Wedding Bells Soon!

Looks like I have to get married soon.

The statement does not rear its head owing to my age, or settled-ness or a secret desire or want or any other such factors. 

Looks like I have to get married soon just to find a house for rent in Pune. Bachelors and spinsters seem to be the utter limit of nuisance for everyone here. If you don't have a spouse, please get married and then come back and you can live in the house. Having to hunt for a house very recently, we have come across a variety of people willing to let out their properties to people. Most of them deny bachelors as if they are the worst breed of people on the earth. There are others who provide conditions and rules which must be strictly obeyed. We even heard someone tell us friends are not allowed to come over and there should be no DJ in the house. Only God knows where people learn to speak from. Our previous owner, while we were leaving, told us we were welcome to come back anytime we wanted to stay, only if we get married and come back. Housing societies are denying bachelors, people are rejecting them, where do people like us go? I was told by a friend of people who had been thrown out of their society, the reason being they were bachelors. A spinster friend living with her friends has apparently been asked to move out too. 

Where do we go? Everyone's raising their rent, deposits etc but no one realizes that the IT industry is just the glamour. Everyone thinks if you are in IT you are the big bucks earner. Every employee is filthy rich apparently. Hence the exorbitant demands in autos, cabs, tips and anywhere where a small amount of money could suffice... The basic cost of living is increasing day by day. Yet the salaries which are supposed to increase year by year isn't interested in going up at all. What do we do?

Its always those few rotten apples that spoil the entire basket. Everyone is absurd in their own ways. People should realize that and work upon it instead of launching offense against others. Accepting people isn't a crime. No one wants any trouble. As if life is peaceful anyway!! There is no way to really make sure the bachelors/spinsters will be bad news. Things need to change. And soon!!

Temporary Flower

They have straightened out the matter

And rung her wedding bells

While she had struggled

To make a fool out of their selves.

They have cast the line into water

And chosen the fattest fish

The bones could be less they said

While trying to make a dish.

They have asked the river boatman

To make sure that he comes

With all he knows and doesn’t too

They would help to keep her mum.

She wouldn’t know they said

She wouldn’t even fight

Well, she couldn’t even know

She couldn’t even fight

She would never see her toys

She would only play with boys

She would gulp down her giggles

And never make a noise.

Roads as empty

As shallow

As quiet

As dark

As fearful

As long

As lonely

As the tunnels in the dark.

Which the trains light up

Every now and then.

The lights show through

But that’s the briefest of brief seconds.

All the animals in its path will be torn down anyway.

But there will be no noise.

Except the rumbling staccato of the train.

Like the long moan of a sudden grief.

Blinding the trespassers.

Blinding all their means

Blinding their secrets

Overturning all their dreams.

Learning from her toys

She would imitate her favourite

She called herself Queen Bee

Similar to the soft one left at home.

Secrets and whispers

And a windowpane so grey

They advised her to dance to the music

That he could play so well.

So she danced

And transcended time

She swore to herself

To never let him rhyme.

She killed them off every year.

And stored away the water in her closets.

Gave them a gift every year.

Till he stopped playing his music.

Wish I Was There

I see them smile
A secret shared
Or a joke that he made.
She nods and smiles
They understand
words I cant even hear
yet I'd wanna know the reason for their laugh.

She sits quiet
He talks all the time
Never did I want a hand
in my hand
yet I wish for its warmth for a moment.
The stars smile at them
I long for their glance my way
And they walk away into the night.

The torn edges and the yellowed paper
The rush of happiness
Remains of joy held in my own hands
I could almost touch the days that had flown by.

Wish I was there.
In the secrets of the unknown friends.
Wish I was there,
In the arms of the unknown lover.
Wish I was there,
in the past where they weren't unknown.
Wish I was there,
part of someone,
part of something.
To tell myself, I was someone again.

Regrets.

Regrets. The worst thing that could possibly happen to anyone. I think it comes for insecurity and from being unsure about things in life. If there was only a definite way to get away from all this but alas, there are none. Try running away from any situation in life and it will be clear to you when the regrets set in. Try getting closer to something and it will, again, be clear to you when the regrets set in. You need a balance and that’s what life tries to teach us all the way through school, college, jobs; from the start to the end. And you will never know where that point is. Where you are happy with all you have and sad about nothing. That’s the way life is. It keeps throwing stuff at you, new things you have no idea about and old things that you had forgotten so much about that they seem new too. And once you go wrong or leave something unattended, unfinished, it’s time for regrets in your future.

It’s the one thing I never want to have in life. Even if something goes wrong I want to look at it as an experience and forget having regrets about it. I really cannot undo the past so there is really no use being sad about it. Quoting a friend, “Having a sorted out present ensures a regret free future”.  Hence, my immediate plan is to sort out what I have now and leave the worries of the future behind. Which is actually quite a paradox. But I really can’t say leave worries of the future ahead.

The Heart and The Shroud.

No I don't really feel like everything is right. I really don't know how 25 is supposed to feel. But looking around I really don't know what to make of anything right now. Reasons are exactly in two categories: one being a set of people who are slamming good jobs, getting married, settling down etc etc. The other being a set of people in which I am too-the confused ones- still looking for better jobs, partying, getting high, doing their stuff with hardly a care of the world.

I don't know which path is right and my heart keeps telling me to do what I feel is right. To me, people are important and thats what's driving me. I like a lot of people in my life, and that means the second one definitely. But is it the right path? Society says the first one is right and now I am caught between making myself happy which would mean utter selfishness n disregard for people asking to be a better societal man and trying to be all grown up , settle down get a good job etc which would mean utter disregard for my own self.

And spiralling down to that same inevitable question at the roots of all problems- is society a norm or a distraction to go forward in life?

Any argument that could start on the basis of the above question will never have an end result. The structure of human society is so complex and has so many layers on itself that it is inevitable that if you start peeling off one bad layer, a good layer will have to compromise too.

The songs, poems, movies, books have always talked about following your heart but is it ever possible to do so? Bound by society, its unwritten laws, shrouded hypocrisy, you can never say or do what you really want. There are always people to pull you down, make life uncomfortable at times for no reason whatsoever. Is it really a crime to want all the good things in life? I know again there would be a darker side to it too, but its really not wrong to think so.

I really feel a bit lost at times about everything, And with time rushing by at such breakneck speed,it seems to be lost forever too.

Yours Forever

All the times you stood by me
Never doubting the way I look.
Cuz I was always your spark
Faltering but there I stood.

Up in your arms
across your sky,
in your dreams
in your daily stride.
Down in the dark
I was your light
and I knew
that you were mine.



And if the stars never showed their light
the darkened sky couldn't hold me back
from being your star in your own skies.
And if the words came to an end
I'm still yours forever
in all those letters unsent.



And each time I made you smile
I felt the glow upon my cheeks.
Always knowing I had a special place
little did I know you would

Leave me alone
turn off the lights
In my dreams
In my daily stride.
And I could just try
Standing aside
But I knew
That you would mind.



And if the stars never showed their light
the darkened sky couldn't hold me back
from being your star in your own skies.
And if the words came to an end
I'm still yours forever
in all those letters unsent.

Firefly.

The dream was to hit the road. Blame it on the books, blame it on the movies, blame it on the soaps and sitcoms and the songs and the poetry. I knew I had to do it someday. Every little brush with the difficulties of growing up strengthened my resolve and weakened my heart. Its another world. It's another song. A song about the last days being tied up,a song about the last days with people you know, a song about the first of many firsts, a song about unraveling, a song about the lights on the buildings far away, a song about leaving behind love, a song about carrying memories on 4X6 pieces of glossy paper.

With the trees and the wind as the theme music of life, the sing song voices of the farmers who'd lend food, the humdrum of rivers crashing and pulling through the rocks, I could be the skin on which rocks could sketch my name and hide so very lightly from the eyes of others.

I could hide, I could laugh, I could see, I could feel. Away from the masks, I would slip mine off and that face which they once knew would be out in the sunshine again, and they will not see me because that face would have been forgotten long back. And the sun wouldn't be as hot as it earlier felt. The winds would be cooler than ever but the road would stretch and I would have to move.

One step,two steps and another five in all.
That's all it takes to make it out of the door.
And once out,there's no twice to it
Because if you look back and you heart latches onto a memory
You will smile and your mind will bend.
The years have taken their toll.
This could have been easy
But now the mind is aged and the heart is weak.
You've lost your trust.
You can't lose your trust.
Especially when the one to trust
Is you yourself.

A firefly.
With no one to guide
And a light of your own.

Waste of a suicide note

Efforts, futile and wasted, lying,
gasping,sucking in the last gasps of air.
Air so heavy with the cries of the men and women and the children
as they prayed to their gods,
redeemers of their souls,
awashed in the grime of human comfort.

31 days and 31 nights
spent in the wakeful hours of dawn
while the children dreamed,
the dogs screamed
the birds rustled
and the men leaned.
smiles agape on the men's faces
the women seemingly selfish.
untidiness let loose.
rampaging its way through blissful streets.

every day being a reason
every night being a reason
the seasons passed in utter anonymity
things were in place
life scattered all over them
protruding in places, rusted in others.
uncovering everything beneath the wishlist
meant people speaking their way into the space again

He could be the healer
He could the massacre
He could be the stranger
He could be the best friend
He could be wishes
He could be longing
He could be Fate
He could let go.

Could he?
Or would he float too?
Alive in the dead man's suit
trapped and suffocated.
writing out pieces of his life on trees and papers
remembrance mattered.

Someone had to notice.
One final sheet.
One final letter.
Written over 3 months
With hundreds of words
enveloped over themselves
taking his life at the last punctuation.
And then the day.
Papers in place
Butterflies scattered all over the room.
Holes in the wall
Eddie rocking the stage
Sleep.
Anger.
Happiness.
Guilt.
Perverseness.
Sadness.
took a moment to crash into the shore.
And then the tide started pulling away.
It pulled and pulled away.
Under overcast skies.
Stars faded into the clouds.
He tasted the salt.
He felt the breeze.
And two things suddenly happened.
Pitch blackness.
Stark whiteness.

They looked at him.
Some of them smiled in gratitude.
Some of them smiled in happiness.
Some of them smiled in relief.

He evolved. And the sheets burnt into oblivion.

Dance and the Indian Man

I am not exactly fond of the clubbing culture. I have been to a discotheque twice in my life and that too very recently,after 25 years of my life. I have been in Pune for the last 2 years and it's only here that I finally made my debut in the scene- Area 51 and MIAMI. Area51 is a disco on its own, unattached to any hotels as such while MIAMI resides in the basement of a JW Marriot Hotel. Area51 seems to have  a lot of the regular crowd coming in while MIAMI seems to be a bit of the uptown crowd. What I observed though, even though Area51 had actual songs playing while MIAMI just played EDM without a single word in between, people danced the same. And that, I found funny and interesting at the same time.

India is home to Bollywood. We are all brainwashed from childhood with a lot of good songs, nonsensical songs , fantastic dance steps and the weirdest of dance steps. Every movie has scenes personified and glorified through songs and dance. And they never seem to run out of dance steps and songs. So in a country like ours, you expect people who shake a leg or two to actually make heads turn. What I found is rather a contrasting view. Of course, heads would turn but not for the reasons mentioned before.

The Indian Man, when it comes to dance is a sight. Whether it is at a disco, a festival etc., the Indian Man has a few particular steps in mind to execute. I am strictly NOT talking about the formal dancers and the dance crews and the kind. The ones that are not part of such parameters; your friend, your friend's friend, the ones you meet up regularly who cant really dance to save themselves, those are the ones I have in mind. Whether he is uptown, not uptown, a billionaire's son, a non-billionaire's son; whether they are dancing on the streets, at college DJ Nights, discos, they all have the same steps to dance. It is actually interesting to observe this trend. I of course am part of it all too. Even the dancers will dance the same steps as the regular guys but you can tell them apart when they dance, that's the only difference. No one on a street festival, or in a disco starts B-boying or doing  a break dance in front of others. It actually sucks that in spite of being a child of Bollywood Land, you don't get to start doing all those steps you saw on TV.

And what's funny is that you an see a side of people when they dance. You get a mental picture of how they would dance in other situations(which wont be much different). At a disco like Area 51, where the DJ is playing a song like Baby Doll or a song like Shot Me Down, the guys are pretty much clueless about which direction to throw their arms and legs in. Take the same situation in MIAMI where the DJ is playing only EDM, just spurts of boom-boom-peow-peow-boom-peow, with not  a word in between, the guys are again clueless. It is just because you don't expect anyone to just break out in dance that will make heads turn and go whoa!! The whole scenario is pretty for some reason to me. The guys just seem helpless everywhere. The girls can do a variety of steps in a single position while the guys repeat their dance routine, mixing and matching steps from the pack they have in mind. This even happened at MIAMI while I was there: a group of people were dancing to the EDM being played. I suppose the 2 guys and the 2 girls got pretty bored with it(I mean, who wouldn't?) and they started singing songs in one of the South Indian languages(Apologies for not understanding which one) to the beat and dancing to it. The whole thing was so goddamn funny that I had to leave the dance floor to get some air.

I encourage Indian Men to dance their hearts out. With steps as varied as the Bollywod movies they are brainwashed with. No restrictions. No routine in the head to follow. Dance your hearts out. Be free. Otherwise, dance loses its meaning.

The Train Of Death

There have been hundreds of books that I have read in my lifetime. Some of them have left lasting impressions while some didn’t. There were some books which left impressions in parts and not as a whole. Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years Of Solitude is one of them. The man writes brilliant no doubt. He did get a Nobel Prize for this too. But this book was very tenacious. I felt a hundred years old at the end of it. The story just wouldn’t end. What I discovered later on reading his other books is that they all have a similar theme and a similar sort of characters with similar afflictions, similar names, similar diseases, similar deaths, similar children and generations that wound about seamlessly through the books and made me feel restless as on a dry summer day, longing for an end. But of course, this is my opinion. As Literature, there’s no doubt that his pen painted rather than wrote. But as stories, they could have been more compact.

But I am digressing. This book, One Hundred Years of Solitude had a particular scene where one of the characters with a name that could be confused with a lot of other people in the book itself(but naming processes were such those days!), Jose Arcadio Segundo, is on a train. Even though the picture drawn in the words in the book is a disturbing one; somehow that picture got enhanced in my head to be officially disturbing and morbid to me. The following is the exact picture painted by the author:

“When José Arcadio Segundo came to he was lying face up in the darkness. He realized that he was riding on an endless and silent train and that his head was caked with dry blood and that all his bones ached. He felt an intolerable desire to sleep. Prepared to sleep for many hours, safe from the terror and the horror, he made himself comfortable on the side that pained him less, and only then did he discover that he was lying against dead people. There was no free space in the car except for an aisle in the middle. Several hours must have passed since the massacre because the corpses had the same temperature as plaster in autumn and the same consistency of petrified foam that it had. And those who had put them in the car had had time to pile them. He saw the man corpses, woman corpses, child corpses who would be thrown into the sea like rejected bananas.”

This exact scene has been embossed in my brain and can disturb me pretty much if it’s thought floats in. The level of detail in a few lines has had an impact that no other similar books could produce. But in my head, there are additions to it.

I imagine that the endless train is travelling on an endless track on an endless bridge over endless seas. The night is stormy and purple streaks of thunder ravage the clouds. The water rushes up to meet these streaks and collides in a fury. The water hits the train at intervals yet the train shrieks on through the purple night. Then comes the part written by the author in the picture.


Inside the train, there are dead bodies piled. All the dead bodies of the villagers massacred for no reason ,shoved and piled up without a hint of remorse. Every single villager is in the death heap. Their homes still stand strong and proud in remembrance of them, doors opened, waiting for their owners to return and flood it with humanity. An entire village wiped clean and heaped on a train to be dispersed off into a hungry sea. And in the midst of this foreboding picture there is man who is alive and breathing. I think this is the exact detail that makes my head reel. 

Imagine yourself, alive and breathing in the picture painted above. With not a live soul around you. With nowhere to go. With no place to move. And cadavers all around. Take a deep breath and think of happy things now.

Criminal

"I think I should commit an actual crime now". he said suddenly and we all agreed and even put forth suggestions for the nature of the crime.My friend wants to commit  a crime now. He is oscillating between a murder and a bank robbery. No no no, he isn't a criminal at all, but incidents lately brought this sentence out of him finally. He ascribes it two particular incidents that have recently happened to him.

Incident #1:

Our side of the story:

We were four of us, A,B,C,D. Now, D is the friend in question here. We are out walking and D is supposed to go out and get A's scooter from her apartment building. Me, B and A are waiting outside her building while D goes in to get the vehicle. Seconds later he starts calling us one by one and we keep disconnecting them for fun. We think he may be having problems starting up the scooter(it does that sometimes)so we let him have his share of the fun ;). And then we move away from the gate even so that he does not find us even if he comes out looking. Then he stops calling. After about 10 minutes, his calls start coming through again. I pick it up and he is on the other side yelling, "Guys come over here, these people think I am a thief, send A in here fast. We rush to the apartment building and find D surrounded by an intimidating crowd of men and women. A rushes to his side and explain the matter(that he had gone to get her scooter and there was some mistake) while me and B stand outside laughing our heads off. A and D explain and wave frantically and apologize even more profusely and finally they are let off after satisfactory reasons. We laugh the whole night at the incident later on.

Not our side of the story:(The real side):

D goes in to get A's scooter, tells the security guard he is going in for two minutes. The guard knows him and says ok and lets him in without an entry in the apartment register. He goes in, we stand outside. Her building is the 9th one, he forgets and goes to the 7th one where a similar looking scooter is parked. He tries the key and it doesn't work. Meanwhile the owner of this scooter comes along behind him and asks, " whose scooter is this?". He smartly replies, "this is my friend's scooter, I am taking it out". The owner says its her scooter and he gets stumped. Thats when he starts calling us and we unknowingly keep disconnecting his calls. Things get serious. He can't reach us and then his phone conks off. He asks her for her phone to make a call and she refuses that saying, "use the security guard's phone". The Security Guard is called and he says he does not have balance in his phone to make calls. So Mr. D is at a loss for what to do. People start gathering around  him, firing questions and then the President of the society joins the throng and reprimands him for his actions and says the security of the residents in the society is compromised if people like him are let in so easily. Everyone has something to say to him and then suddenly his phone comes to life and he is able to call us and that's when he calls us again and we pick up the call finally and he yells at us. What happens after that is there on the other side of the story. Even after A explains that she lives there in the society itself and D is her friend, they are not convinced. She is asked to point out her scooter and asked to turn on the ignition with the key D had to prove her point. After all such drama and a lot of nonsense, the crowd breaks and everyone starts minding their own business finally.

D gets branded as a thief. :D


Incident #2:

We have a movie to watch which starts at 8:55AM in the morning.10 of us. We are late for it already. Again we have D and this time there are three other people with him; P,Q,R. D and P on the same bike; D is driving. Q and R are on the same bike. 6 of us reach early. We receive news on the way D has been stopped on the road by the Traffic Police for rash driving. We don't worry much about it. they arrive late for the movie. Once the movie is over, the real story comes out:

At a certain point on the road, a Scorpio SUV is taking a U-Turn with indicators flashing. D is driving pretty fast and as the SUV makes the turn he doesn't stop and whizzes by in front of the SUV with centimeters to spare.The SUV makes the turn and follows him and sidelines him to a stop. Out gets a very senior Police Official and comes up and slaps D 2 3 times. Seeing this, P tries to stop him and gets slapped too. Q and R now come up on the rear and join the show. The police officer takes the bike keys and asks them to wheel over the bike to the nearest police station, threatening to put D in jail for rash driving and everything. He doesn't listen to a word anyone else has to say. So they wheel over the bike and they talk it out finally. D does not get put in jail but a ticket is issued and a heavy fine is imposed on him. D is shaken by the turn of events.

D gets branded a rash driver.
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D is now seriously considering a crime. All these incidents have motivated him and he wants to now actually be a part of the act and not get caught in false situations. If anyone has any suggestions or wants to help out, they are most welcome to do so. 

But yes, I am kidding about all of that. Not the incidents though. :D
We have been laughing like crazy at these incidents. They are too funny once you get past them finally. It makes for good times, good stories, strengthens friendships and brings us back to reality.
 

Music, Bands, Me.

My 3 favourite bands are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Coldplay with their positions in the top charts of my head being pretty interchangeable. Currently #1 is Coldplay, #2 is The Beatles #3 is Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin is considered the biggest rock band ever. The Beatles is considered the best band ever musically and lyrically. And Coldplay is a big name in today's world in Soft Rock.

Led Zeppelin:
The four big names right after the The Beatles probably. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, John Paul Jones. The music that these four created is intricate complex material. Every song is different in their layers, patterns, timings, feel even though Robert Plant was essentially a raw blues singer. He moulded his voice to suit all kinds of songs and the result of course, was terrific. John Paul Jones was the man behind the layers of music and the different instruments used in their song and very much away from the limelight that the band enjoyed. Jimmy page is said to have sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his monster guitar riffs. He still enjoys a place in my head as the best guitarist ever. The patterns, melodies and the tones used are haunting. And finally the drums, John Bonham. Crazy man used to drum with his hands till they bled. Noted in the history of rock as one of the craziest people that ever breathed, his early death called for the end of Led Zeppelin. My favourite tracks from the band would have to be Since I've been loving you, What is and what should never be, That's the way, Tangerine, Heartbreaker, Whole lotta love and Rock n roll. What tops this chart are the songs Fool in the rain and All of my love. All of my love has to be the best song ever by Led Zeppelin. It's suddenly a different sound and feel altogether,a break away from the usual drums and guitar riffs and Plant's drawls and shrieks, especially the trumpet solo. If you  thought Led Zeppelin is all about the bass, guitars and the drums, this song will change your world of Led Zeppelin.

Coldplay:
In the times that I live and breathe, I am proud to be a contemporary of this band. Chris Martin, Johnny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman. Chris Martin's lyrics are deep and artistic in every sense. The band uses layers and layers and a huge variety of instruments to churn out one hit after another. Chris Martin's voice is almost ambient, blending with your surroundings as does their music. Coldplay is best suited to drive your blues away, meditate or throw your hands in the air and get lost. Johnny Buckland is no Jimmy Page but he does create a different world which blends with Coldplay's music and again, gets you lost somewhere. Guy Berryman is the bassist in the band and provides beautiful basslines to songs like Speed of Sound and Shiver. Shiver itself is a such a blissful piece of music. Will Champion is a mutli talented persona again. Is it essential to have one such person in your band to keep it alive? He plays the drums brilliantly without ever having learnt the drums in his life.
My favorite songs from Coldplay are too many to list. I have all the albums on my phone's MP3 Player, all the songs so that its understood how big a fan I am.

The Beatles:
I regret the fact that I am not a contemporary to this band. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The lyrics, the music, the melodies and the harmonies. These are characteristic of the band and cannot be compared to anyone else. The Beatles were geniuses in their own way. Paul McCartney breathes to this day and is still the genius and probably more than he was. The Beatles have a song for every occasion. I have always said they are the English equivalent to Rabindranath Tagore who has written songs and poems for every situation in life possible. The Beatles ruled for 10 years and produced one album after another with a huge number of hits in their kitty everytime, Needless to say, my favorite songs are too many from this band  that doesn't allow me to share them. Again, I have all the albums in my MP3 player to listen to when I am happy, sad, joyous, excited, crazy, drunk etc etc. You name it, they have it(a situation song i.e.) Lennon and McCartney's song writing with inputs from Ringo Starr and George Harrison especially is laudable work for everyone. The quartet wrote songs,directed and acted in movies, provided film scores etc at a very young age at the peak of their career. John Lennon's death broke up the band itself.
A musical adaptation of The Beatles songs called Across The Universe was released a few years back and the response to it was phenomenal. The songs were sung by the actors themselves and each song composed differently . I think I like some of the movie's songs better than the original Beatles songs themselves.

Peace Out

I think the word Armada is very grand. I was watching Pirates Of The Caribbean:At World's End yesterday out of lack of feeling like doing anything as such. And they mentioned it somewhere. "We face an armada". It made me feel like I am on one of those ships of the armada itself and pretty much made me feel grand myself.

Alligators are weird. I mean, they aren't crocodiles even properly. They should have at least looked different. They confuse people.

The football World Cup is on. And Cafe Rio on Sony Six had John Abraham on the opening day in the studio. Why? The opening ceremony was the worst I have ever seen in years. Did not understand when it started and when it ended. The World Cup official theme song sucks. I haven't heard a single soul hum it, keep as a phone ringtone, or sing it, or do anything with it. I can still sing Wavin Flag  with as much gusto as 4 years back. This year's song is called Ole Ola. Its like those Bollywood songs that actually mean nothing: Chinta ta Chita, Dhinka Chika, Pak Chika Pak, Dhadang dhang, Kendi Po Po Po, Aa ee oo oo oo; THIS list is endless. I wonder where the words have gone. They could at least refer a dictionary in case of such problems.

I hate sleeping. I think its such a waste of time. There is so much to do, know, read, learn I really don't know where I would get time otherwise with all the business of growing up, keeping promises, meeting deadlines, keeping people happy. I think it's better that way too. Keeps me happy and thin. :D 

WWE is so stupid and funny to watch now. Fat guys, tall guys, short guys skinny guys in their underwear feigning fights to win golden belts. I don't know what to make of it right now except that its such a huge money churning industry for decades now.

I designed my guitar. It's so damn cool right now. Looks too damn cool right now. I made artwork on it. Album art from various bands and artists. My favourites. All of them are right there on that guitar now. I want a new guitar now. So that I dont have to play this one and spoil it. Its already getting spoilt. Wonder if they laminate guitars.

Am not even talking about love here, but people just don't even keep the basic faith anymore even. You can never trust anyone anymore. You don't know what they will do next. However well you know them, that surprise/shock factor lives on and springs anytime. Friends are cautious too. Keeping touch has become so virtual already, wonder what will happen a few years down the line. The souls keep getting sold. And there's no turning back.

I don't understand India. It's a country where in one state, the people boast of prowess and progress, while in others, the CEO of a company gets killed from harsh beating from his workers, a young man gets his fingers chopped off and acid poured into his eyes for parking in the wrong spot and the Police say, Such one or two incidents WILL happen, we cant help it and so on. Last week the whole country was shocked by news of rapes, killings, robberies. Why this sudden upsurge? There's no trust anymore, everyone wants to be at the top of the ladder without doing a single piece of work while those who want to work for it ,stare on. This country was and will always be a third world one, the 'developing' nation. There is no way 'developing' will turn into 'developed'. Its all in the roots itself. I don't understand the country at all anymore.

For a change I am sleepy now. I need to buy a lot of things immediately. I start gym and swimming very soon. The Russian football coach on TV right now looks like a bad cross between Sylvester Stallone and Clark Kent. He is got that lip and the glasses. Don't know what to make of it. 


Vodafone nailed it:
 
Everyday i want to fly,
stay by my side,
Everyday i want to dream,
stay by my side,
Every morning i wish i could just play,
Wish the mornings would just stay....

But The Beatles are the best ever. There is now way anyone else can take their place.

Right Here Waiting

That's right. Richard Marx. Right Here Waiting. A song that will live through years to come. A song that brings back memories flooding. There are songs, movies, poems, pictures which send you through a time warp, rushing and hurtling you backwards. That avenue in your mind which you thought had been pretty much closed till that time suddenly opens up and you are a floating ghost in that broken down avenue lost in time. There's your school, there's your schoolyard, there's that school bus waiting for you, there's that ice cream man, there's that girls school a few minutes from yours where you made your first girlfriend. There's that cycle all broken your dad had gifted you, there's that tiffin box your mom made lunch in, there's that window pane still lying shattered in the place you had broken it, there's the football your sister had gifted you.

And you see all of it suddenly. Just because of that one song, one word, one movie, one advertisement. Right Here Waiting did that to me today. I was at a Chinese restaurant, eating and sipping at a glass of wine with a friend and this song suddenly started up on the speakers overhead out of the blue. And BAM! That did it. I was a ghost in the quiet streets, retreating steadily away from the buzz of the place and from what she was saying.

Memories make for the best and worst of times. And times when these avenues open up in your mind, all you do is go quiet and wish for another chance at all you see on those streets. But growing up has its own way. These are just perks of your journey ahead in life. And even though you shake your head and try to nod your way back into reality, the thoughts cling on for a while and you remain lost for quite sometime. A phone call, a skype chat, a text is all that you can do to try and connect with the memories of the people who slid into your head suddenly.

This very feeling of lost is out of the world. But just because you're losing, doesn't mean you're lost.