Narcissism, Oh yes!!

A narcissist is one who understands that to love onself is the beginning of a life long romance.

1. I love wearing kurtas. I can wear them all the time and to all sort of places: parties, college, dates, even project presentations! And no, wearing a kurta doesn't make me a neta!!
   

 

2. I like to shop but shopping isn't an obsession with me.

 

3. I am a big foodie. From the golgappas being sold at a thela to an exotic continental dish, I can eat any and everything as long as it suits my taste.

 

4. I need coffee to survive.

 

5. I continue to surprise myself and those around me. Count on me to do the unexpected!!

 

6. I do not like my authority being undermined.

 

7. I can truly open up to very few people only.

 

8. I do not have a lot of patience with dumb guys or for that matter people who speak rubbish 24*7.

 

9. I am full of contradictions.

 

10. I have a loyal rather than a meticulous memory. I will remember the important things but am prone to forget some little things. It's the Mad Cow!! Don't worry though, I won't forget your birthday :)

 

11. If I say something, I actually mean it.

 

12. I am fiercely loyal towards my friends and expect the same in return.  When that doesn't happen, I just hate it. I do not like my friends socializing with people whom I am not on talking terms with.

 

13. I am addicted to my cell phone and I do not like it. I want to be able to live without it for a couple of days without feeing uneasy.

 

14. Sometimes, just sometimes, I prefer to be left alone.

 

15. I prefer being in a smaller group of friends.

 

16. I suck at keeping up charades and doing things for social obligations.

 

17. I like listening to music but I don't actually remember the lyrics and all. It’s like a soothing uniform cover of noise that blocks out the irritating random noise in the environment.

 

18. I wish to settle down on a beach, near the ocean. I also want to own a villa in the mountains to which I can escape during the summers.

 

19. I read a lot.

 

20. I don't like people who are born with a silver spoon in their hands. Specially more so if they happen to be a jerk. Come on there's more to life than supporting Man Utd, being obsessed with dogs and acting like a complete idiot.

 

21. I daydream quite a bit. Anytime you want, I can give you at least three different versions of my future life.

 

22. I want a spectacular death. I just don't want to pass away without leaving a trace.

 

23. I am extremely lazy. But then as I said, I am full of contradictions and can surprise you with the energy I show for certain activities.

 

24. I don't think there's anybody in this world who gets me completely. I guess nobody knows  the entire story of my life. I am too reserved to share everything with one person.

 

25. I can write 25 more such things. I simply love talking or in this case writing about myself.

And now I tag

Sid aka Marvin, even though it's highly unlikely that he would do it...

Piper, another unlikely candidate to actually complete the tag!!

Prabhu, now he might actually do it if he gets time..

Mads, do it if you havent already done it..

youjus, you can copy paste the thing you did on FB.. that would count too :P

bhavjot, i know you havent been writing much recently but still..

Anybody else who wants to do it...

Oh btw, I did this coz Sakshi tagged me and I love to do tags..

Being Spiritual

Spirituality, the S word in vogue, is defined as the quality of being spiritual. And the very fact that the little used dictionary on my PC gives nine different definitions of the word spiritual is an indication of how difficult it has been to come to terms with the notion of spirituality. Being the trendy word that it has become, ask anybody about their religious views and there's a good chance that the answer thrown at you would be, i'm more of a spiritual person. So much so that the word is tossed here and there by any and everybody without even comprehending the meaning. Start to scratch the surface and out comes the truth: its fashionable to say i'm spiritual, specially among the upper classes of the society. 

Perhaps the most important reason behind this charade is the struggle between tradition and modernity that the great Indian Middle Class has found itself in the middle of. The upward mobility that came with economic liberalization created a desire in the hearts of many individuals to be different from the rest, you know that desire to be zara hatke. And well, they set upon it with the characteristic determination that has for so long been synonymous with the Indian Middle Class: the determination that their next generation would be better off than themselves. They took all possible avenues that would separate them from the others. They starting wearing designer clothes, started drinking vodka and wine, but it wasn't enough. These were mere superficial changes. They wanted something more profound and well, what could have been more porfound than religious inclination in a country that has given birth to as many as three religions and provided sanctuary to many more.

Spirituality as a notion of religious inclination gained ground as the upper echelons of the society, in a bid to diffrentiate themselves, tried to distance themselves from the taboos and superstitions that have for so long plagued the Indian society. While it could have been done within the scope of their own religion, it would have meant going against the established norms. And while they wanted to be diffrentiated, they didn't want to be termed as outcasts either. Enter spirituality.

The notion of spirituality has provided the ones who wanted to seem trendy and cool an easy way out of their reilgious dilemma. They all can claim to be spiritual and distance themselves from the customs that they find incovenient. Or for that matter repackage their atheism as spirituality. And of course, spirituality makes for a great cocktail conversation.

Random Noise

The same thing was repeated over and over again

Casualty, was Serenity yet again.

~

I had planned to do a post on the IPL moving out of India and its ramifications. But as it turns out, I ended up having quite a lengthy discussion on FB about it. Well, won't do the post, but would just say this: IPL belongs in India; in the streets of Delhi 6, in the chawls of Bombay, in the hearts of every Indian. It needs to return home, if not for the fans, for the sake of cricket it must.

Insomnia

Over the last few days I haven't been able to sleep for more than 6 hours at a stretch. My schedule has gone for a toss and while that isn't such a big deal it's the lack of a long sleep that's freaking me out. Hell, it's downright scary!!

Salt and Pepper

The action was along expected lines. And that's precisely why it shouldn't have hurt. And it didn't. It was just a disappointment of sorts as a part of me expected an offer to the contrary. 

~

Does he really think he is as well liked as he thinks and that nobody feels bad by his actions just because it is not said aloud? I wonder. 

How can one be so naive? But then is he really so, or is all this a pretense?

I thought about mentioning it to him. But then decided against it. Experience says saying the truth may not often be the right idea!

Medley

Being at home means a quite a bit of TV watching for me. Coz unlike in hostel, where u have to struggle to get a view of the screen amongst a lot of prespiring bodies in stuffy environs, its quite comfortable at home. And add to it the delicious snacks being served to you, while you sit and watch TV.. :D

Statistics can sure lie

I was watching this Champions League fixture between Real Madrid and Liverpool and I couldn't help but wonder at the irony.. Madrid were comprehensively beaten 4-0, and one would think that the Madrid goalie had a horrendous outing. Contrary to it Casillas, for me, was the best player on the pitch that day. Had it not been for him, Madrid could have well been defeated by something like 10-0!!

I don't know how often I have judged performances based on the scorecard alone.. Never Again!!!

Ahh.. my bad luck :(

The Indians had been in an ominous form in the Kiwiland. Sachin had already scored a masterful century and in the next match Sehwag has set the ground on fire with his shots as India chased down 200 odd without losing a single wicket! Well it was in this backdrop that I decided to wake up at 6:30 in the morning to catch the final ODI.. Can you even imagine it... Me, waking at that ungodly hour!! Anyways, wake i did. But unfortunately for me first the weather and then the Men in Blue chose to play spoilsport. After a delayed start, the Indian team managed to score a grand total of 149!! Can you believe it? The same team that didn't lose a wicket in nothcing up 200 had been bundled out for a platry 149!!

I jus couldn't believe my luck at that time and had it not been been for HBO, which thankfully was showing Into the Wild, the morning would have been a total disaster.. yay HBO!! :D

p.s. Am not a huge movie buff but a home somehow I do notch up quite a few of them.. these vacations accounted for Erin Brockowich, Into the Wild, Rocky Balboa, and a couple of others.. and haan, even rewatched the Matric and the Pirates... :)

Oh my dear IPL

We all loved the first edition and are eagerly awaiting for the 2nd! SET MAx, the broadcasters have already launched the promotional campagin. However, amongst all this, the very existence of the event remains in doubt. And with the recent reports that there wouldn't be any games in jaipur and Delhi, the very structure and format of the event has been jeopardised. Come on, how can you NOT have matches at these two places... Jaipur, the home of the winners Rajasthan royals. how would it feel if they are not playing their home macthes at Fortress Mansingh? And how would the Nawab of Najafgarh feel playing his home matches in some obscure place in Himachal!!

As the things stand right now, it would be very difficult for the IPL organizers to come up with an event similar to the hugely successful first edition. First and foremost the home and away format has been put in doubt because of the elections and the security concerns owing to the Lahore terrorist attacks.

What I am gonna say now may seem bizzare to some and preposterous to others. But there's a rationale from where its coming. The Elcetion commission could have been more realistic while announcing the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections. While at the face of it, the remark seems blasphemous, it's not. The IPL had already announced the schedule for the macthes. Would it have been too much to expect that the EC would consider the ground realities, both emotional and rational, and schedule the elections after the IPL window? Cricket is a religion in India. And if it comes to a choice between elections and IPL, you need not worry as to which side would this cricket crazy country vote. 

Had it been that the IPL would have announced a conflicting schedule with the Elections, they could and should have been taken to task for it. However what is happening right now is not fair. Its not fair to the players, to the fans and to the organizers. And all this because the EC wanted to be Holier than thou.. 

oops! I should be careful.. recently heard that u cud be sued for ur comments on a blog.. :O!! 

Beyawsum Thol...

Beyawsum.. thats the only word i can used to describe Thol, a lake situated some 50 kms from my coll. It also happens to be a place flocked by migratory birds in this season. And the experience of witnessing the sunrise over there was outta this world. With each passing moment, as the intensity of light increased, the chirping of the brids grew louder. and it was musical, different birds, all uniting to produce a kind of music that only they could. The only noise there was of our creation ( and considering that we had bhains and mio in our ranks, you can really imagine wat it wud have been like *sigh* :P ).

And well how can i forget wat happened before the trip... Chadda and I had decided that the two of us would go on tuesday morning. But events so happened that I was dead tired by monday night.. even then Chadda woke me up at 3 in the morning.. And Chadda. and Gol and Balu (the latter 2 dnt read the blog but still.. ) this one is for you, I don't like being woken up!! And Chadda, specially when i have said that IF i wake up.. it doesn't mean that you have to wake me up... And I don't like surprises when I have been roused from a deep slumber :|..To all those to whom the above few lines sounded like greek, don't bother.. it happens in a hostel.. where wat u have said, and even written on the door of ur room are blatantly ignored... :S

Anyways, wat had happened was that my plan had been hijacked.. Instead of the two of us going, a plan had been hatched behind my sleeping ass, wherein the number of travellers went up to six.. and they even took care of my 2 backup options for juggaroing a bike.. so as u cud imagine, that when i woke up, i didnt have a bike... anyways, somehow a bike was arranged.. but well, here's the twist in the tale, to call that piece of iron would be a gross injustice to the species called motorcycles.. :P 

Chadda still insisted, despite my persuasions to the contrary, that we should travel on that bike.. and well as anyone of you would have guessed by now, that piece of iron stopped midway and wouldnt budge.. and we had a hell of a time getting it back to college... so well.. the others enjoyed Thol.. while the original travellers were stuck...The only good thing to come out of it was that i once again got the opportunity to roam the streets of ahmedabad in the early hours of the morning... i somehow love doing that... 

however, if you think that I would have let things be, then you don't know me.. another plan wa shtached for the next day.. and boy... wat a trip it was... early hours of the day, more than 100 kms of biking, awesome weather, and a breathtaking view.. things don't get better than this... 

Even stopped over in Ahmedabad on the way back to get some books from Crossword... 

Stay off the Grass

The Great Indian Middle Class

Being Indian

I shall be well accounted for the coming vacations... 

Till next time...

p.s. for all those who couldn't understand wat beyawsum was; its beyond + awsum (awesome).. seriosuly guys.. :S

p.p.s. Have to go to Thol once again, it's the perfect place quench your thirst in a dry state.. ;P