuck in a toilet seat. That is a basic unspoken rule of life. And so ECONOMIST IN TOILET is the headline in the Enquirer, and so a promising career is cut short and poor Murphy must go into exile and teach accounting courses at a secretarial school in Costa Rica.

People do what they are told not to do. It happens time and time again. Here on the frozen tundra, it is known as the Tongue On The Frozen Pump Handle principle. If you put your tongue on a pump handle on a bitter cold winter day, the tongue will freeze to the handle and you will stand there, helpless, unable to cry out for help.

Not that it would do much good - most pump handles these days are in remote rural areas. We've all been warned against doing this and yet we all know that eventually we will do it someday. Somewhere there is a pump handle waiting for me.

I've always expected tragedy to strike around Christmas. A joyful season and all ye faithful have come and then, yikes! You flushed the toilet while sitting on it and your life will never be the same.

Gerbils? Beware u can die of grossness or laughter

2009-01-16T20:46:00.000-08:00

"In retrospect, lighting the match was my big mistake. But I was only trying to retrieve the gerbil," Eric Tomaszewski told bemused doctors in the Severe Burns Unit of Salt Lake City Hospital.

Tomaszewski, and his homosexual partner Andrew "Kiki" Farnum, had been admitted for emergency treatment after a felching session had gone seriously wrong. "I pushed a cardboard tube up his rectum and slipped Raggot, our gerbil, in," he explained. "As usual, Kiki shouted out "Armageddon", my cue that he'd had enough. I tried to retrieve Raggot but he wouldn't come out again, so I peered into the tube and struck a match, thinking the light might attract him."

At a hushed press conference, a hospital spokesman described what happened next. "The match ignited a pocket of intestinal gas and a flame shot out the tube, igniting Mr Tomaszewski's hair and severely burning his face. It also set fire to the gerbil's fur and whiskers which in turn ignited a larger pocket of gas further up the intestine, propelling the rodent out like a cannonball."

Tomaszewski suffered second degree burns and a broken nose from the impact of the gerbil, while Farnum suffered first and second degree burns to his anus and lower intestinal tract.

O.K., here's the top ten things that scared me the most in reading this story.

10) "I pushed a cardboard tube up his rectum . . ."

9) "So I peered into the tube . . ." Aaaaaahhhhhhh. I'm sorry, but that's like looking through a telescope into hell. I'd rather use binoculars to stare at the sun.

8) That poor gerbil (who obviously suffers from low self-esteem) being shot out of the guy's anus like Rocky the Flying Squirrel.

7) Suffering a broken nose from a gerbil being launched out of someone's anus. I'm just guessing, but I seriously doubt said gerbil was springtime fresh after his little journey into Kiki's "tunnel of love."

6) People walking around with these volcanic-like pockets of gas in their rectums.

5) People who do this kind of thing and then admit what they were doing when taken to the emergency room. Sorry, but I think I would have made up a story about a gang of roving, pyromaniac, anal sex fiends breaking into my house and sodomizing me with a charcoal lighter before I admitted the truth. Call me old fashioned, but I just can't imagine looking at a doctor and saying "Well doc, it's like this. See we have this gerbil named Raggot and we took this cardboard tube . . ."

4) "First and second degree burns to the anus". Wouldn't this make the burning itch and discomfort of hemmoroids a welcome relief? How does one ever take a healthy poop after something like this? And the smell of burning anus must be in the top five most horrible scents on the face of God's green earth.

3) People named "Kiki" - which is obviously a Polynesian word for: "Idiotic gay white men who insert rodents up their asses."

2) What kind of a hospital would hold a press conference on this?

1) This happened in Salt Lake City. What kind of people are those Mormons? I'm starting to get a whole new image of the Osmond family.

It sounds so much better when you hear the recording...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3X5f1KIERE

better graphics....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Jt_g10Jug&feature=related

debate: nice vs nice

2009-01-15T17:19:00.001-08:00

ok so this came to my mind yesterday and i'm still wondering about it...

we all have heard the quintessential debate...'do good guys end up last'...that in my mind is a very simple thing...i could never treat others like objects

but the debate is usually never about such clearly black and white areas...the debate is between how nice one needs to be

i know of a nice guy who is loved by two women...and that despite him having done quite a few bad things in the past...and u know if i'm saying they were bad...that means they were bad things to do...and yet both the women knowing fully well still love him...

while me who thinks that any number of relationships more than one in ones lifetime is a relationship one too many...i felt bad on breaking up with girls who i had a physical relationship with...even though i had made no implicit or explicit commitments to them...has never really been loved by another...

is there a thing like being too nice? or should i just say this is who i am, this is what i want...u like it come get it...you don't like it...well then too bad for u...

is there a con to being not nice...well yeah...u see all these fights happening in this world...its becoz ppl don't put themselves in the other person's shoes...

let me cite an example...a blogger frnd of mine (and plz forgive me for mentioning this) wanted her bf to buy her two sweaters...coz she was short on cash...neways the bf said no...pointing out that she neways had too many clothes ( he's evidently short on diplomacy...why couldn't he use a diff line of reasoning)...neways so the two fought up real bad...both good ppl...nice ppl...but niceness limited to only till their bidding was being done...beyond that the smiles and coochie coos turn turned into hot words and tears...why...because the niceness didn't extend to trying to understand what the other person was thinking and feeling...

so now the debate is open to the forum...

in god we trust...everybody else pays cash

2009-01-14T23:07:00.000-08:00

remember the time u learnt swimming...and the instructor after the initial few sessions took the class to the deep end of the pool and said jump...and we were like...wtf!!! and he said trust me...

or the time u learnt cycling...

the first trek where ure buddy said...trust me...i'll take u thru...u won't fall or get lost...

remember the times...when that trust was shaken...by your parents, friends, god...

ok now imagine this...think of a person..u believe u trust...imagine now that u r in some kind of ransom situation and a bomb went off and the money bag is in ure hand...and pistol has come in the hands of the person u believe u trust...and then u see him point it towards u...what thoughts come in ure mind?

trust is a very dicey thing...it essentially means believing in someone...when all the evidence points agaist that person...

i remember once as a kid...my mom didnt let me go cycling one evening coz it was windy and dusty...and i cried (ok i was small...though i still do get wet eyes sometimes)because i was like why am i being persecuted...all i wanna go is cycling and later when the dust storm had died out...she said now u can go and i was like two hours are already wasted...whats the use now...

why did i cry...had i believed myself that the dust storm was really pretty serious i would myself have ducked under the bed (yes i'm like that :P )...but i didn't and i didn't trust my mom's judegement at that time...

trust is a very funny thing...luckily through childhood and early experiences and lot of pondering...i've come to now easily recongnize ppl i trust and ppl i don't...and it's not that the ppl i dont trust are bad ppl (villains of the movie)...its just that i don't believe i can trust them to be honest with me...thats why i make frnz (and foes) very easily...be it in a party, a train journey, orkut...

there's also a lil bit of science to it...but let that be

the problem about trust is...it can get broken also...it can be because u made an assumption...it could be because the person did break ure trust...

and the worse thing is...it really hurts when u trust someone and they break ure trust...

but just as u don't stop breathing if u get a bout of tuberculosis...ok too severe..a bad cough and cold...same way u can't stop trusting

its a subconscious thing...even if u feel u r not trusting...u trust the milk co. to make the right powder for ure kids...u trust ure driver with ure life...

there are things where one should avoid keeping things on trust...like when someone gives u a bundle of notes...u should count it...because if u take it on trust...and by mistake a note fell short...or got extra...and neither of u came to know till later one of u did...and then u will never know what happened....and the trust will get broken...

othello (omkara) is about the same thing...make things as explicit as u can if there's a possibility to do that...and where u can't...well...then u gotta trust...just like u gotta breathe

oh btw...that ransom scenario...probably that person has the gun to shoot u...probably its to shoot the villain standing behind u...who knows ;)

alone : solitude and loneliness

2009-01-14T04:37:00.000-08:00

small post this...

people find themselves alone at various points in life...sometimes its solitude...when one wants to be alone...to be able to talk to own self...to ponder, contemplated and deliberate with self...or maybe just to sit around in peace with no pondering

then there are times when one wants to speak to someone...and you find that of all the numbers on your phonebook, there is none u can call...everybody has their own lives and their priorities...your friends are busy with their work, or own families, too caught up in their own troubles or maybe even if they were available it wouldn't help much...because not every person can be allowed to be deeply intimate with your life...

i have been alone in both the ways...and know how peaceful and calming the first can be...and how the second one is like living hell...

after this comes the para of preaching...but i'm not gonna do that...trust your destinies to understand the unwritten para and take you to your future...

what is it like....

2009-01-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

almost all of you know my fav topic...is kink...no brainer on that one...

the other topics u wud know are movies and food...

so today lets talk about another topic...which i do mention...but rarer than most others...meditation...

but before that u must understand the journeys of the person writing this post...of travels across the country...of self inflicted cigarette burns on the arm...of romantic love poems...of playing chess in lunch breaks...of sleeping on the floor of the train coach, not because he didnt have a ticket...but because he wanted to have the experience...of smoke and alcohol...of five years of abstinence...of a vow of chastity...of unbound sex...of broken hearts...of scientific phenomenon...of years of insomnia...of psychiatrists...of osho ashram...of treks in the pune hills (cursing shivaji :P )...of complex love stories...of playing wid kids...of software code...of cups of coffee...of jive lessons...of high heels...of flowing rivers...of sadhus...of greed...of thieves...or rude people...of random friends...

and then when u carry all the baggage of this knowledge and u sit down in medidation...all your thoughts come rushing to u...of rights and wrongs...of sadness and happiness...of injustice done to u by life and people...of injustice done by u to ohers...but u just keep sitting...letting the thoughts come and play but not getting entangled in them...being the observer...distancing yourself from those thoughts...and slowly those thoughts die away...and silence starts coming to u...and the moment it starts coming to u...ure mind tries to start talking again...but then u remind ureself to not talk...and there are no more words...no more thoughts...and u let silence over take u...till it grows so strong that u can't take the power of silence of anymore and u open ure eyes...

and this is where i break off the story...coz this is as far as i've gone...

i can tell u what i've heard of what lies beyond this...but that is somebody else's experience...and coming from me those words will be hollow...so i let it be...for u to be your own mystique wanderer...

Updates

2009-01-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

A brand new story... A Tumultuous Innings

The kinky erotica blog is finally up...invite only though...for those of you who wanna become a reader please mail me (girishkohli@gmail.com) or put it in the comments box, with the id you want to access the blog...though let me remind you...thats a no holds barred perverse ground...so dont come crying to me if some stuff offends you...you can always put in a request for a particular topic though

on the work front...the struggle to get things into a smooth flow continues

got back to tennis and gyming after a long while :)

and the personal front is as complicated and emotionally turbulent as it can ever get :P

rose of love

2009-01-08T18:38:00.000-08:00

plant a rose
where my ashes lie
and my love
will bloom towards the sky

Ishq mein gairate jazbaat

2009-01-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

jagjit and chitra:

Ishq mein gairate jazbaat ne rone naa diya
varna kya baat thi kis baat ne rone naa diya
Ishq mein gairate jazbaat neee...
Yaar ko maine mujhe yaar ne Sone naa diya
raat bhar taal-a-bedar ne sone naa diya
Yaar ko maine mujhe yaar neee...

Aap kehte the k rone se naa badalenge naseeb
Umarr bhar aapki ish baat ne rone naa diya
varna kya baat thi kis baat ne rone naa diya

Ek sabgul bule betaab k jaage naa naseeb
Pehlu-a-gul ne kabhi khaar ne sone naa diya
Yaar ko maine mujhe yaar ne...

Unse milkar hamein rona tha bohat rona tha
Tangi-a-waqte mulakaat ne rone naa diya
Ishq mein gairate jazbaat ne

Raat bhar ki dil-a-betaab ne baatein mujhse
ranj-o-mehanat k kiraftar ne sone naa diya
Yaar ko maine mujhe yaar ne....

Rone waalo se kaho unka bhi rona role
jinko majboori-a-halat ne rone naa diya

Ishq mein gairate jazbaat ne rone naa diya
Ishq mein gairate jazbaat ne
Yaar ko maine mujhe yaar ne...
Ishq mein gairate jazbaat ne

mystique wanderer

2009-01-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

what is the 'mystique wanderer'...is a question i many times ask myself...if he is girish the person then why not just call him girish...if he is shiva the lord he takes his name from then why not call him that...why mystique...why wanderer

as a child i had many dreams...i still do...the dream all is very simple...to live a joyous life...on god's earth why should i feel any pain...everything is a joy...

what is it in life that makes us be serious...being serious..'is against the natural order of life' a statement the govt uses to bias against the gay and lesbian folk.

if you see the movie...'the butterfly effect' u will get a very visual example of repercussions of action (btw here we count inaction also as an action)...that each action will have a side effect that you can't determine or calculate...and hence any and every action can cause us sadness...

while our actions are in our hands...it thus implies there effects are not...what we can do...is to do actions which we feel are for the good...and goodness is as i believe not akin to something that can be 'one man's food another man's posion'...no the "good" things...are things that make this world a better place...

As much as i try and do a "good" for u...i have no way of saying with any degree of certainity that it will make you happy...

can i do something...for which i can say...i will be happy...with a good degree of certainty...i guess not

then am i supposed to do nothing? i guess not

by the capabilities of our own faculties we are supposed to do as much good as we can according to our own understanding...

but at the end of it...there's no sense in taking the weight of the world on our shoulders...neither can i guarantee that my actions will make someone happy...nor can i ensure that i myself will be happy...

it is when we take the weight of the world on our shoulders does our existence become loaded with desires and angst...our existence should be light and joyful with there being no conflict with anything else in the universe...

hence be at peace with yourself...an eternal peace...

that...is the search of the mystique wanderer...

the illusion of complexity

2009-01-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

if we look around...we can see the creations of the human mind

the pyramids of egypt

nuclear science

spinal surgeries

and simple things like sewing machine, the steam engine...absolute marvels

But if you come to think of it...how in the name of God...did they make huge labyrinths which they connected through tunnels which were designed to make u go round and round if u didnt have the map....all with the help of giant boulders fitted without modern technology!!!

if u see it...its only a question of three variables...and multiple iterations over them and u get the answer

but i'll take u to something even simpler...the 8 queens problem...and the kinky sadistic bastard that i am....i will let u take the effort of googling what the 8 queens problem is.

But again it is the problem of 1 independent and 7 partially dependent variables...all locked together in multiple iterations...

But what is the key...the key is that even though there are hundreds of variables that go into a controlled nuclear explosion...the complexity is only an illusion...once u can look past it...it all breaks down into simple variables to be dealt one at a time and pondered over iteratively

Life is like that...job, family, love, friends, health, economy...and prolly around a dozen more variables...together they provide the illusion of complexity...that illusion becomes the chains we talk about often. But if u can look past the illusion...the picture starts unravelling...and the choices we need to make in life become very simple...

I believe the smile on a sadhu's lips...is because he can see how simple how life is...and he knows we can't see that :P

the fights

2009-01-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

ok early in the morning...hyper talks between bro and bhabhi...nothing serious...stuff like u didnt have ure medicine...where is it...i dont know...blah blah blah...

even though they have their cute moments...they have too many non cute moments...

gawd they scare the hell out of me...i think i'm ok being single...i'm turning into a saint neways...15 months already

so this year

2009-01-01T02:48:00.000-08:00

well lets look at what would be nice to do in this year

i want to..travel...lots of three day weekends...i want to just travel around

and i want to meet people...i'm not sure how..but i want to meet a prostitute, a self made entrepreneur, an actor, a gay, a politician and a hacker...yeps thats it...simple list

since the relationship thingy looks dicey...might seek out a fuck buddy, a domme, a sub...not sure about this one...but since this is the year of being radical...well...why not (oh and btw...the ppl shortlisted for love are not elligible for the platonic categories...no baby...no easy way out for u)

and i want to write one book, make one movie (that handycam variety...i have great many satirical comedy ideas), make one piece of wood work...also the tiramisu is pending from last year...neone how do i make cream cheese from malaee plz...

amongst the gross things...i have this pee fixation...have to do it off a tall building or a hill top...there were two extremes...the ocean is already covered...now the tall one

'i posted and came back to edit...if i can get a lil more physically in shape...i would like to model for one of those art colleges...evidently those poor buggers dont get enough people...how sad is that

and while we are at it...i totally missed out on how rishikesh and haridwar are gonna be my fav tourist spots this year...gilli baba wants to meditate peacefully...this will also be the year of spirituality'

oh and professionally...i will read up like crazy on all things about HR, go for one external training...and really kick some ass in terms of work output...

oh plus i want to try my hand at one of those reality shows...not the talent type ones...coz err...i have none (that i can display that is)...but like the apprentice thing or the roadies or something...

and last but not the least (oh btw if i miss nething out...i can always come back and add more :D )...is to make many many more random frnz...and spread more miles of smiles... :)

What if

2008-12-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

What if, when u finally got free from work..u called but no one answered...what if the choice had been simple but...u were late

As the year ends...i urge you to take a pause...and wonder what your priorities are in life...

for most things that we take for granted are the ones we care about most...but realize it only when they are gone...but then u can do nothing about it

pause now...take a look...for most of us our lives aren't ruined by a terrorist from outside...most families get destroyed by themselves

Praying for happiness for each one of you wonderful people out there...

may god be with u...happy new year :)

if only i couldn't write this post

2008-12-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

heading towards my friends reception in goregaon...the auto wallah got challaned by the police for jumping a red light (no i hadn't asked him to)...which surprisingly made him drive even more rash...

and no i didnt stop him...infact i hoped that at one of his dangerous maneuvers he would misjudge the breaks or somebody else would not react in time enough

and i wouldn't have to write this post

no i'm not contemplating suicide...this ain't hero heeralal
let me put it this way if i were in a hold up
i would fight the robber cause that's the correct thing to do
fight against injustice
but if he managed to pull a gun on me and press the trigger...
i wouldn't dodge the bullet

every day people get up and well some of them have something to look forward to
i don't...
i don't find diwali joyful
i could really count the number of times in the year that i have laughed
i am those of the generation who are lost
i exist for the responsibilities i have...

of a man in debt (education loan)
of a son
of existence (having consumed the world's resources for 26 years)

i must repay my debt...so that i can be a free person...unbound and unjudgeable

funnily u know there are drugs that can stop these thoughts...i know since i've taken them at one point of time...legally

but i don't want to...cause these thoughts are what make me...

the best murder mystery and i am hoping at least this is something i am first at...
is where the author...plots his own death

Happy new year everyone...see u on the other side

(p.s. don't get hyper...like i said i'm not doing a hero heeralal)

a bit of conversation

2008-12-20T00:50:00.000-08:00

Lumin: i dont usually put my picture to any of my profiles btw.. :P

MystiqueW: how scared are u of the world

Lumin: :P
i am not worried about the world.... :P

MystiqueW: but u r afraid of it

Lumin: why???

MystiqueW: well ask ureself...why do u never put ure foto up on any of ure profiles

Lumin: because i dont do that....

MystiqueW: we know the 'what'...its the 'why' thats more interesting

Lumin: htat's your new status msg..... :P

MystiqueW: i thought it was interesting enuf for tht

Lumin: :)
good... :P

MystiqueW: that doesnt mean u can skip the question

Lumin: :P well....
i am much of a back stage person.. i dont like coming on stage... i like doing the things like directing or creating etc....

MystiqueW: have u seen a flower?

Lumin: yup.. why??

MystiqueW: u see how it has petals outside
and deep inside is the stemen...with the seeds\\

Lumin: yup...

MystiqueW: logic is like that...
u start with statements
and then u question those
till u reach the depth

Lumin: hm.. i dont get your point...

MystiqueW: so ure first reaction to my why is like the outermost petals of the flower
u must keep questioning those
to know ureself better
like why do u like to be back stage
and then another why
and then another

Lumin: :) hm... nice...

MystiqueW: another name for truth is silence...when there are no more questions left
its also called meditation

Lumin: and i got a why too... :P why does that interest you???
ok...
MystiqueW: why does this world interest me?
its a beautiful piece of art...which i'm a part off
i'm just trying to appreciate it better

Lumin: :) ok.. that's very poetic.. :)

MystiqueW: :)

Lumin: :)

Lumin is one of the many people i meet randomly on the net and end up talking too

duur hai tu

2008-12-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

koi toh wajah hogee ki tu abhi tak mere aahosh mein naee
koi toh wajah hogee ki tu phir chup sahee

ae khuda, ab kya tujhe paane ke liye
khudaa se hi baat karni padegi

A deeper sound

2008-12-17T21:22:00.000-08:00

even at this 'grown up' age
there are times when i feel
helpless and lost
when my strengths seem missing
and my weaknesses are playing their cards
in those moments of agony
i look forward to hearing a sound
a sound that will tell me everythings gonna be ok
and even though i have never heard that sound
i have felt u do things for me
and said here is the chance u had asked me for
now show me what u can do and make me proud
and though i have faltered almost everytime
even on those
it seems you haven't given up on me
thanks for being the confidence i dont have
thanks for being the deeper sound that i can't hear

addendum

2008-12-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

..."i miss u"...three words from her...three words i've been waiting to hear for weeks now...all it took to put me out of misery...

we spend our live times thinking about work, about world, about the bills we are going to pay...but the one thing what matters the most to us...our happiness...we take for granted...whilst that is what should get a fair share of attention...make the people who make u happy...happy...after all its their smile which will be seen on ure lips

of tales of love

2008-12-14T00:48:00.001-08:00

i'm angry...

i'm angry with life

its one thing to not be able to meet someone u like

its another to meet someone who has already found somebody before u met them

but what do u do...when u find somebody u really care for...but they won't let u in...and they won't care back...

i don't know when was the last time i was pissed...or probably i've been pissed the last few weeks...but i havent let it all out...

i am more so angry because its not like she's happy and i'm just butting into her life...she won't let happiness come to her...and then she cribs as to why she's sad...

it reminds me of the whole story of the drowning guy who refuses to board a boat coming out of nowhere coz he says god will save him...and then when he dies and asks god why didnt he save him...he says dude...who do u think sent the boat

i'm angry because she was probably my boat...and while it seemed she was coming to rescue me...it seems she was just floating nearby and i had just raised my hopes up...

i'm angry because i think of her all the time...and i mean all the time...but i cant see her thinking abt me...

i'm angry because its not a toy that a bully has taken who i can fight with to get mine back...

i just hope that its because she doesnt like something in me...that way atleast there's a reason i can understand

i'm just angry now...very very angry...

and sad...and heartbroken...

my love affair...

2008-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't been with her for long
but ours is a bond unbroken
she keeps busy with her day to day life
but i know she years for me everyday
as i yearn for her
and when we occassionally catch up
she flirts with me as she did when we first met
playing it subtle at moments
or roaring for my attention
a soothing voice in either tone
she talks to me and wonders
that didn't i miss her...what took me so long
her smooth surface is eager to rub againt mine
she is a demanding one
whilst she cuddles me in the evening and does general chatter
in the mornings she wants me pumping and sweating
and tired i fall in her lap
and i realize how much i love her
how much she loves me
there is happiness and peace
and not that we dont fight
oh sometimes she grows dark and angry
she scares me when she's so fiery
but i know beneath all that rage
is a woman who wants to be loved
and of all the girls i have known
she's the one i think simplest to understand
her wants are primial and on the face
her love is easily felt
its a three year old love affair
and it still continues...

after months i came back to juhu beach
and my babe was as lovely as ever infact i think she looks better than last time, there's a mini garden also there now :)

life is a bitch

2008-12-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

not that i havent said this before...

but this time...i can prove it

till about a month and a half back...

i had seemed to have found the girl i had been waiting for all my life...my swan...
job was going okish...the only piece of the jigsaw which seemed to need a little working
and by the next month's pay my bank balance would have been positive enough to give that basic level of comfort where you feel you can afford an expensive drink without having to think twice about it.

And then there is today

The girl is lost in her own world, her own conflicts...between her world and mine...there is but just a mumbling of words sometimes...i have no idea wats playing on her mind and heart...and i doubt she knows watz on in mine

The entrepreneurial venture bro was in...has shut down and the bad economy means till about three months back the people who were willing to pay double his wages...don't even have an opening...which also means that we are in a precarious situation given the high home loan emi which has to go out each month...and all our resources need to be pooled in to ride out the drought...

And granpa passed away last week...which hath brought with itself much grief and other issues...

Funny how in a month the tide can change so bad...u think that now finally the jigsaw is going to solve and u find somebody messes the pieces up all again...and u wonder whether its all in vain...whether it will ever solve...whether there will be a time u will say hey life's good now

but whoever's messing up my jigsaw...if they think that one day i'm gonna give in...well they don't know the khukhraan blood in me...i will fight the battle...i like the taste of blood...and i will either win or go down fighting...u keep trying to mess up the jigsaw...i will find ways to solve it...

gud luc to u...life...gud luc to u

a little bit of maths...a little bit of life

2008-12-08T19:51:00.000-08:00

ok this issue of unhappy people, couples and families has been bugging me lately...And like for most things i take the help of my dear friends Maths and Logic to help shed some light on these.

And hence today we call upon Mr. Parreto and his law to help us out albeit with some modifications. For those uninitated the Parreto law says that 80% of things can be attributed to 20% of the causes. The figure can vary the 80:20 is not a etched in stone figure...its more about the spirit than the word.

So lets start with the diagnosis. How does one label oneself or a relationship happy. If for 80% of the time you are happy, happy wid your partner, having happy conversations with your family...then you are well...happy. The question you will be asking is how do i measure it...well one day spend some time observing your conversation or the conversations happening in your family, if they are lighthearted banter, serious banter, anger, disputes etc etc. Repeat this three or four days with gaps inbetween...it should throw up some light on your state...

So the next question is what if one is not happy (if u r happy then well move to another post...or come claim ure eclairs from me :) )...well then here is where the parreto and his law really comes into use...most of your troubles according to this law would be coming from a few couple of things...

I will not be addressing the breadth of issues that could possible plague u...but just one...taking life too seriously...most of the things we are serious about...in the long game of life...are actually trivialities...in school it was what if i fail, what if i don't get through iit jee, what if i am not selected in the school team, not to forget the horrid times girls went through over pimples...when you grow up the ever increasing peer pressure, the whole thing about feeding ones family, building a home, job, boss, pay raises, expectations of relatives, expectations of society.............if you let things bugger u down...they will bugger u down...if u try...u can take the burden of the atlas on your shoulders...but really the atlas will survive even if u didn't...it did so before u came on earth and after u leave...

Ok i'll help with another one...a quickie...fights...most people fight...because they don't listen and they don't try and put themselves in the other person's shoes...

So why am i preaching all this...well cause this is what i try and live by...and because bhai and bhabhi have been at each others necks for a few days now... :P

and i don't like ppl being unhappy...smile...spread miles of smiles...

(btw it ain't easy...going thru a lot of heartburn on many accounts these days...then i remind myself...eno khaao kaam pe chalo :)

smile ppl...we are god's painting...lets make it beautiful

give in, into love

2008-12-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

love isn't as simple as it sounds...and quite often it doesnt get the priority it shud...these are my tears...when i see the world this way

when warmth is all that you want
and they try and barter you the world
when a hug is all you need
the world doesnt work...a single person is wat goes

when time flies
round and round and thoughts get entangled
and u find that u r tired of it all
that what came to u at the end...is what should've been there all along

when love is all that i want
why do u think anything else will work
i need someone who will give me the attention
when it requires u to lose...why are u still hung up on being in control

http://catastrophonix.blogspot.com/2008/12/give-in-into-love.html

bye bye granpa

2008-12-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

night before yesterday granpa began his journey into the next dimension

a wake up call at 3 a.m. jolted me awake into looking back and also looking forward...and somehow both are not an easy thing to do...

unlike granma whose love comes out in cribs...granpa's love came out as pampering...ever since we were youngsters who treaded through granma's vegetable garden all i can ever remember is granpa pampering us..ofcourse in his style...which meant...being treated to goats milk as well :P ...though what i remember most of my trips to ddun as a child was sleeping with grandpa in his huge bed and he would tell me stories (bro was 4 years elder..so he had kinda outgrown that age

he was working till about a month back...at 93 thats an achievement...work was his life...or as he would call his office...kopbhawan :P

mom tells me he was fond of animals...which doesn't translate into a dog btw...it means at different times he had a goat,a monkey, a cat, and a parrot...that is so ultracool...

he was also a fighter...i think he cleared his bar in the 3rd attempt...and he had been fighting various illnesses that have been plaguing him for years now...

when i look forward to my death...i don't wanna go this way in a hospital or a bed...creeping away...i'd want to go one of the following ways... 1. praying and meditating 2. out travelling across the world 3. partying 4. riddled with bullets or lathis while fighting for a cause right in the middle of a road...and once i'm gone i want a huge party thrown...i dont want to give a reception on my marriage but i want a huge one when i'm gone...death i believe is a celebration...of a succesful life and the beginning of a new journey...while we may miss the people who leave us...let us remember them with a tear in the eye and a smile on our lips...lets raise a toast to the champions who have left us...bye bye granpa...you are now one with god :)

my election manifesto

2008-12-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

A lot of people are praying in silence, some are wearing white shirts, or ribbons or lighting candles...thats not me...this is my way of paying my respects to those who passed away...this is what i want to do... I don't know if i will ever be able to...probably in that sense the people lighting the candles are more action oriented...but this is me...this is my tribute...my dedication...my election manifesto...the first draft from an airport lounge so please forgive its crudeness or lack of detail...and please help add to it

1. The War against unrest (internal and external):
a. Education: Build new schools especially in naxalite or terrorist prone areas, strengthen the existing structure with focus on teacher development
b. Employment opportunities: Investment in
i. Rural infrastructure building: (sanitation, electrification, water, teaching)
ii. Environment development and green tourism: re-green-ification, re-hydration, heritage maintenance
c. Security
i. Police: making police force independent of the state political machinery similar in structure to the armed forces
ii. Investing in advanced equipment for both armed forces and police
2. Governance
a. Corruption: Strengthening CAD (comptroller auditor general) to develop an audit system for all transaction based roles
b. One India ID: Integrate the pan card and voter id into one common id to be used consistently across India to identify people.
c. B-plan based system: All annual planning to be based on a b-plan(with social, economic returns) based systems including setting KRAs top down.
d. Regulations:
i. Gambling: Legalizing and regulating gambling and ensuring all operators are registered.
ii. Prostitution: Similarly legalizing and regulating prostitution
1. Strict norms of operation
2. Program to provide rehabilitation options to existing sex-workers
3. Making child trafficking a crime punishable by death
3. Equality
a. Opportunity provisions: Changing over from the reservation based system to equal opportunity, providing opportunities to the underprivileged ones to develop as well as the privileged ones.

so now what

2008-11-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

there were blasts in the train

there were blasts in the market

this time they found spraying bullets more convenient...

Does the carnage stop here...or will be the people sitting in the lawns of India gate next, name your city and i guess between all of us we could come up with plans of how to attack it...not to say the terrorists would do a better job of it...

I have many a critique of how this whole incident was handled...but that would be side lining the point...the veneer of isolation...the silo we put ourselves in...the feeling of safety has for a large part been shattered pretty soundly...the next time our family and friends step out into the city...we will wonder if we will see them again...

And angry as we may be...bombs and guns are no solution to the problem...donkeys of year later and billions of dollars down US has only shot itself in the foot in its so called war against terrorism...

Not that when gunz are blazing u use roses...(although Gandhi would suggest that and i quite agree with him...but that method it takes a strong will to sacrifice self and near and dear ones which i dont believe we yet have...) but the problem doesnt get solved by killing a terrorist...the problem will only get solved when lil sweet kids...dont grow up to become the faces of terror...

I would say...read 'three cups of tea' ...its an insight of Pakistan by an American and once you've read it you'll understand why i asked u to read it

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

about where and why i disappeared and other such questions...lets just say...my life...my experiments with it :P

wishing u miles of smiles

2008-10-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

diwali greetings all ye merrymen...i wish u miles of smiles

there are more strangers on this earth than i'm comfortable with...there are more people who are strangers to each other than i feel comfortable about...miles of smiles is one interconnected chain of happiness...and for this diwali...i wish that you get to know your neighbours better...i wish u miles of smiles...

this is also a semi-farewell kind of a thing...kind of a last post thing and though i would like to make a melodramatic speach like sharukh khan...but i shall desist from his copyrighted style...and just say its been a pleasure being around...learning, unlearning, joking and fighting (ok discussing)

i shall still be around on messenger...and prolly some day back here too...till then

aufwiederzehn

and thanks for the fish

simplify

2008-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

for those who have ever tried solving a nuclear equation would realize that therein physics takes a cruel turn...of variables too many to fathom by visualization. And since even the greatest of scientist are but borne of humans like we are...they also get stumped by such complexities...

So they do what most people with simpler problems dont...they simplify...they work on one variable at a time holding everything else constant.

Our life is full of issues...we are lucky if the issues end up being as trivial as stuck in the wrong career or messed up in love...some people end up going through cancer and aids and i feel those are the kind of challenges which really i wouldnt wish on my enemy also...

But being happy...is quite a challenge...for its a summation of many choices we make...the problem usually arises because we don't consciously make most of those choices...and that we try and tackle too many variables at one go...

life's happiness usually doesn't rely on the big things we do...though when we define happiness we usually talk about the things we are going to do probably once in a month or once a year.

We don't meditate enough on what is happiness for us, hence we keep running around...taking in little stimulations at a time and hoping that is it..that is what happiness means...

i could probably tell you what happiness is...but the issue is...its not about the answer....its the question that will set you free....and secondly since i'm also still on the journey it would be unfair to talk like a saint (though prolly i'm just 13 months away from it sainthood)

being weak

2008-10-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

the world often sees u, for you for your strengths...and that why is u require a person close to u...is for them to be able to see you for your weaknesses and become your pillars of support...

that is why you need that special to be there, cause you can't let yourself be vulnerable infront of many...it takes a great deal of trust to be totally naked...

it takes a great deal of love and sacrifice to become the blanket of warmth for someone...

Leaving terra firma

2008-10-24T22:58:00.001-07:00

I've always wondered how it would be if the characters in my book world came alive, how if life became a mix of what is and what i dream of.

How reality becomes a blurred concept...and how maybe i could probably talk to my characters, thank them for what i've learnt from them and talk to them and explain the future I chose for them.

Authors must live a life close to insanity...it is when you go beyond exists...that you enter the world of magic and magicians...

bhajan keertan

2008-10-23T20:54:00.001-07:00

yashomati maeeyaan se boling nand laalaa
why radha goree why me kaalaa

telling smiling maeeyaan
kohl eyed dudette in jaddoo aisaa daala
thats why you so kaalaa

:P :P

ek kalam ki sookhi syaahi

2008-10-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

bade saalon pehle ek pyaari si ladki meri zindagi mein aaee thi...i was happily playing about...going to school...when she moved in next door...One find day..just like that...

Just passed out of college, all confident, a job with a top firm, a big bungalow rented on her own salary...

Though our first encounter was quite the anti climax...a smart assy comment she made...a bet i took up...changing her wild bush of a lawn into better than my own mom's in less than three months...

And in those three months we became pals...buddies...chuddy buddies...She used to walk into our home at any time, from the morning pooja to the dinner...un announced like it was her only...and I could do stay overs at her place any day...we would stay up late to watch movies together...we saw the whole of Hannibal Lecter series in one night...

Heck we even used to go on dates together...we had so much fun...she knew the bouncers at this pub so I was the only kid of my age who managed to get an entry into a disc...

That was 8th class...she was 21...

One day she asked me what will you do when you grow up...i looked up from my computer and told her i'm gonna be an engineer...build autos...better than dad does...

She smiled...no i think she laughed...she ruffled her hand through my hair...and said...i think you'll make a fine gardner...

that was 10th class...

One day she introduced me to this guy, and by the look in his eyes I knew she had found her man. They were still dating when I left for college to Pune.

She used to write to me every week, i preferred letters to phone, i've never liked phones. She married him, I finally met her family. She was looking regal that day.

I was working in Pune those days

Then one day the good news, she was pregnant. I knew that was what she had wanted the most in her life. I had been her kid for many years and now I was glad she was getting to do, getting to be what she had always wanted to be...a mom.

And then the call, there's always this call that you get once in your life that turn your world upside down. She told me, somehow you know I expected that call, I had been expecting that call since the day I first saw her in my house, standing in that blue salwaar kameez with small white floral print in her cute little white sandals...I knew that day that she would go away, that she didn't belong to this earth...

I took the next flight out back to Delhi. For the next month he and I took care of her. She delivered a fine little baby on 3rd March. Funnily she handed her over to me, that little bundle of joy. On the night of 3rd she went back to where she had come from.

He, me and the little her took off to his farmhouse near Chandigarh. He never remarried, I never married...when you've been touched by perfection, you don't somehow require anything more...ever. Our little bundle of joy is now a fin little lass of 5, as peppy and mischevious as her mom.

I'm still a software engineer but only by hobby...three landscape artist awards later, one wonders, why was god so kind on us to pay a visit in person

Quick musings

2008-10-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

Though you may all know the govt is an ass (and by govt i mean politicians) but i feel like exemplifying two cases before u:

1. The nuclear deal

Pokhran 2 was way back so many years way back that i dont remember the year
We dont have enough nuclear fuel for our exisitng plants, never did never will
so..the nuclear deal wid did this year, could've been done 5 years ago and by today we would be energy surplus...imagine no power cuts and at barely 3 bucks (compared to 11 u pay for ure colony's generator and i guess 5 for state electricity)

2. America has the SSN social security number, a nice thing which identifies each person uniquely. We have the pan number, the driving license number, the voter id number and yet if you ever try and identify who a particular piece of land belongs too you'll be shocked how less the government knows about the person...and much less if the person takes to crime

Did i tell u guys by 35 i wanna quit making money and dive into politics....

General Updates

2008-10-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Vroom's Log Oct 18

Pundit say 3 yrs atleast...Vroom agrees...Vroom has got into his hunter mode...a la James Bond style...

Btw Vroom came across highly interesting ladies...a missy from singapore, a missy whose married at 19, and a missy who is a shoe fetishist (right down to her pen name) and has a beautiful way wid words...there's also a chap who writes the MUS blog...but then we dont much talk abt chaps here now...tht wouldnt be gossipingly interesting enuf :P

11 Months and still no action...13 more months and u can officially count me as a saint...(all due respects to the church)

Economy...

read the newspapers but dont go influenced by what the ppl say including Buffet...go for logic...look for numerical indicators...to see if the world is going up or down

Work...

New project...very interesting....but pressed for time....shall be visiting quite a few places in this regard...mumbai is definitely up so is hyderabad...unfortunately Pune is not

Health

gymming has been down for a while now...been getting nice food and sweets lately...

Travel

visited ddun recently...granparens house....taught cousin sis to ride her honda pleasure...kiddo was happy :)....bloggers from ddun ping in plz...I'm thinking of a pan India calendar of travel...

Nov marriage visit to frnz wedding in jamshedpur might be off...not sure getting leave then...plus sudden demands on cash seem to be coming up...best to keep a wait and watch attitude

Fun...

prolly meeting up wid frnz tonite for drinks at club...will have to wait till ppl wake up :P

Lifestyle change

Somehow feel very carefree in the world... :)

One rode past the cuckoo's nest

2008-10-12T07:19:00.001-07:00

[Knocking on the door]

'The store's closed'

'Yes I know but I'm not here to really buy anything. I was just hoping to share a cup of coffee. Look I even brought the coffee '

She smiled through the closed door at the semi-stranger holding up the thermas cheerfully. It was hard to say no to a persistant guy, much less one who brought you coffee at the end of the day.

She let the stranger...well now that he has been introduced...Sahil, in. They had bumped into each other in the Metro, only figuratively though :P. She was happily sitting there on her seat next to the door and he was stuck somewhere in the middle of the coach. But from there he had noticed her, guys have a very sharp radar when it comes to such things. He wasn't very sure what about her caught his eye her straight falling hair like a black waterfall, or her eyes like a cat's full of energy and dreams, gleaming like green emerald, or her co-ordinated sense of dress.

Now if you know a girl or some common friend introduces you it becomes easy to well make an entrance. But how do you do it if you're in the middle of a metro coach in India, where lechorous men with corny lines have made it almost impossible for a normal sane guy to make his case, heightened risk being that given the skewed sex ratio its also almost certain that the girl you like is going to be...well not available. But anyways thats the second question the first was about making an intro. The step which even the handsomest, richest and smartest men can get wrong. But our protagonist (i desist from calling him hero for a certain reason) saw his opening and he blessed his luck for having roomie who was into fashion journalism.

And with his opening line repeating in his mind our novelist ( or aspiring to be one, really works as a journo with one of the dailies, does the crime beat, hates every bit of it) nudged his way to our dear lady (sweet girl, really hard working, but more about her later, right now the situation is quite tense, our chap is barely managing to break out into sweat).

Now when your are nudging your way across a crowded coach, you do cause some bit of a commotion, even if you try to be as soft as possible about it and a tiger making its way towards its prey (hey that rhymes) through high grass doesn't want to startle the prey. Luckily though our girl was on her ipod and busily sms-ing away (her boyfriend? perhaps, who knows, always presume its to her brother who she loves dearly) to notice all the commotion Mr. Sahil was causing.

So there he was standing in front of her ready with his now reheased over a hundred times the grand opening line. The problem though was how to get the lady's attention who was still on the ipod and sms (somethings can be a double edged sword). Well as god got to do his bit he did by letting a major station come, where more people got off than on. And the ensuing commotion made our lady to take of her earphones and look up. And just as the train started again and before missy could get back to her busy-ness the following things happened.

Sahil: 'A very nice adaptation from Valentino's fall line that they showed last month at Milan'

Now as dilli ki kudeeyaan are known, the reaction wasn't exactly as romantically inclined as our chap would like it.

Girl: 'and you're who' in a tone which meant bug off before the point of my shoe find how sensitive your balls are.

However, as stumped our chap was, he knew this was one of the few times he had seen someone pretty and had an opening line too. So willing to take the risk of his two most dear assets.

Sahil: 'Someone who knows what Valentino showed last month, someone who knows its a rather nice, infact nicer inspiration from the original, and someone who just can't help admit that its looking awfully nice on you'

The greatest of mountains move and even if outside this novel the scene next would've been the crying holding his crotch and making his way back in pain in this story the following happened.

Girl: Giggling, increasing in volume slowly till she reached the uncontrolable laughter stage 'ha ha ha ha'. Sahil managing a smile hoping the laughter was positive, that he was the undisputed conquerer of the first step in this bout.

'Ok i must admit it, that was a decently good opening hello, come have a seat'

Heaving a hidden sigh of relief our dear chap takes the seat next to her (readers note again god's hand here, morning rush hour seat in Metro, never seen).

Girl: 'This designer at the shop I work, Elvira's in CP, made this for me. How come you know this is from Valentino's, you're a designer or something?

Sahil: 'Ermm...no i'm a journo...my roomie is a fashion journo, so well. I'm Sahil by the way'

Girl: 'I'm Sarika, and looks like my station is coming up'

Sahil: (cursing the speed of the train before a realization dawned on him) Our station. I also get down here.

This is where the girl smiles back, understanding the guy's persistence but comes up with a disappointing line.

As they get off the train

Sarika: 'Am meeting my friends here, we share an auto to the shop'

Sahil: 'Oh ok, so do we meet again, for a coffee or something?'

Sarika: 'Hmmm, maybe lets see, I guess the conversation that started really didn't get a chance to take off and I would be real interested to see where it goes, but then again, going out with a stranger in Delhi, that would be real mad' And with a giggle she waved him bye as she turned right to meet up with her friends

And here we are, inside Elvira's a designer store, with our dear lady Sarika having saved our protagonist from a very embarassing ending to the second step by actually letting him in the shop (maybe she's a little mad, or too adventorous). Though you know with guys they can mess up even the best of situations and in the process making an ass of themselves, like spilling coffee on a very expensive dress...

For other short (not really) stories: call me smith

Sleep

2008-10-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

He picked her up in his arms, the woman with tousled hair who had fallen asleep on the couch watching the movie with him. Her chaotic form, tousled hair half on her face half falling to the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck in her sleep as he carried her to the bed. As he laid her on the bed she stirred like a baby with a disturbed sleep. 'Sssshhh' he petted her on the head, removing the hair that had fallen onto her face. He pulled the blanket halway up her so that she wouldnt feel cold around her legs, since she was wearing only cotton shorts. He got in next to her switched on the night lamp to read the book. she curled up around him, hugging him at the waist and a leg over his. He rubbed her back with his free hand, bent down to kiss her on the head. He like watching her fall asleep, she looked as innocent as a newborn baby, as royal as a spoilt brat and as pretty as a fairy all at the same time.

Vroom's Log 8 Oct 08

2008-10-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

My dear friends, bloggers , acquaintances and strangers...the truth is out there...Vroom is confused and perplexed...

The facts/aspects are as follows:

a) Finances: While his school batchmates were doing a 3 year grad...Vroom was doing B.E. then Vroom worked for 2 years to well utilize his bloody degree while his frnz got done with their stuff and did their MBA...so now while Vroom has just started working his batchmates already have reserves from 3 year high paying salary...so Vroom is well just starting to build his bank balance...

This is important in two ways...one that Vroom likes to be the king of his life...so he wants to be able to kick his job any day he feels like...the monthly moolah coming in is not why the reason he wants to make him go to office daily...right now it partially is (given the student loan to be repayed also)

Also without moolah...he can't afford to fine dine and romance his swan the way he would like to...and Vroom being a Leo...doesnt like to cut corners...

Not to mention it also means a lot of potential women earn lot more than Vroom does

Vroom also likes to travel a lot

b.) Career Stream: While Vroom is an HR Consultant...he's a rookie and in the consultant industry...well 3-5 years is where you start gaining individual respectability and standing

and while Vroom is an HR consultant...thats not all he wants to be...he has so many b-plans he's written and more ideas bursting in his mind everyday and he would really like to implement a couple of them in this lifetime (early on in this lifetime)...which effectively mean that the next decade of life is going to be high on adventure...low on stability

c.) Girls around:
1. are not single...they just arent...every girl i meet is either getting married or is committed or well too healthy for a lanky person like me :P
2. Delhi seems to be full of daughters of businessmen...they are all out holidaying in singapore, shopping in dubai...their lifestyle seems way beyond i could ever manage in atleast the next two years
3. Watz with women not knowing how to cook....heck if i found it necessary in life to learn how to wash clothes, cook, keep the home clean among other interesting things like changing tyres, shooting guns, playing tennis why is it that half the women i know...don't care about what food comes on the table!!!
4. Balance: I'm many chaps in one...at office i'm the nice, formally dressed chap...at home i'm the clown of the house...humorous and well almost listening to everything folks say...including eating my greens...among pals i'm the smart ass, goofy ideas fun chap...All this takes a lot of diplomacy, tact and balance...i don't drink and go home...not that folks don't know that i drink...have told them i do...but i try doing sleepovers if there's a drinks party...i don't crack corny, horny jokes at office...not that i dont like too...but my office crowd isnt like tht...or prolly its too formal for the fun me to come out easily...This is probably the most important aspect...

So well the consensus among the readers would be...this guy seems to be harping about how in the next two years is not a good time...then why doesnt he wait till well it is a good time...

Coz...dudes...i'm young and energetic now...i have physical, mental and emotional needs now...if i could last another two years being a saint...then why the heck wonn't i live like a saint for the rest of my life...

And the confusion and perplexion continues...

To really follow the Vroom series go thru the chronological log:
Vroom's Log 24 Sept

looming between destinies

2008-10-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

thrown between the fallows of life and death
the future looms uncertain
for all the things life taught me
i seem to have forgotten how to read the wind

the pain is lumbering from a past wound
raising its head and goading me on
to pick up the sword yet not unsheathed
and fight the battles that have been written by destiny for me

a warrior i was born
cant keep hiding always in a farmer's disguise
the blood must spout, the veins held tight
one of me must die, one of me must die

teri maa di

2008-10-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

naee naee main kissi ko gaali naee de rahaa...main toh bas aankhon dekha haal sunaa rahaa hoon....

ek rickshaw waala....haanji...
ek car ka driver haanji
donon aapas mein lad gaee...tu tu main main ho gaee
joshi padosi kush bhi boley...hum koooch naee bolegaa

ek call centre ka driver...haanji
ek budhey uncle...haanji
ek light phoot gaee...phir takraar ho gaee
joshi padosi kush bhi boley...hum koooch naee bolegaa

ek biwi soni...haanji
ek naya dulha...haanji
ek office ki tension...phir ghar pe jhagde
joshi padosi kush bhi boley...hum koooch naee bolegaa

ek film actor...haanji
ek chotey shahar se bani model...haanji
ek to industry baidhi...phir log sochey tum sastey
joshi padosi kush bhi boley...hum koooch naee bolegaa

ek to duniya pe control naeee
phir yeh gussa jo andar rukta naee
yeh politician kameene
yeh govt ke baabu corrupt
yeh ameer baapuon ke launde
yeh gavaar driver
yeh office ki politics
yeh traffic ki sar dard
yeh contractor kaam naee kartey
yeh badhti keemat
ab koi kitni der piss ke rahega...yeh gussa kaheen to niklega
to dabaao jo dabtaa hai...maaro usko jo martaa hai...
yeh tera gussa...yeh mera gussa...
hum naee lad sakte asli problems se toh kya
kaheen ke toh hum bhi sikandar hain...
isliye....teri maa di!!!

hum bolega toh bologe ki bolta hai...
hum bolega toh bologe ki bolta hai...

joshi padosi kush bhi boley...hum koooch naee bolegaa

the bro code part1

2008-10-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

popularized by the series 'how i met your mother' ... in existence for as long as friendship and women have been weighing heavy on the minds and hearts of men.

This post spurted on by a colleague who narrated that a friend of her's started going around wid an ex of another common frnd....what is the world coming to...

so here are the bro codes for immediate ref.

1. for those ppl who are unclear what a bro is...it your chuddy buddy...the guy(s) whom you trust. The following are the tests for knowing whether you think of your friend as a friend or a bro:
a.)A bro is more important than any new girl who comes into life
b.)You share all your worldly exploits (matters of the heart) with him
2. For an evening out...you can give your gf priority over hanging out with bro.s
3. In case you and your bro happen to fall for the same girl...only one of three options is feasible
a.) both mutually decide to hit on the girl and whoever she falls for is the lucky one
b.) both mutually decide to chuck the girl out of their lives...her bad luck
c.) one of you two decide to back out
in case you feel there is a fourth option...you two are not bro's stop kidding yourselves
4. If your bro was seeing the girl seriously or for longer than a month...you shall not hit on your bro's ex...no matter how comfy he is with the idea

If there are any queries on other aspects of bro code you can send them in here...as and when required an updated part2 of the bro code will be published

one more

2008-09-28T01:22:00.000-07:00

Some new hues and tones

Couldn't help it...something i've been wanting to do for a long time...my blog on upcoming designers and changing trends in fashion, art and design around the world

You can contribute by providing contacts of designers, artists anybody creative you know and feel should be covered

Vroom's Log 24 Sept 08

2008-09-27T05:53:00.001-07:00

To venture where many men have gone before...and to hope to succeed where most have failed...

To give it away...Okie the real word was groom...but since its more like groom to be eventually i had the option of using similar sounding words...broom and vroom came to my mind and for obvious reasons i chose the latter...

So neways it has started...three days ago dad showed me some matrimonial ads!!!

anyways i'm ok with that...in the search for the perfect soul mate...let the parents do some work also...

So i told him a straight formula...contact whoever he short lists...send my foto...get theirs...if things progress...will talk online on chat...if things seem promissing (witty and interesting) then move onto further thingy...

although if u look at this algo...it really doesn't sound like an enticing way to err...fall in love...but then in these troubled times :P (refer to my business plan walla post)

but anyhow i'm betting its not gonna be easy and i was thinking if maybe one of you would agree to be the bookie....we could have bets going on in the following brackets:
success within first 3 months:
success within first 6 months:
success within first year
success within two years
never...

it is for the bookie to come out with the betting odds...but neways i'll put my bet on the last or the second last option :P

oh and btw u can be contributors to the cause too....fan out...ping all the nice single women u know...pass the flyers ;)

a little bit of a lot

2008-09-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

a little bit of tease a little bit of a play
a little bit of kindness and some amount of pray
a little bit of roughing up a little bit of soft side
a little bit of priceyness and some warm smiles

a little bit of fun
a little bit of wine
a little bit of embarassment
a little bit of swine

a little bit of pain
a little bit of pleasure
a little bit of the saint
a little bit of develishness to treasure

a little bit of everything is what makes things good
and thats why i'm a little bit of everything
nice, rude, cool, prude, gross, warm, kinky, cuddly
and maybe i'm a little bit of u

been making it simple for ppl to follow my posts rather than having to visit 5 diff blogs :P
http://catastrophonix.blogspot.com/2008/09/little-bit-of-lot.html

bringing ppl together....in real life

2008-09-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

This is a business plan i've been pondering on for long now...and though most ppl don't like to share their b-plans am more of the linux mindset of person...dicuss and develop...especially since i believe that the only kind of competitive edge that one has these days...is their level of innovation and that's something hidden deep inside the person...quite hard to steal :P

Ok back to the plan...You would've seen ads of Shaadi.com and the whole bakset of ppl in that domain...then there are the orkuts and the facebooks. the main problem with these is...everything is so bloody virtual...

The only value add these things do is be a forum for ppl to meet online...thats not much of value add if u ask me....its still very very difficult to take these friendships into real life...you're never really sure who you are talking too...and though there are some very commonsensical checks most people seem oblivious to them.

So here' my great big idea :P ...have a social networking site but make the networking part a part of real life by organizing fun events...

I would recommend ppl read this short story: stranger in the city

and this post on arranged marriage by serene gurl

to get a better perspective...

and ofcourse if you want more details on the complete plan...u know where to ping me

original post on my business ideas blog: http://businessticktocks.blogspot.com/2008/09/bringing-ppl-togetherin-real-life.html

of guns and chalk powder

2008-09-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

yesterday delhi was awakened to a grim reality that terrorism is not something we see on tv, its a grim reality we have to face too like any other indian.

And if you've seen the movie 'A Wednesday' on the same day as the blasts you feel that life has a very satarical way of moving.

But i disagree to the largest extent possible with what the movie preaches. It talks about how a common man holds the police to ransom by threatening to blow up bombs in the city if they don't help give him four terrorists, whom he blows up in the end as a retort to the terrorist attacks they have been doing.

My bro. was of an even more extremist view that an ideal resort would have been to have 20 bombs blow up in pakistan today morning in the heart of the terrorist leaders settlements that if they try any such stunt we shall reply in greater force.

What i believe is that the actual terrorists are just pawns, pawns in the hands of the rich extremists sitting in some plush palace somewhere. Our reactions of hate will only be used by them to fuel to the terrorist mindset and we will have more 'jehadis'. Look at USA and its famous 'war against terrorism', other than waste billions of dollars and spread more hate against it it has achieved nothing.

The actual war against terrorism will begin when we nip the causes. Illiteracy and unemployment. Education helps broaden a person's vision...helps develop the questioning ability, to try and understand what is right and wrong. And employment give him the ability to feed his family. Yes there are many educated youth who are terrorists but the base of the network the supporting framework comes from the rural poor. That is why there are hundreds of extremists madarsas all over india, pakistan and afghanistan in the remotest of places.

Now here is where the problem comes, the politicians can't risk educating the populace. Which educated person will elect goondaas to run there government. Hence been more than half a century of independence and we havent yet started focussing on educating the masses. It is neither a logistical problem nor a money problem. The problem is that the day you empower the masses they will not only root out the terrorists but also our current breed of politicians.

And we wait howling in pain everytime a bomb kills someone near and dear for the war against terrorism to begin

butch cassidy and the sundance kid

2008-09-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

no not the movie...the reality...two days...two banks got looted...that with toy guns...don't know how they figured the robbers used toy guns...coz if they had figured that during the loot am sure ppl wouldn't have let them get away...but thats what the new says...ahem ahem.

neways...crime and criminals seem to be on a rise...which is actually expected...the rich do it in their belief of being above the law...and the poor do it cause well the law never did anything to help them so then why the heck not...and in the middle are many butch's and sundance's who see the rich doing it and the poor doing it and wonder why the heck should they not do it...

so dudes and dudettes...while u may be law abiding citizens...heed my words...be ready for the revival of the wild wild west...we may have replaced the forest with buildings...but that only means we have replaced one jungle with another...

may god keep u and ure family safe...

what do u 'need'

2008-09-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

inspired from Cess' blog...google for your name along with the word 'needs'...quite interesting

1. Girish needs three years of solid training from such masters, if you expect him to be a World champion at the senior level (yeah i know my chess aint as good now as it was earlier)

2. Girish needs a match. The match has not yet been found, but it is out there tonight. (i totally agree...plz order one smart, cuddly, kinky, romantic feline feminine thingy for me)...i did delete the ('for this transplant' at the beginning)

3. Girish Patil needs bone marrow...i dont know about patil but i get mine from nicely cooked meat...crunch bone and suck marrow

4. Girish needs Grandmaster’s coaching at this stage of his career...naah now u're flattering me...

5. Girish needs an image branding overhaul...i agree bring on the combat suit...time to complete the military look and feel

the nuclear deal

2008-09-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

http://businessticktocks.blogspot.com/2008/09/nuclear-deal.html

...and the political sell out...

the interesting thing which i don't get is...since all the fuel is controlled by the NSG...what were did the opposition mean by giving up our rights? what rights are they talking about?

the only thing that i can see as highly stupid is that why wasnt this done 5 years ago... we would have nuclear reactors up and running supplying cheap and almost clean power (cleaner than thermal)...and u wudnt have to think about load shedding...

and how many more bombs do we wanna make and test...since when did we get so violent towards others...i thought we indians only liked to fight amongst ourselves...and one british rule for two centuries hasn't yet cured us off that disease :P

thought u had me

2008-09-07T20:33:00.001-07:00

http://catastrophonix.blogspot.com/2008/09/thought-you-had-me.html

in school when every body was cool
i was in my pensive mood
and some parts of life went so fast by
that the race was almost over before i knew it had begun
and you thought you had me there did you
well dream on...

when it was the time for the heart to flourish
i had words but no magic
and my search for a mate was so futile
that right before my eyes the world had coupleized
and you thought you had me there did you
well dream on...

and then you gave me eyes to dream big
but no direction to walk upon
and in my haste to be me
i had walked a couple of circular miles
and you thought you had me there did you
well dream on...

i cherish you as my enemy
cause you're also my closest friend
and i appreciate ure challenges
and my peculiar weaknesses
but if you think you'll ever have me
well dream on...

aloo le lo...kaanda le lo

2008-07-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

There's this scene in 'welcome' where nana patekar is shown pushing a cart wearing a suit trying to sell potatoes and onions....well soon it might be a very realistic scenario.

After long long time i went along wid mom for shopping veggies at the weekly market...and ppl...prices have risen...when potatoes are at Rs14/kg and lauki of all the things lauki...is at Rs20/kg its no longer a laughing matter...well potatoes do go up cylically but the current prices are out of season...

not that it hurts us much...we still buy as much as we like...especially the fruits..we spend a lot on fruits...but if i can feel the price rise...there are a lot of people who must be going home sad faced...worried about their growling stomachs and more so of their kids...these are no good times at all...

the 'high'lighted way

2008-07-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

this seems to be increasingly becoming my grudge blog...and my current grudge is against the people who drive on a high beam inside the city...agreed nobody taught u how to drive...and u really don't care for the other person on the road...since thats what u've become...and even if u did used to drive on low beam now u dont..coz u know tit for tat...

but why would u want to blind somebody driving a 100kgs of metal...at say 50-60km per hr coming at you...why...why ...why!!!

i'm jst glad tht there are still many ppl who still drive on low beam...not everybody needs to highlight their lives...thank god :)

Kya Karega Bevdaa

2008-07-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Since we have non Hindi readers around also...it loosely translates into "What will the drunkard do", depending on the tone it can also read "What can a drunkard do"

And for the great battle between Delhi lover and Mumbaikars...i'll say atleast in my observation this is a definite win for Mumbaikars...For the concept of designated drivers...i believe is much more prevailent there than in saddi dilli...NCR (National Crime Region)...

A designated driver for the uninitiated is the chap who wont drink on a given party day coz he's going to do the driving...so if like 5 frnz are going out in the same car...they take turns being the drivers on diff nights and alternatively skipping one night of drinking.

Not much of a sacrifice...a very simple way for those who don't have a driver to enjoy parties while being socially responsible...

but yet sadly sadde dilliwaale find it very manly to not be socially responsible...i've heard...."but i just had a couple of drinks" ..."oh alcohol doesn't affect me"...and these from some of my close friends...its like those smokers who say...dude i've been smoking for a decade now...i'm used to it...it doesn't affect me...

anyways i needed to blog this out because it leaves me very sad...when people don't realize that all it takes for life to take a miserable turn...is just half of a second...

its not manly to do the wrong thing...take a look at robbers and rapists if you dont believe me....it takes a man to do the right thing...coz tht puts a direct tax on u...a tax that u need to impose ureself...

The democrazy wins again

2008-07-23T03:15:00.000-07:00

And the UPA govt. stands...but democracy has lost again, only the democrazies have won...with their horse trading, mindless bickering...

it is so sad...so very very sad...I didn't think i'd ever say it...but now is when one might ask...where is John Galt...not who...but where...

Miss Chitnis

2008-07-17T09:10:00.001-07:00

While Keshi is flaunting her fake boobs on her blog www.keshigirl.blogspot.com :P

I wud rather talk about Miss Chitnis...Now u know my weakness for women...especially the fast confident suave ones, the ones who can move wid style and grace. Miss Chitnis is one of the lot...though one wud say she is more or less flat chested...but boy can she move...i've been trying to like net her for ages now but she's been evading me like the clouds go past rajasthan...

Miss Chitnis...is our house lizard (any lizard in the house as and when the occassion arises)...and i'm the designated catcher...that because i dont like ppl killing lizards...i find them sweet innocent thingies...wid those lovely big eyes...and they do no harm...infact...they eat all small insects...keep the house safe...and they have that lovely tail...which if it detaches dances for like half a minute...

So i go after them like a proffesional hunter...with a teeli waala jhaadu / cloth to grab them and chuck them out of the house...have been succesful a few times...have had to be bad to them a few times...but nonetheless...i like lizards...ofcourse don't like it if one decides to do a free fall stunt from the roof when ure sleeping...if only they knew that that's why mom and bhabhi want them out of the house...they'd probably stop doing tht stunt!!! foolish...cute lil lizards :)

The man

2008-07-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

http://catastrophonix.blogspot.com/2008/07/man.html

stupid silly chauvinistic poem...don't read it

For the love of people

2008-07-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

I had this quip where i had said...man is supposedly a 'social animal' but these days we're more 'animal' than 'social', and probably if we were more social than animal there would be more love than hate in this world since there would be more people we care for...

And when we talk about social networking sites like orkut or blogger i think they provide a wonderful opportunity for people to reach out and connect to others, I have been blessed i have met many an interesting people through here and in the process a little of me has mixed with them and a little of them is dissolved into me. And while safety and trustability remains an issue, some common sense and the lord's blessings allow me to be risky and trust people's good side and dish out my mail address and cell no. almost indiscriminately...

and yet i feel i have achieved nothing...The day i believe when a million pakistanis and a million indians simply choose to walk towards the borders...with the armed forces of both the countries watching not knowing who to shoot and how many...is when probably we will be able to say we've become social again...that will be a true festival like the breaking of the berlin wall...

I'd like to end up wid words that are conjuring up in my head:

fakiron ke ghar baarat naee aatee (the house of saints don't light up for their marriages)
unke janaazon ki shaan hoti hai (it is their death that becomes a celebration)
unki khusheeyon mein shareeq naheen hote (people don't gather to celebrate their happy occassions)
unke jaane pe aasoon ki baad aati hai (it is when they are gone that their lovers cry for them)

fakiron ki baat hi alag hoti hai (saints are a different breed)
woh kissi ek ke naee hote (they are not for any one)
poori duniya unki hoti hai (but the whole world is their family)
unke chaahane waalon ki line mein khuda bhi shaan se khada hota hai (saints have so many people who love them, that even god proudly stands in queue to meet them)

do read the book...three cups of tea...it is about an american mountaineer...who has dedicated his life to building schools for children especially girls in the remotest areas of pakistan and afghanistan

Stranger in the city

2008-07-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

http://callmesmith.blogspot.com/2008/07/stranger-in-city.html

A short story just published on my short stories blog.

As always...i just write the words....why i write them is something even i wonder about.

Stuff i publish here is always in the first draft form...so it lacks the usual tightening to make it more alluring and crisp...yet i hope it shall be liked for what it say...

and i wonder what it say :P

Who messed with my confidence

2008-07-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Whether Shinjini got paralysed due to the humiliation she faced at the hands of the judges of the reality show or due to previous physiological problems...self confidence does remain people's most vulnerable area.

You feel like you are invincible and u can dare to walk a skyrope hanging a mile high up between two mountains...and if you're feeling like you're gonna puke any moment now...you'll get 2 + 2 wrong

and thats how life is...why is it that in a battle it is important to kill the generals...cause it destroys the confidence of a million men to fight without a leader...

how is it that battles have been won with lopsided ratios...

and now coming back to the current thingy...actually not the very show itself...was seeing mtv's show...on the job...this was sometime last year...couple of young lads were given some job to be done...they ofcourse were inconsequential...what was hilarious was to see the judges try and imitate simon from american idol in being curt with his admiration of their talents...

i really wonder why neone wud imitate being rude...but then i wonder a lot

and i wonder why neone wud let neone punch them on their self confidence...taking punches to the face is easy...the wounds are easily noticeable and easily recoverable....hits to self confidence could show up as putrified wounds suddenly and fatally...

so dudes and dudettes...guard your self confidence...its your biggest weapon and your weakest point...

witty and crass

2008-06-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

there are times when one must be a nice bachcha...sensitive to the ppl around u...like in a mandir surrounded by devout followers...at other times one must heed the advice of khuswant singh and have malice towards one and all...

In this regard Osho also quipped...we Indians are too serious...and haven't learnt to laugh at ourselves...

though i believe Sardars have done us proud by being sporty...

My surname is Kohli...and it has been twisted around like a candy stick in the making...add to it...a frnd named me gilli in school which has...well stuck on...so here go my many names...kholi...kohli ki goli...kohlu...silli gilli...tilli singh...its gud fun twisting and playing wid pplz names...i have a frnd whose sur named as chawla...it is quite often that i refer to him as chaawal...somehow everytime i do it...it brings about a smile to my face :P

then there are some ads which cud be requoted to nice effect..like the polo...mint with the hole line...or was it...the hole with the mint ;)

okie now i dont want to hog space...opening the forum for ppl to add on...

and dont hold back...for this one post all sensitivities can be ignored....

Primate Hunt

2008-06-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

The topic of marriage comes up quite often these days...people in my age group are getting married...parents keep indicating that it is an imminent thing (imminent = two year time frame according to them)...and i keep wondering...

I have been on the hunt for a partner ever since i can remember...though not entirely in romantic terms...in school i used to seriously miss having a good debating partner...there were plenty of good award winning debaters around...but unfortunately i was looking for someone who would focus more on fun and experimentation than winning...

The i have been looking for a gang of frnz who like everything from chess to poker to treks to drama...continuing on the theme of fun and experimentation...and mostly that gang also exists in parts only

So now i wonder...a romantic dreamer like me...it seems that i have been waiting for my swan (there is a significance to drawing analogy with swans, i hope the readers of this blog do know it) since i was born (guilty of over exaggeration)...and yet my worry is the same...fun and experimentative...does she exist...and if yes will our paths ever cross...

Moving on from my personal quandary to a more general view to the whole mate hunt thing...and dissecting it like an engineer there are various aspects to a person that we judge them on...looks, physique, family background, education, goals in life, views on life, habits, blah blah blah...not only do both the parties have to judge the other on each of these they have to be able to find out about each of these...and most aspects here are those that don't show up early...

Neways so given that is humanely inane trying to do all this maths...lets simplify it to a single dimension...do we click or do we not click...the aggregate of all the above is the intuitive feeling whether we click or not...though when it gets time to put a definitive yes or no to that question most people find themselves horribly confused...after all its a very long term bet one is making...a call option of that long is unheard of in business :P

And then for those of us who look at other couples and wonder how in the name of god did they find each other...i have been through three relationships myself and all special yet none supposing a chance close to the "i do" point...so i still wonder.

And those of you who have read my scrap on principles of seduction would prolly agree that given the opportunities there is much one can do...but for those of us who when most people meet say by their fifth interaction that you stand out a wee bit too much from the crowd (not in the same sense as stars stand out from the crowd)...there is always a dearth of opportunities...for out there is a girl...who one day quit her job and went backpacking for two months...who embodies the free spirit and the quintessential tag of homely (courtesy indian matrimonial ads if you've ever read that column quite interesting stuff there) an oxymoron in itself...infact it sounds interesting to make this a list of oxymorons...petitely strong...wheatishly glowing...conservatively kinky....spiritually humane...wierdly humorous...ambitiously familial ( i am sure i wud be jammed for wrong usage but i try to imply a family person with the second word)...femininstically logical (refer to the men from mars females from venus argument)...i wont complete the list of oxymorons am sure a whole lot of will get added to the list in the comments section...

so as i was saying...if you do ever find her...please claim an eclairs from me and do point her in this direction...till then i'll get busy with work and try and get that song out of my head "i'm so lonely...i've got nobaady to call my own" sung in the very endearing chipmunk tone...

inheritance of fear

2008-06-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Day before night at the station...or i guess on the way to there...something struck me...wanting to be spoken of again...fear...a legacy passed down...This fear that i speak of is different from the fear that brings cowardice...

this is the fear for ones loved ones, of one's own economic security...a fear of what the future will bring...which makes us take guarded decisions...and play safe.

It is said that for one to be an entrepreneur the setting is easiest for someone who comes from a business background or for someone who is a pauper...one has something to fall back on if he fails...the other has nothing to lose anyways (do not get stuck vehmently to opposition of this generalisation).

It is we of the middle class...the salaried people who find it difficult to break out of our routine and take that leap...held back by 'what if'...

Not that it is an unreasonable fear...yet it oft makes us be too reasonable with life...sometimes a little recklessness is what keeps the excitement going...

sometimes that is ;)

respect

2008-06-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks back i was part of an incident which didn't reflect the best part of me, there are various points of time in life when I have felt that I have acted like a jerk, this was one of them.

Post the incident the offended lady was nice enough to talk it out with me. During that talk, one word as part of a sentence stuck in my mind...have respect for your fellow counterparts...

Respect...when is it that a person loses respect for someone else...I believe that at the core of this issue what we will find is that, it is in the end lack of self respect that makes us have disrespect for others.

And then I started pondering upon what it is about me that I don't respect...and almost as if the answer was waiting all this while to be heard, it screamed, you don't have a meaning to your life...I don't respect myself because my life adds upto nothing.

And I think back to the movie made on the band Doors and the scene where Jim Morrison lies in a bathtub dead of a drug overdose...I think that was one another victim, a person whose life had no meaning.

I have now begun to look for a meaning to my life...and It seems this exercise wants to change everything in me...I can now barely make any conversation...I am literally afraid of speaking...for earlier all I used to speak was smart assy comments and sarcastic humor...if I take that away I usually have nothing to contribute...this could probably also be just a temporary phase...recovering from the after effects of making an ass of myself...but irrespective of whether the incident happened or not...the crux still remains that i'd better find a meaning to my life...or else a i might find a bathtub that has been waiting to take me away...

Principles of Seduction

2008-05-29T00:22:00.000-07:00

While the title clearly states the intention some of these principles stand good when we discuss things like making friends or impressing your boss.

Visibility
This is probably the first and most crucial step. The person you are trying to seduce has to know you exist, in clearer terms your face if not name must be familiar to her. If she's in your class of friend circle or dance group or office or your building its relatively easy for that to happen. If you happen to have your sights on somebody like in the next office building or the other section or worse in a senior or junior class visibility becomes an issue. For school or college going people the solution is simpler than for rest...become more active in the institutes activities. For working people common hangout areas is a good way of trying to achieve visibility.

Introduction
This is the step where boldness needs to intermingle with strategy. One needs the right setting to say the first hi, sometimes...most times, if the person is not connected to you through professional or personal circles one would need to artificially create that setting. The setting must be such that a hi seems almost normal. Yet this is one place despite all the right setting one would get cold feet and there nothing other than self belief comes handy. (It also helps the hi sound normal which otherwise can sound like one is having a heart attack).

An introduction is of no use if it doesn't lead to further opportunity of conversation, either by phone, further meetings or even social networking sites.

Milestone
By now we have reached the stage from strangers to aquaintances.

Opinion Building
The next part comes where you need to make the person see you in positive light. The whole aim is to become from a familiar sight to familiar thought.

Myth
Braun, money or looks are what sink women.
That is a very shallow understanding of people. while these have a very positive effect on anybody I believe that it is the fun part of being with the person that incline or disincline people towards you. This is where your talents, interests and persona work for or against you. What the other person is really looking for is that do you add to their life or subtract from it. And it is in the early stages only where one must investigate what excites the other person and then build your case around it.

Safety Tip and My Principle
It is also at this point that one must find out if the person is available or not. Given that these days people get into light or deep relationships right around when they leave kindergarden it goes to say that there is a high probability of you mingling with someone who is alreay been taken. It is a safety tip to around this time find out whether the other person is available or not.

While it is to the readers discretion to agree with my principle or not I do firmly believe that one must not make a move upon a person who has already been taken even though one at that time may firmly believe that this is the one, if that really is so...leave it to providence. It is not for a gentleman to raise his eye on someone else's affections, like it is for a gentleman to thwart an attempt of someone else raising his eye on their affections.

I do also believe that while one may begin with a very prejudiced motive one must not look at seduction from a very narrow view point. Seduction is only an attempt to convert a stranger into an aquaintance who likes you. It does not in any manner reflect the nature of the relationship so formed. I believe if man (human being) became more social and less isolated it would make for a more caring world. And so it is our duty to try wherever possible to build positive relationships whether they be friendly, romantic or even brotherly (or in case of senior people paternal).

Making the Move
The next barrier is when we know the person likes us, thinks positively of us but we are not sure of the extent. Taking the relationship from friendship to romantic relationship is a very crucial step. the cliched arm over the chair move in cinema halls is actually a very nice and innocent move. (Sometimes like it happened to me, the girl might mention that she is feeling cold or scared making it totally natural to do the arm thing)

However beyond that when we talk of physical intimacy unless you want to risk getting slapped and thought lowly off I prefer to not make a direct move but bring intimacy into the conversation and get the other person's view points. Once you have judged the other person's comfort levels it is for you to make half the move, let it be an invite and let the other person come in and grab it (quite nicely detailed by Will Smith in the first kiss scene of Hitch)

Caution
Physical intimacy more often than not can be construed as a implicit commitment. Hence if you are not making a commitment it would be gentlemanly to check with the other on their understanding of the situation

And the last principle to sum up the article

Seduction is not Love
You may have seduced the other person but it does not mean they are in love with you...attracted yes, love who knows. And this I say because the seduction activity works mostly on the basis of showing ones best side, and love mostly means accepting the whole package. And since seduction might result in a romantic relationship there is a great deal of risk involved. And hence i strongly recommend that having made reasonable progress on the seduction aspect, if one is seeking a long term relationship to make sure the person knows your quirks as well as your positives and vice-versa you should know the other person in and out.

These principles of seduction more often than not are needed when there are hinderances in the natural flow of things. In general one would prefer if love happened as naturally as breathing :)

beauty

2008-05-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

This article doesnt talk about beauty per se...it originates from the thought of the description of gods and godesses in our scriptures. How is it that most of our gods and godesses are supposed to be a symbol of beauty?

As i remember all our scriptures try and say that we shouldn't look at physical beauty and yet our gods have to be beautiful...creatures with the perfect build...

Probably what they are trying to say is that we should aim for perfection...perfect soul...perfect body...perfect health etc etc when they say that god has it all perfect.

anyways i'll leave this article mid way for now...we'll come back to beauty at a later date...it is a very wide topic...

Religion

2008-05-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

I liked this line that dad quoted me from some where...Hinduism, Islam, Christanity etc are religious followings; religion however is a very personal thing.

The religious followings are just a helping mechanism, all the chants, the rituals, the scriptures...

While our religion is our approach to spirituality, and each individual chooses his own path there.

Another aspect of religion is the concept of guru / guide. And here another famous saying needs ponderance...the guide chooses the follower. Which basically means that the lucky ones will get to meet the right guides, for since when i am ignorant it is quite impossible for me to know who is knowledgeable...And that is why quite a few people fall for godmen across all religious followings.

As the Gita points out the way to spiritual awakening can take various paths. The toughest one being through meditative process...or gyaan maarg...Then there is the one where you dedicate all your activities in the name of god and be the hand through which god acts or the karam maarg...and then there is the bhakti maarg...where in you devote your thoughts to God as a superior being and praise him through chants and try and follow on the ideals set by him...this is the route which is quite deeply entrenched in idolization of god as a being.

All of them are quite interesting and would probably lead to the same result with each being suited for people of different temprament

My trysts with spirituality have been quite interesting albeit inconclusive...probably by the end of time here on earth i'll be able to write a book similar to my experiments with truth...for essentially that is what it is ....a series of experiments...

Love

2008-05-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

A conversation with a young teenager reciting her story of her first 'Love' and breakup made me remember my days of school, college and those years when almost everything we did came under the category of love...and while I tried explaining to this little one that probably the term she wanted to use was really liked she did insist upon it being love.

Having seen my fair share of relationships, family, friends, enemies, romantic, lustful and some that can not be classified...i feel the best example to understand love is to study maternal love. For rest of the relationships add different flavor to love itself be it fun, or romantic fervour for it to be hard to pin-point what exactly could be called the essence of love.

The maternal relationship however focusses on one core aspect, dedication, devotion, caring, sacrifice. It essentially defines that to have loved you have to give yourself away as much as possible and then some more.

That is why the Sufi saints can talk of romantic relationships in the context of religion for the examples they cite don't talk about the romance or the lust of the relationship but of the devotion and sacrifice in them.

And so be true for anything if you want to identify whether it has reached the depths of love is to understand how much you have given yourself to the other person or the cause...

Pursuit of happiness

2008-05-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

A very philosophical question that affects most people at some point in their lives is the question of the purpose of their existence.

While I have no idea who made the earth or put us humans on it...i do believe that each one of us has a purpose being here...and it is to pursue happiness.

A friend of mine said, you spend half of your day in office...work has to be first priority. Though it was said in a different context, in a way he is right...wat one devotes most of the time to should get highest priority...and since we devote 100% of our time to our life...that should get even higher priority...and the measure of success of our life...how much we enjoyed living it.

The past one week i have spent observing and thinking on this...and i think what we mostly do is walk through our lives without pondering much on whether our actions and our pursuits really make us happy...

People get angry...people get worked up...people dedicate their lives to work, to their children, to accumulation of wealth, to honor and respect...yet most of us don't know wat gives us happiness...and so end up achieving most of everything that really doesnt add up to anything at all...

this is one article...that is very generic...gives absolutely no clue as to wat to take from it...and probably has been spoken of by half a dozen self help gurus a million times ( atleast mine is free)...yet i insist...that if you do start pondering about what will make u feel like u have enjoyed being here on earth...i shall have achived quite a lot...

the one tip i can give u is that...the first three iterations of thought are not the answer (in general terms)...and when u realize the answer it doesnt require u to leap off a cliff or give up your job (or it might)...but suddenly u might find u can start enjoying life...

sex

2008-05-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

Just that one word like religion holds a power in itself. Clinton almost lost his presidency and marriage to it. And as indian economy booms and more kids start living independently we have started being more bold about this topic and more experimentative about it.

But despite the mystery and aura that shrouds it sex is nothing but one of things we do. It is not a sin, not an elixir...just an act of pleasure and recreation.

Can it ever be tied to sin, i believe it can, when lies are involved to get it...when feelings our hurt because of it.

Can it be associated to religion, i believe it can, when it doesnt become just an force of habit, but an event to be celebrated, as osho says...smoking by itself is not bad....its the habit that is habit, even praying as a habit is bad...if u give ure full devotion to the cigarette while smoking it, or to god when praying it is an act of worship of celebration...when sex is carried out with that level of intensity it can be called worship.

other aspects of this whole matter which pertrub me are...promiscuity, casual sex and perversion. Is having had too many partners promiscuity and when does the count call become too many? or even if u have had it with one or two...does it always need to be only when you are in love or is casual sex as good or bad as involved sex? and where does perversion fit in...group sex, swingers, lesbians and gays, kinks and fetishes...

And since i can't begin to fathom the impact or direction of these on society i reserve my thoughts to only the basic principle i believe in, our actions should not be such that they cause emotional or physical injustice to anybody, and that sometimes one can be daring and experiment with life at other times one must play safe.

brining the subject to a close...it is but an instrument of recreation and procreation...and so one shud try and make it as special as religion and when it comes to our offspring ensure the best nutrition and healthiest environment for them to grow up in

is non-violence that important

2008-05-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

Gandhi had called of the non co-operation movement after the Chauri-Chaura incident, saying that Indians were not yet ready to govern themselves. A movement that was successful and had given hopes to a whole nation fell apart just like that. Is non-violence that important?

As I see it now, I can appreciate what Gandhi was trying to say then or i believe must have been what he was trying to say. Violence breeds violence and that an act of violence justified for one cause can be justified for many other causes. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter...

The violence we had perpetrated then as part of our free India movement has come back to haunt us as terrorism, riots, public justice (public lynching), morale police (shiv sainiks),or the frequent random acts of violence over petty issues etc.

While one may bring abouts laws on guns etc, that is trying to control the tools of the disease...it is the cause that we must cure...

BRT fiasco

2008-05-03T03:50:00.000-07:00

Much has been said about the murderous BRT corridors set up in Delhi, however the keen issue missed while discussing issues which have become emotional is their intrinsic logical value.

A BRT corridor takes birth from the idea that a mass transport system is useless unless it is fast. Buses are a mass transport system but on a choc-block jam packed road they are as slow as the rest of the traffic.

A buss corridor is one of the ideas that intends to speed up the whole thing by saying that out of the whole road lets dedicate lanes only for buses, this way the only thing stopping them would be red lights. In theory this is a good idea, especially if you add to it ac buses which makes it convenient for even white collar executives to avail of this instead of travelling by their own vehicle.

However the current implementation as everyone has found out stinks. Primarily because

a. It seems that there was no choke points analysis done (refer to The Goal by Mr. Goldratt) which means till they built the thing they didnt know other than red lights what would slow down the system.

b. No plan B : which means in case of something going wrong like it did they had no plan to switch to and as they realized once something goes wrong its hard to react to it at that very instant

c. No Public discussion of plan: I am not sure of this, but i believe that the design of the corridor was not discussed publicly, the Linux system of keeping the code open works the best in cases like this because it allows everyone to find out faults in the sytem and suggest improvements making the design a whole lot more robust.

d. No Communication: All plans for the public require that the public be made aware of the costs as well as the benefits of the plan. As far as Delhi knows the plan is the brainchild of some dumb politician meant to harass them, Delhiites are in no mood to suppor the plan because their buy in was never sought for it...

so there goes...the learnings from the 5 Km stretch of the BRT could and can easily be used to correct the design flaws for the whole system, but for people who are right now too busy trying to save their own skins that doesnt seem to be a high priority thing.

going ahead the BRT is not the only idea that can make the busses a good mass transport option another way to do that is to make roads bus only for particular hours in the morning and evening. Like the BRT this is easier said than done but just like BRT the option is a feasible one.

Speeding up transport can also be done by encouraging car pooling (visit sites like carpoolmumbai.com ), private ideas like these should be helped along by the government.

Another note: I believe that the metro was badly designed. Given that the design can't be altered for the lifetime of it once it has been made, the metro has too little seating space inside, for a public transport system which offers most space as standing space and travel times of upto an hour it can be quite criminal to make the user stand while travelling, and this hasn't shown its face yet, but when the Noida to Gurgaon stretch gets done this aspect would come to light. I am not sure of the technical feasibility but wider cabins with more seating in them might have worked better in the Indian context than the American style cabins where the population load is quite less.

Jab We Met and Rise of Kareena Kapoor

2008-04-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

Every other award show that came up on Tv not to leave out Femina Miss India had Kareena Kapoor doing the Jab We Met number, along with that per force the presenter (can't call any of the Indian ones Master of Ceremonies yet though we are getting close) had to call her gorgeous and a wonderful actor. I wouldn't quite comment on her being looks or acting skills, we can leave that out for the moment, but I would try and point out that her suddne rise in fame may have nothing to do with either of them. Infact the way I see it, the extremely well designed corset ensemble that she wore in the song Mauja hi Mauja along with the peppiness of the number together worked the magic.

infact if one were to look back into history even her sis Karishma had a change of fate when a good designer and some peppy numbers were able to reposition her from the gaudy low class film stature to some more classy acts.

Now there is no lesson to take back from this observation, except probably a visit for the ladies to the designer of that corset

The Elephant's Tail

2008-03-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

Quite a few people have asked this...why the elephant's tail? And I have taken them into the depths of their memories and recall the poem of the six blind men, each feeling up (call animal rights) a different part of an elephant and trying to describe what the thing is according to them.

In my writings, that very truth holds ground. I know what I know and thats as little as the tail of the elehpant, and I speak from that little wisdome, hence after reading any of my writings one wud find it good to spend their own time pondering alone on the topics that make you scratch your head, find your own piece of the elephant :)

the dishes are done

2007-12-22T04:41:00.001-08:00

just an update...it did work...the dishes are done...though not all roomies did it...but one other roomie did...and then the others simply started doing there bit again...simple as that

Om Shanti Om

2007-12-21T02:31:00.000-08:00

Well this isn't about just OSO, bringing in life in metro also. Saw both of them this week, loved both of them, albeit for different reasons.

OSO I liked, for it was very filmy, SRK at his what he does best, melodrama. The story was ok nothing captivating in that. What was captivating were the sets and what the stars did in them. Of simple aspirations to be able to reach out and touch your star once.

Over the years I believe SRK has become just that SRK, I am not so sure how happy Sharukh would have been in his own self but by now I doubt there is much of his own self left, it has transformed into SRK the person has become the role. As I recollect him sayin in an interview or so to say rendezvous with Simi Grewal, 'I don't feel comfortable being myself'...I wonder why that strikes a personal note...

Metro was another beautiful movie...what priority do we give to love in our lives...careers, pressures, society, rituals, where does love fit into all this??? Love as I see it is not an animal that can survive all by itself, it may, it may not. It is like a pet animal which needs to be tended to, a flame that must be fed the oil to keep it alive. A person you've been living with for n number of years, there' nothing really new you'll find out about them in the 3rd or the nth year. So that initial euphoria of being love dies out ( and some study quotes this period as about 22 months) so what after that. Do we stop loving surprises, do we stop wanting to be special, do we stop wanting to be a part of something secret, something exciting. So while one have moved past the stage of teenage ebullience into the world of deep understanding and caring...it shouldn't hurt a 40 year old singing 'billo rani...tu kahe toh jaan de doon'

it's not enough to do just your bit

2007-12-21T02:14:00.000-08:00

The dirty dishes have been sitting in our sink for a couple of weeks now. The maid having left us bereft of her services. The question is how did these dishes pile up, since we all claim to wash the dishes we use. I would argue that they got into a mud fight and then happily clambered into the sink to be cleaned up, but unfortunately this ain't a chilren's animation.

It boils down to the fact that when somebody else forgot to do their dishes or couldn't because of paucity of time we let those dishes be, not only that since the other wasn't doing his work you felt cheated doing your own bit and so one by one the sink became a stink hole.

Which leads me to the next part. Who is a chamaar??? One who cleans other's excretment or one who finds no issues living in excretment. The former i believe not as bad as the latter. For there are people who have to dig the oil and clean the sewers, lay the roads but we all have the option of cleaning up our surroudings before we sleep, the ones who don't they I would label as chamaars.

Infact this is one thing that scares me off from visiting other people's homes for stays, you never know what you're going to find in their toilets.

And with that I bring you back to what I was talking about, the sink is now half clean, did up some dishes, more than my fair share and am hoping that it's going to be noticed by the other three and their brighter side would pull them to do some. It's not enough to do just your part...

My Celebrity Look-alikes

2007-10-29T11:07:00.001-07:00

http://www.myheritage.com

The rat race

2007-10-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

I noticed an interesting trend, when i was still in high school and they were teaching us reverse osmosis, i was wondering if its that simple why don't they use that to make water purifiers and sure as hell somebody in HLL woke up about a decade later to the possibility. Then post engineering when for the first time i entered a b-plan competition and said that there lay a big future in sports entertainment industry, (sports played in short formats) they chucked my b-plan out (probably becoz i really didnt know how to do the financials then)...that was 2004 and in 2007 somebody realized that cricket would work better in a 20-20 format.

On a not so grand scale...whilst i started writing case studies and b-plans in first year, first trim of college, it is only in this fifth trim that i see a flurry of activity in college related to case studies and b-school competitions and i find myself bored of these kiddy things and am thinking on entreprenuerial terms...

I may not have cracked the mysteries of winning in this world...but atleast i have the thought leadership part quite well set...gives a happy feeling in the tummy about that :)

Perversion

2007-10-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

Through the life and time of society we have been decreeing what is decent and what society finds unacceptable. Is seeing by the roadside perversion? what if you are peeing on a sapling, you are actually supplying it urea...wouldnt it be a shame to pee in the toilet and deprive the plant of nutrition it could have gotten so easy...

But this article is not about something so frivolous. Till orkut came in I had no idea how many gays and lesbians existed in India. But that wasn't the shock, soon the extent extended beyond that to alternate lifestyles...submissives, dominants, crossdressers, pain sluts, scat plays and a whole lot of other fetishes and alternate lifestyles. While I am sure Shiv Sena would like to blame it as an effect of the corrupt western world...i believe its neither corrupt nor due to the western world, but i would be digressing if I were to tackle that question in this article only...the point here is that while it took gays and lesbians to come forward slowly..they have...they are not as hidden as earlier and are gaining acceptance quite fast...soon we will find that these other perverts will demand there space under the sun...

And that brings me to what this article is really about, its about perverts, no not the gays , lez or other alternate lifestylists, they are just doing what they like, no there is a bigger sin in life...a perversion dirtier than someone who likes to eat shit...it is the perversion of feeding others shit...adulterated in normal food...it is the perversion of corruption...of falling for pleasures which harm others, of flling your coffers by starving others, the perversion of hate of finding excuse to hate another human, the perversion of not caring who comes under your car tyre, the perversion of enjoying life without being responsible for it, the perversion of feeding your kids with money...and the list goes on and on...

There are two kinds of perversion as i see it...one that will eventually change the shape of society...what is today frowned upon will become openly acceptable tomorrow...and the other which shall destroy the society itself...

We need specs

2007-10-23T02:05:00.000-07:00

The sectoral courses at my college have been the point of unrest with the core mba people vehmently opposing these courses. With lot of points being raised in opposition to such courses, breach of trust, lack of quality intake, dilution of core brand, unnecessary competition, contextual relevance with threat of redundance, oh ya lack of infrastructure to house more courses, Yes i think i have covered them all. The final brink point has been placements, whilst the core people demanding that separate placements be held for core and sectoral programmes and the administration refusing it on practicality grounds.

Whilst there are some valid reasons on both sides, the strategic viewpoint of sectoral courses is lost for the moment. Whether the industry demands such courses, how the industry perceives the college, whether it takes sectoral and core as one reflection or whether they are different and if different then on what aspects.

With only a short term view of the situation i believe we are casting away a very strategic leverage that could be of use in the future.

It would be sissy like to just give out the objective view on this topic and not take a personal stand being in the thick of situation. I believe that sectoral programmes might be the way ahead, its like a superspecialization and while most of the industries wouldnt need more than a general manager, there are some where super specializations will be a good value add. There is always a fear of losing a good job to another and yes more competition increases that fear but then competition is something that is increasingly becoming tougher so its a reality to accept, also this year atleast the sectoral courses are at a disadvantage cause they are the first batch so most organizations would be wary of their produce. So as of now i am not really scared that someone from the sectoral course is gonna steal my coveted job, and if they can give a fight, i am all looking forward to the duel and i wish them luck.

What really pertrubs me is that there is water cooler in the outdoor sitting area which has been leaking since the day i came about an year and a half back and the core, the sectoral and the administration together have not been able to find a solution to that, or is it that they can't care enough. I leave this one problem unsolved so that every time i come back i can see whether this instituion that i am from, has it put on its specs and finally been able to see the things that will make it worldclass or is still bickering over small personal fights.

The Contemplative Indian

2007-10-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

Something more important than being argumentative right now is to be contemplative. Whilst we managment grads and engineering grads of India are happy about the boom in the economy and thus our fattening pay packages there is a key essential that we are forgetting, it also means a more rapidaly decaying environment and whilst doomsday prophecies abound now maybe the time to start wondering if they are gonna come true and as i believe the human race is far beyond its peak, the question is when is nature going to restabilize.

But the point here is not about joining doomsday cults its purely about what should be our next steps and it seems to me, that soon we shall see re-village-ization of the world, pockets of people trying to isolate themselves from the destructive tendencies of the city life.

Environmental management would also be another area which will become big, people who can purify your sewerage, people who can build systems to help you be self sufficient in drinking water, help you get energy from the surroundings, infact without these consultants revillageization will not take off on a big scale.

I think we people have done too much of shopping, now is the time to sell...and probably stop breeding kids...i know this sounds like a doomsday prophecy but when you realize that even if you agree with me that the environment needs to be saved, you and i will end up destroying much more of it before we stop and then there are over 6 billion people who need to stop and if they do, then they just may not have enough to do in the world...so all in all letz enjoy while we can becoz soon earth is gonna take over from us humans...

psst...here's an analogy...if we dont expect the sensex to boom without a correction...havent we been expecting too much that there will be no correction despite our 6 billion parasitic boom...

hope and hopelessness of love, drugs and meditation

2007-06-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

3:38 PM me: haan to question yeh thaa breaking our truce...if u don't believe in real life romance...r u intending to get married....?

3:39 PM Seema: right now.. NO
i dont know if i'd change my mind

3:40 PM me: not right now but if u don't believe in love as a possibility...then what would be the reason for u to get married
matbal like if u thought there was no good ending possible to that story or ne other story to phir why...even 5 yrs downt he line why (the story referred to is ‘what men want’ can be found in my stories blog callmesmith.blogspot.com , the issue being her firm stance that the ending in the story is only partial and I real life it would only go on further to be a heartbreak)
3:41 PM Seema: i said NO
i dont think i wanna get married ever
thats wt i think right now

3:42 PM me: ok so now next question...if u don't believe in love and hence see no reason to get married...what abt sex....u in for it, against it...watz ure stand on that

3:43 PM Seema: right now m figurin out if i shud continue in this college another year
sex is not exactly on my mind u c

3:44 PM me: or drop it and join air hostess course...i think they have a minimum height reqt...

Seema: i was thinkin i cud abandon material world
go to some ashram
have charas everyday

me: charas costs money btw

Seema: n pray
its almost free in a few places
3:45 PM rishikesh
water'd cost u more
its like a charas-ganja haven

me: really like where...kulu hills also they will make u pay
the whole biz of drugs runs on money
really u ever got some..or know someone who gets it for free

Seema: its diff in rishikesh
3:46 PM these babas they got loads on em
money aint a problem

me: babas get a lot of money also btw

Seema: they just need followers to keep it goin for em

me: yes i can imagine u naked wid ash on ure body smokign charas....yes the whole picture looks very clear

3:47 PM Seema: disgustin gilli
we talkin sanyaas

me: :P

Seema: n dope
u dont respect anythin do u?

me: sanyas has got nothing to do wid dope...ure jst talking dope

Seema: it does

me: i respect thought

Seema: u havent seen a lot of ashrams
3:48 PM its easier to meditate
wen high
u can lose ur self
materially
otherwise its very difficult

me: i have a religious guru...an actual religious guru...if u've ever heard of birla ghat and taat waale babaji in haridwar

Seema: think i have
3:49 PM all my life i have only heard of babajis

me: i heard them talking abt the virtues of milk, of excercise of meditation of bhakti...never of charas

3:50 PM Seema: my dad visits this guy.. guru.. he doesnt talk food.. milk/dope/whatever
stays away from crowds
upon a hill smwr
3:51 PM u'd have to trek to reach him
seems like a genuine guy
no money.. no followers
he cares a damn

3:52 PM me: yes now that is how i wud describe an ascetic...dope isn't included

Seema: hmm

me: there are dopeys too i agree
but in them

Seema: i havent quite reached that level u know

me: i agree with the aghoris
they dope and all

Seema: ya

me: followers of shiva

3:53 PM but their complete philosophy is that nothing in god's creation is disgusting or to be despised
they live in sewers...
wear ash
dope
one of their rituals include consumptuon of meat of dead human

3:54 PM Seema: ya i know

me: ....

Seema: they eat in a skull

me: they i agree wid..

Seema: i dont see myself doin that

me: but meditation and dope don't go...

Seema: even if i think its kinda okay

me: u either dope or u meditate

Seema: u know they do
3:55 PM kinda do
u can meditate however u like

me: one lets the mind wander to thoughtlessness, other concentrates the mind to thoughtlessness

Seema: u just need that state of mind
doesnt matter what takes u there

me: ya but like u can't mix allopathic and homeopathic
same way u can't mix the other two

3:56 PM Seema: see it is more about the end result
to most ppl
u r right it'd not b the same
but i see no harm in startin off like tht

me: haan but u can't take a two horse horse cart...make one turn left other turn right and still hope to move

Seema: only that there are no two horses

3:57 PM me: yes experimenting is not bad...though if u get caught like jim morrison...
then u end up sad and dead in bath tub

Seema: who decides wts wrong n wts not
its wrong wen u know that it is n u still do it

3:58 PM me: not saying nething is wrong...lots of ppl who try meditating wud never reach newhere...

Seema: otherwise it is all hypothetical

me: and ppl who dope maybe happy

Seema: ethics n moral codes n all

me: but the reverse is also possible
i dont talk abt ethics and morals

Seema: anythin is possible
thats y i say its the state of mind that is more important

me: my only ethic/moral/principal is to never hurt nebody or think ill of nebody
other than that u know i have no prinicples

Seema: diff ppl have diff reasons to dope
3:59 PM depends on wt i think principles are
i dont think anything is wrong as long as u not harmin a second person
do wtever u will to urself
ur life

me: we seem to be on similar lines there

4:00 PM Seema: hmm
thats how it shud b u know
with everyone
life'd b so much simpler

me: yeah there's this kid ...met online..she's in xaviers...
4:02 PM now she and her gang members watch porn...rag juniors including guys in kinda sexual manners , will hang out wid guys..but she won't jerk off or have sex or even kiss any guy...coz in her mind as long she doenst do that she's decent !!!!
and like she's majorly fixed on porn and i was like kiddo..the day u started thinking..decency flew out of the window...:P
:P
4:03 PM neways each to theirs

Seema: ya
if she thinks she's right
then be it

4:04 PM i hate ppl who r guilty
cmon dont do it
as simple as that
me: yeah...
4:05 PM if i ever manage to organize 'the naked mile' run in india will send u an invite...
:)

Seema: hahaha

4:06 PM but wt wud b the objective

me: what has always been the objective...to break rules
rules the anithema of mankind
prevent development

4:07 PM Seema: hmm
but y wud u break rules without any objective n just for the heck of it

4:08 PM me: because just the act of breaking rules proclaims that we are free as humans, ppl of free thought, ppl who will ask questions...
4:09 PM ppl who will not be cowered down by shiv sena or the govt...

Seema: but y cant ppl do that wen there is a reason

me: the only thing we will not do is harm, others

Seema: most of these naked mile athletes wud bak off then

me: yeah thats there too...

Seema: hypocrisy...

4:10 PM me: not exactly chains....
everybody has chains
some manage to break free some don't

4:11 PM Seema: but i just think ppl have gotta b sure of et they blv in

me: i wouldn't sit in judgement upon those who cant

Seema: know its not as simple as it sounds
but they shud try

4:12 PM me: shud...who knows may be they have also...but like u don't seem keen to try meditating withiout dope they might not want to try revolting by leaving money or career etc
lots of desires and fears govern us...

and thats where this conversation petered off due to other engagements....leave u all to ure own thoughts on this...

Why is Rajasthan burning?

2007-06-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

I scanned over the news clippings of the clashes between the Gujjars and the police, its nothing usual, peopl fighting for reservation is now a normal news item, or is it...what caught my attention was that the blokes who were fighting were not half naked malnourished people...well dressed, healthy chaps...what do they need reservation for???

Reservation long ago lost its holy vision, it is now nothing but an excuse to get onto the streets and fight, the pity being while we Indians are ready to squall with each other at the drop of a hat we never seem to find the strength to really get up and fight for the issues that would count as worth fighting for...

Neways i'm thinking of starting a reservation protest of my own...we the thinkers of the chaotic school of thought are in utter minority and find it difficult to adapt to normal ordered way of life...we need to be given special privileges...if our demands are not met............one for the crazy world we live in

Terror stricken us

2007-05-31T00:22:00.000-07:00

Just started reading George Orwell's 1984 and the vision i got of the future wasn't really a pleasant one. A bomb as we all know is quite easy to make, take some fertilizer, some acid and you can do a lot of damage to the world. Information and communication is easy to hide and transmit. Our common day terrorist varies from a poor chap dying on the road off hunger, a guerilla in the jungle, a rich sheikh in hiding or a well learned chap in one of the top colleges of the world, he may be black, white, brown, yellow, pink or turqoise...

We are already stripping people on airports, next if someone makes a bomb that can be injected into the blood stream we might be dripping them like cows on a slaughter before letting them board aircraft, or will we start plugging into people's minds to read their thoughts?

Fiction now, maybe fact tomorrow...in this war on terrorism are we going to create super terrorists like we are seeing superbugs now...is 'war' really the answer to terrorism...or could $120bn be used to actually uplift the poor...maybe love and caring is the answer not war

Every step we take

2007-05-29T03:33:00.000-07:00

On our bus ride back from office yesterday I was just wondering, every single thing I do in a day only goes towards degrading the environment. Right from the moment i get up, the toothpaste is made in a way that pollutes the envt, so is the soap...The pumping of the water and the working of the geyser take electricity which means burnt fuel, then comes the newspaper and on and on and on...every single step goes towards degradation and not one thing i do goes towards working for improving the envt. and thats just me...there are billions of me out there...

we are going to have to pay for our sins...and so we are...the air is more polluted and so is the water, the weather is changing patterns, glaciers are melting, our previous generation led a healthier life than us and we better than our coming one; all in all its time we got ready for a big dose of punishment...

and that made me think maybe i don't want to have a kid...i'll probably adopt one...atleast that way he or she or they can't look back one day and said why in god's name did u bring us into this muck...coz i didn't somebody else did...somebody who forgot to use a condom....infact if u've seen that ad where this kid is making a scene in a supermarket and the dad looks helpless and then the punchline comes...sympathy towards those who didn't use a condom (or something like that)...we can show kids with accusing fingers pointing towards their dads...use a condom..save urself the accusation of bringing a child into this world...

Why Non Violence

2007-05-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

After the Baroda incident and the Dera incident, we again need to revisit the question, why was Gandhi against violence, isn't violence a faster and easier way to get what is right?

From what I have understood there are some other aspects which come into play before we get the main answer.

1. What is right and whose right is actually right or put more eloquently one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist, if you and I can justify violence for some purpose then so can everybody else. Like one of my naughty uncles in his youth said "I can't be wrong till I admit to be wrong and I refuse to admit that I'm wrong whatever you might say"

2. What does violence breed? The gangster whose kid saw him being shot dead like a dog on the street right before his eyes by the police, or a native in Afghanistan whose house was mistakenly bombed by US forces who are they expected to grow up to love or hate?

Violence in all its totality whether at a broader picture or at the individual level can only breed more hate and violence. Violence is not a solution, it is an event with repercursions going long and farther than the original act.

We used violence in parts to get the British out of the country, we use violence in parts even today to get what we want, we didn't learn then, we haven't learnt now...