As your environment grows, effectively you tend to shrink, finally boiling down to just a dot.
Whether its a white dot on a black background (or vice versa), or whether the colours are the same, makes a lot of difference

Somehow, I have always felt secure and comfortable in small-sized or middle-sized surroundings. Crowds seem to take the homeliness out of it all.

Current Music : - Radha Kaise Na Jale - Lagaan (amazing music I must say)

One of those innumerable fwds that keep pouring in, mentioned that Thomas Alva Edison failed 9000 times (that is some patience, man!) when he set out to make a light bulb.
IMHO, he has to thank God for the 9001 attempt when he finally got it right.
'Coz
That's when God said "Let there be light""

If you could so kindly laugh at my feeble attempts at cracking a joke. Thank you ladies, gentlemen and anybody else I have left out.

Current Music : Dheere Dheere - Ashiqui

I know I am no Sita, but sometimes I so dearly wish the earth would open up and swallow me, harbor me for some time and when the commotion dies down, with a hiss, and a sputter, spit me out.

When some one is kinda shy, there is nothing worse than being in the limelight, albeit for a small amount of time

Current Music: Piya Basanti - Ustad Sultan Khan & Chitra

Everytime she heard that sound, that of an ambulance, she sensed a sickening feeling at the pit of her stomach
A sudden mood swing, as she watched the flashing light weave through the traffic, leaving her sad in its wake
For, more than anything else, she feared losing people, to their destinies

Just a thought...

A majority of the Ponds Femna Mss India finalists say that real beauty is inner beauty and the usual blah blah. Whether these words are rehearsed or whether they come straight from the heart is a different story.
(Ohh, now I know!! The scarcity of clothes is not due to cost-cutting measures, its because the "inner beauty" should be easily visible ;-))

If real beauty is the beauty within, why do the hosts/sponsors ask for vital stats and a photograph while shortlisting the candidates?

Why do we have this pageant in the first place? So that they get a ticket easily? In bollywood first and then in the elections later?

Current Music: - And The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

You know you are getting older (Part -II) when...

You say "good news" (especially if you are a girl) and the first conclusion other people jump to, is "oohh she is getting married". I am ready to bet on the fact that most ladies will probably mentally start thinking of what sari to wear that day, or whether to buy a new one and what gift to give, keeping in mind what the speaker/'s family had given them on a similar occasion.

Its not only them, I would have inferred the same from such a statement, thanks to the society most of us are brought up in.

(A mail from a friend about a certain "Good News" got me thinking)

Current Music - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

Up, Up and Above

These days its so hot in Pune (40 deg C), I am seriously planning to shift to the Himalayas and live happily ever after till June. The glossy brochures don't talk about internet connectivity out there, so I will be unreachable for the earthly beings, but maybe I could connect to the Almighty and sort out a few things with Him.

Entertainment avenues in the Himalayas :-
1)I could catch up on my non-existent Sanskrit knowledge at a rishi's abode, so that next time I mumble an aarati, I know what I am talking about. And I would also come back learned and wise, a halo around my head.

2)I could pretend to be Tintin and hunt for the abominable snowman , without the dog of course, for I have a firm belief that all dogs were born for the solitary purpose of biting me ( or stealing my shoes), my nearly-being-bitten escapades experiences speaketh.

3)If not the snowman, I could hunt for other Uncle Sam abominables, specially those whose names have an O, a B and an L in them, if and only if M&B haven't got him already. I don't like to be explicit, remember I want to "live" happily ever after and "return" in June.
Psst: M&B does not stand for Mills and Boon, nope, I haven't read any and would rather watch the ants on the wall, than read one

4)Hmm, let me see, what else can I do?Go skiing?Make a snowman?Throw snowballs at no-one in particular? Build an igloo? Laugh at everybody sweltering back home?..........

The writer has been forced to stop here, 'cause she is beginning to sound delirious. She has totally forgotten the fact that she suffers from acrophobia, even the fifth rung of the ladder is enough to send shudders down her spine, so the Himalayas are a definite no-no. Poor girl, the heat has probably gotten to her.

Current Music - Can't help Falling In Love With You - Elvis Presley

There is something incredibly soothing about watching a diya burn, at times flickering, almost in the danger of being snuffed out and then when everything around seems to be gradually enveloped in gloom, it crackles back to life, vigorously, stronger than before, devour the darkness it does, a single wick, brighten the room it does...

Happy Gudi Padwa to all ye readers, wishing you a very bright year ahead!!

(Gudi Padwa is the Maharashtrian New Year)

Current Music: Suno Suno - Yuva

350cc, yet still going strong

For me, blood donation is not exactly stepping unto unfamiliar territory, for I have been doing it everyday for the past 20-even (let us not delve into the specifics) years now. Donating it to the mosquitoes, of course. In fact, I could easily call myself The Lone Mosquitièrre, inspired from 'em Three Musketeers of course, for I fight a lone battle (and end up feeling like a martyr), they don't seem to fancy the blood of anybody else at home.

But blood donation for homo sapiens is a different story altogether. I close my eyes and clench my teeth 5 minutes before that inevitable prick of the needle and the same is done when it is time for it to be removed. I know it doesn't hurt that bad, but since I belong to the feminine gender, being dramatic is inborn. Yesterday was one such day, and although I secretly hoped to faint, or at least feel a wee bit weak, it was not to be thus *sigh*. On the upside, I sure ended up feeling very heroic. I shall also not take off the patch on that riddled spot till it falls off on its own accord ;-)

Trivia:
The ultimate blood donation scene ever to hit the silver screens:-
Amar Akbar Anthony; All the three A's (still long lost and yet to discover their parentage), lying there next to each other, the tubes carrying blood linked to a single bag, which is further linked to their blind mom, Nirupa Roy (who else).
Bollywood mein sab chaltha hai!!

Current Music: Janie Don't Take Your Love To Town - jBjOvI

Independence is....
Not waiting for anybody to play the guitar for you ;-) , playing it yourself (never mind the fact that whatever is churned out currently is not exactly music to the ears)

Despair is...
Discovering that your fingers are way too tiny, hindering the outbursts of independence mentioned above.
Anybody heard of finger extensions? :-)

Current Music - Tumse Milke - Parinda

Flicked this from Entelechy's blog coz I found it interesting, sorry for not asking you ;-)

"Promise me you'll never forget me; because if I thought you would, I'd never leave."
-Winnie the Pooh

Lovely words...
A cartoon is, after all, created by a human, and it shall always have its share of human nuances.

I don't know about Mona Lisa smiling (she wasn't exactly doing that when we met last inside the Louvre, she was sort of twitching the left side of her mouth), but IMHO, Madhubala and Sonali Bendre have one of the most captivating smiles I have ever seen (especially the latter's expressions in the Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya song)

Talking about M.L. again, IMHO (Honestly, I seem to be so opinionated), the Louvre has far better paintings (by Da Vinci himself) than this one. One could spend hours in this museum and still not see it all. In fact, IMHO (not again;-), one could spend months in Paris and yet not see it all. I did what I could in 25 days, but given half a chance, I would go back, for I have yet to see the artists' district in Montmartre and the CanCan dancing at the Moulin Rouge, and given the other half of the chance, I would stop by Rome on my way back home.

Time for a blast from the past

Current Music: Khamosh Raat - Takshak
IMHO, très difficult for a song to get more beeeyuutifuul (as the French would pronounce it) than that

Glossary:- IMHO means "in my honest opinion", très - "very" in French

Sacrilege is ...
Not enjoying F.R.I.E.N.D.S at all.
I made sincere efforts to, but I could never identify with the cult status it has generated amongst my peers.

I would rather be myself and swim against the tide once in a while, liking songs most people would never listen, thinking thoughts difficult for anybody else to relate to.

This above all: To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night follows the day, thou canst then be false to any man --- Shakespeare

Current Music: Here I Am - B. Adams and Nee Partha - Hey Ram

Resolutions are easier broken than kept

For each of us has shades of Adam or Eve in measures variant, and someone or something shall be the apple that shall always tantalizingly beckon...

Current Music: Badalon Se - Satya

Overheard: Questions people ask 2 minutes into meeting each other for the first time

Cast: Girl1, Girl2 and a third very pretty 26 yr old girl

Girl1: Are you married?
26 yr old: No
Girl1: Then who was that guy with you outside?

Girl2: Are you married?
26 yr old: No
Girl2: Don't you feel your biological clock is going haywire?


Talk about curiosity, I bet they do not know what it did to the cat. The 26yr old was extremely embarassed, but obviously.

As for me, I was a mute bystander, trying to keep a straight face throughout. Its not easy to suppress laughter at such times, lemme tell you.

Current Music: Yeh Rishta - Meenaxi and Vidai Kodu Engal Naade - Kannathil Muthamittal

The other day I was reading the *paper version* of India Today ( and "feeling-good" all the way ;-) featuring "shining" sons-of-the-soil and the duller son(ia)s-not-of-the-soil (this time with a "brand new" slogan , replacing garib by aam admi). Anyway, whilst reading thus, I came to a particular word which was highlighted, and the first thing that I involuntarily did, was to simulate a double click using my fingers.
Gosh, I never realised how much I had gotten used to reading on the internet.

As for the mags and dailies of late, its brainwash like never before. India Shining, Feel Good etcetra and etc. I just hope that, whoever comes into power, does not suffer from temporary amnesia soon thereafter and forget that polishing or caring for the aam admi is a fulltime job and not to be done once in five years.

Current Music: I would do anything for love - Meatloaf

It was drizzling a few minutes ago, I can almost visualise the parched earth gulping down the water.

Flashback

Is it only the earth that is thirsty, is something that has to be reflected upon.

What if it could have been otherwise..

Saying "I-dont-care" repeatedly, just proves you do really care, but you are trying to convince a mind that is trying its best to refrain from getting brainwashed.

Current Music : Words - Boyzone

You know you have really grown up when...

After a minor argument, you threaten your mom that you will run away, and without blinking an eyelid, she says "go..and now you are earning too".
A few years ago, as a rebellious teenager (don't we all go through such phases) I had put forth the same threat and the same mom was very upset (almost on the verge of tears) and wanted to know where I had got this idea from *insert teethy smiley here*

As for really leaving, she knows I am not going anywhere, I know that I wouldn't. After all she holds the trump card, for every such threat is followed by a rhetorical question (can I call it a googly?) from her, "Who will cook your dinner for you everyday?"

And I, almost on the doorstep, trudge back to my room, bags in tow.

Psst: She makes the best corn 'n' peas pulao that ever was. My friend Rashmi will vouch for this ;-)

Current Music: Last Christmas - G. Michael

To kill, not a mocking bird, but another mortal

I don't remember watching too many gruesome Hindi movies before Satya. It was a trend-setter of sorts. Pre-Satya, it was tomato sauce, post-Satya must have led to an upward spiral in the career graph of many a make-up artiste, specifically those who could make gun-ridden bodies look eerily realistic.

And now, in such similar theme based movies, the gruesome does not seem so grisly any longer. In fact the killing of another human being can have its shades of humour too. You've got to see Ab Tak Chappan (RGV has definitely scored with this one) to believe this. You have the whole theatre doubling up in laughter when Nana Patekar lauds Nakul Vaid (who btw happens to very cute) when the latter shoots a gangster in cold blood. A poster of the same movie at one of the local theatres also has Nana (grinning) with a pistol pointing to another guy's head (who is also grinning).

Is society becoming insensitive or is it just a bombardment of one gruesome movie after another or is it because crime is so commonplace, that nothing surprises you any more.

I had once asked a friend studying at NDA (the national defence academy, pune) how he would feel when he had to kill the adversary, for the first time. The usually boisterous boy was silent for some time, and then replied, it would be difficult initially, but later he would get used to it.

Coming back to movies, what is even more surprising (if I think of it) is that I would rather stand by the bad guy. Bhiku Mhatre in Satya or Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking, among countless other instances. I guess that is what good film-making is all about. To glorify the inhuman, and get away with it.

Current Music: Main Hoon Na Title Track

Maybe I am a good actor after all
My feigned snappiness is beginning to sound real

Sleepless in Pune

My weekend was spent in fighting a battle, a battle with my senses, a battle with my constantly shutting eyelids. The reason I could not just drop off right there and then was because I was attending a certain workshop. It was not their fault, they were pretty good trainers, I humbly accept the blame. In fact, during the moments I was paying attention, I gathered the training to be pretty interesting. They talked about blogging to keep a track of what you do all day :-), about control over the state of mind, about body language, about patience...

I knew people in college who could actually sleep right through the lectures, laying their heads on the table, something I could not just bring myself to do. I admire doctors in this case, I wonder how they can be on duty for a period greater than 30 hours. (And to think I had set my eyes on joining the medical profession initially)

The only time I actually managed to sleep on duty was during the regatta practices in COEP , here you are, spending the whole day in college (where college = 50%BoatClub + 50%Department) , and then off to night-long romancing with the water, and then back to college again. I remember conking off once, during one such session, for an undeterminate period of time, and hoping no one had called out to me when I finally gained consciousness

Next time into a similar battle, I will take to daydreaming instead (something I am an expert at ;-), switching from one thought to another at the rate I switch TV channels at home.

"All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost" - Tolkien