I wish I wish I wish I wish I wish
I could write like P G Wodehouse

I find this whole business of soul-searching very interesting.

When someone says "I did some soul-searching yesterday",
what exactly did they do? I mean how do you know where to start, do you start at the top of your head, or at the bottom of your feet. Maybe something like, "Hellooo, anybody in there?"

I recommend Google or Lycos. Excellent search engines.

Anyway, once you have found it, please keep it someplace safe so that you do not have to go hunting for it all over again.

Phone conversations can be so full of suspense

The phone rings. You pick it up.
Caller: Hello, its me!!
Me: ( Obviously its you, but who are you) Hello err.. err..
Caller: C'mon did you not recognise me??
Me: ( Muddled ) ABC
Caller: ( who is not ABC ) Noooo, c'mon try again
Me: XYZ
Caller: (wild by now that you cannot recognise him/her) Nooo
Me: (solving a math paper is easier, racking your memory for a face to match the voice, desperate now) I am sorry , I did not recognise you
Caller: Its meee, PQR!!
Me: ( Phew, The ordeal is over) Ohhhh
Caller: How can you not recognise my voice??
Me: (I would have, had you told me your name at first) Well, you know you sound so much like ABC and XYZ....


Next time, the phone rings, I force my mom to pick it up.

Wars really improve your geography.
I had never heard of towns like Basra, Nasiriyah, Umm Qasr
I am sure they must be as beautiful as their names sound

"They make a wilderness
and call it peace"
- Tacitus

Sad, ain't it.

Fighting for food, for that morsel of rice somebody else did not want to eat, for that last drop of water, for a place to sleep, that place on the pavement relatively away from the traffic

Fighting against cancer, againt AIDS, against leukaemia

Fighting for human rights, for animals' rights

Fighting against pollution, for a greener world, for cleaner rivers

Fighting for that coveted seat in the university, for that post at work

With so many battles going on, do we really need a war?

An afterthought, "Unchained Melody -OST Ghost" would be suitable music for the Kayak ballet

Nostalgia

COEP, 1998 , February , the First Year of Engineering

The Annual Gathering preparations in full swing, the COEP Art Circle, the Orchestra and the Regatta.

The Regatta at the COEP Boat Club

Enrolling for the Punt Formation ( Glossary for non-COEPians:a night show, the formation of shapes in water by means of boats called punts whose edges are lined with small bulbs driven by a battery inside the punt)

daily practice 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm, aching hands , sunburnt faces,
sundays full day, studies - what are studies?:) , The PFOs (seven senior student organisers) guiding us, the goof-ups, scolding us, praising us, team building sessions, Nagraj jumps into the water trying to save some kids splashing about, he reaches them and gets to know they are swimming :), loses his spectacles, Rashmi at the tip of a punt reaches out for another punt, loses her balance, falls into the water, down with malaria, bounces back and is back at the tip of the punt again.

Punters all over the boat club, fastening those bulb holders onto the cloth that shall go around the punt.Great fun.The last four days, night practices now, gather at 8 pm, play Antakshari, PFO Aniket with his unforgettable "Tujhse Naaraz Nahi Zindagi"," Purani Jeans", "Om Shanti Om", PFO Shriram - "The Odomos Man", we wait in queue for dabs of the mosquito repellent, the night is lovely, dark and deep, so silent, its just us in the water, dinner and cups of coffee to keep us awake through the night, people doze off, practice over at 4 am, we troop back to our homes/hostels. Sleep for 3 hours, college at 8:30 am.

The day of the Regatta, the boat club overflowing with people, the races, the Wharf dance, the kayak ballet (i think they played the song "Khamosh raat" in the background, it was fascinating) and finally the punt formation.

The night is silent again, we move slowly into the water, and suddenly, all bulbs lit and a roar in the crowd, 25 formations in 25 minutes, the grand finale. Fireworks from the opposite bank, "Hip, Hip, Hurrahs", Party time .

The Show is over
Only the memories remain.

"Militants kill 25 in Rajouri, J&K "
"Terrorists hold Akshardham Temple under seige for more than 8 hours"
"Oil station blown up in Assam by militants"

On the long winding road, you see a sign post on your left that reads
"First view of the National Defence Academy 25 metres ahead"
When the magnificient Sudan block set amidst the picturesque campus comes into focus,
you get a feeling that
"all hope is not lost, not yet"

Kids are experts in saying the right things at the wrong time.
Like how yesterday, my 4-year old nephew Siddharth (poor kid will be called Sid all his life thanks to the movie Dil Chahta Hai) insisted I draw a "taaaiiiger" and a "kokodile"
That really put me in a spot. Well I am no L. Da Vinci , but I wasnt bad at biology journals in college and Engineering graphics in COEP.
But of course, I had never dissected a tiger or a croc, so my bio journals did not have drawings of those and there is no machinery shaped like the above mentioned animals so Engg graphics was not of much use too.

Anyway, I thought and thought and thought and finally obliged Sid.
He stared and stared and stared and thought and thought and thought
and asked in a very sweet little innocent voice " What have you drawn?"

See, I told you I was no L. Da Vinci

I drive 10 kilometres to work everyday.
It can be a pretty boring routine, same old roads, same old faces.
Same old faces ?? Ya, you know, the nameless faces, people I am so used to seeing at the same place everday

The same guard at the start of that lane, I always wonder why he is guarding that lane, and someday I am going to ask the reason

The old disabled beggar, skating on the road on a piece of wood attached with wheels. I wonder how he manages to navigate through the heavy traffic

That cobbler on the pavement over there, at times napping, at times reading a newspaper but never servicing a customer.
Someday I am going to tell him to change his location, maybe he would do some business at the corner

They are all strangers to me and always shall, but yes, I would miss them if they go.


Same old roads, same old faces .............
I wonder if they think the same