Just Another Monday

It's that time of the year again - the colour red is all around, love is in the air and messages about proclaiming eternal love abound. Wherever you go, you would be hounded by advertisers trying to make a quick buck in this season of love. If you happen to be single, God help you! Or not. Given the fact that I too don't have the special one to shower with gifts and express my undying and eternal love to, I decided not to wait for God and rather do something to help myself.

For starters, you need to convince yourself that there's nothing special about 14th February 2011 even though all that you read and watch are telling you otherwise. And it won't take a lot of convincing when you realize that it's not a special occassion rather just another Monday, with its accompanying Monday Blues. It's a day where after a fun filled/dreamy lazy weekend, depending upon your preference, you would head back to the drudgery of work - to the same old 9-6 routine. Bleary eyed, you would sit at your desk staring at your laptop, questioning the very purpose of your life on this earth while a bad instant coffee would go cold in a styrofoam cup. The day doesn't sound so special now, does it?

And well, you are not a cynic now, are you? So of course you'll make a concession to the spirit of the day. Go ahead and pamper yourself. Go for that new gizmo you have had your eyes on or for that matter go for that road trip you had been planning for so long. That's one benefit of not dating - you get to splurge on things that you like.

All said and done if you aren't narcissistic enough to shower only yourself with love, go hang out with your buddies. A night out on the town would be the perfect way to blow away those Monday Blues. Yes, come Tuesday, you might be even more hungover and bleary eyed, but then that's a small price to pay for the company of your buddies.

I was planinng to close this post at this note, when I became aware that the guy sitting next to me was worrying himself sick over what to gift his girlfriend. Thank your stars you don't have to suffer that ordeal at least 3 times a year - valentines, her b'day, your anniversary; and many more if your girl happened to be the one who keeps track of your first date, your first kiss, the first time you had uttered the magical three words that doomed you forever and what not! Thank God that you are not such a lucky guy; God bless you and your wallet otherwise!

The End

It had been breezy earlier in the night. But now, as he stood in the balcony there was no hint of a breeze. Everything was eerily still as if waiting in anticipation. He stood there wondering whether to go ahead or not, contemplating whether to destroy or to preserve. But as on that morning a few weeks ago, he decided to destroy.

As he lifted the first page, he couldn't help but notice the pretty handwriting. He noticed the salutation. However he was past this stage. The phrases that had once brought a smile to his face, the phrases that were almost guaranteed to evoke a response from him no longer mattered.

He read each page slowly, maybe, just maybe, trying to see something that he hadn't seen earlier. As he finished each page he struck a match and watched as the hungry flame devoured the paper. He repeated the same ritual over and over again till there was nothing left. As he was nearingt he end of the letter his eyes wandered to the signing off. He smiled a rueful smile. And with the smile still on his face, he fed that worthless piece of paper to the waiting flame.

That was it. It was the end.

Ramblings

Nothing's left. Not anymore. Though it won't seem that way. You would have to scratch the surface for that. It all seems hunky dory, when the truth is that it's in shambles; held together by the wariness that accompanies destroying the status-quo with very little time left.

Yeah, that's what it is. A desire to let the illusion be. For then all could part pretending nothing was amiss. Then there won't have to be difficult conversations and painful confessions.

Sweeping the dust under the carpet never cleaned a room but it does provides a semblance of cleanliness in a short frame of time. Oh how right was the one who said, Ignorance is Bliss! If only, I was.

Death

All who have been born shall die. It's inevitable. Death visits us all and yet we live constantly fearing what is bound to happen, under the shadow of its dread, always fearing its arrival. I often wonder why.

A wise man had once said that death is always beside us and it is death that gives us the courage and the strength to perfrom difficult tasks. So go ahead and make the call that you have been psotponing for so long, have that conversation that you know you ought to have.

Let death be a reminder to us to live each moment of our life fully. Let it ensure that we behave normally but not lose the maverick inside us. Let it ensure that we remain crazy!

Till Death do us apart...

The Witch

Shrouded in a veil of mystery she moves

Creeping up like the chill in autumn

Stealing those who are cherished

And are naive enough to trust

Dining together

Dancing away merrily ever after

All the time stroking Satan's fire 

Who's fault is it

Their's.. Her's..?

Or is it 

That of Satan himself?

alvidaa alvidaa...

Goodbyes are not forever.

 Goodbyes are not the end.

 They simply mean I'll miss you 

Until we meet again!

Breaking Free!!!

Sparks

Sparks were bound to fly when stubborness met the whims of satan. And they did!

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.

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!

Random Thoughts

It's hard to forgive

And equally hard to swear vengeance against a loved one..

But it's harder to decide

What would it be

Forgiveness or Revenge

From the Pink City to that of the Nawabs, and everything in between... Where's the Wife!!!

Indian hill stations are still the destination of choice for a large number of newly weds for their honeymoon. Therefore it's not a surprise that most people you see on such places are newly wed couples. And even the locals market their products keeping this in mind. In fact their minds are so tuned to it, that they just don't expect anything else from the tourists. If you are in your 20s, your newly wed spuse is bound to be around! Don't agree with me yet? Well keep reading, and then make your call!

I had gone some 15-20 kms ahead from Manali, towards Rohtang. The pass itself was closed due to heavy snowfall. Anyways so I decided to try my hand at skiing while I was there. All suited up, I was just walking around slowly trying to get used to the skiis. That's when this local lady casually walked up and started showing me pics of couples in local dresses. I shook my head and perhaps having experienced this with all guys and knowing that females would be more likely to be susceptible to her offer, very matter-of-factly she asks me, biwi kahan hai teri.. I wish i knew.. ;P lolz...

Just Me

Yeah, that's what the post is going to be about, a few random things that have been on my mind..


I have a friend, no not a friend, an acquaintance is more like it.. and the bugger was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.. he has had everything in life.. a luxurious lifestyle, all his whims and desires fulfilled.. he alternates in b/w being proud of his life and being an emotional cry-baby... he happens to look like the male lead in slumdog.. and for the past week or so, he has been trying to be a smart ass about it.. hell who gives a fuck if u luk like that guy.. bloody loser.. all u have is wat ur parents have accomplished.. even ur looks u owe to ur parent's genes.. do something in ur life and then do all that talking.. go give ur jazz to some chick who might fall for it or sum dumbwit who wud be awed by u.. but not me.. please, please for heaven's sake spare me...

hell, why on earth did i write this? this wasn't supposed to be about any tom, dick and harry.. it was meant to be a post about me.. aarrghh..

i had been planning a trip to bombay on this weekend.. i should have been in bombay right now.. hell, i even booked the tickets.. but then, here i am, sitting and blogging in my hostel!! life sucks.. and i hate it when my vacation plans don't work out...

anyways, enough of sad stuff, time to move on.. after all life is not as dreary as am trying to portray it :P... and i guess one reason for it is that am back doing wat i like doing the most.. and i do it well mind u... it's planning and organizing events.. strategizing and shit.. working on ten different things at once...
all the effort that's going in right now is for Abhivyakti, the first edition of our theatre club's festival... even the story of how it came into being is an interesting one.. but most of u wouldn't be bothered to read about college politics and ego clashes.. so am not putting it down.. in case u wanna kno.. jus temme! :)

ohh and hey, i have been shoppin!!! had gone out looking for T-shirts for Abhivyakti.. was trying to finalize a deal with either with Rbk or Adidas... turned out the guys i was looking for weren't available that time.. so well, i just went from one store to another.. buying stuff and well, as u can guess, blowing a hole in my pocket.. :p
shopped loads of stuff... a wrangler shirt.. 3 casual Ts courtesy levi's and ofcourse the best buy of the day.. the iD floaters.. i jus luvv them.. hand stitched black leather.. epitomizing simplicity and elegance.. :D
ended up blowing more than the yet to be received first month's salary.. but hey, it was more than worth it.. and besides hadn't shopped for my bday and Diwali too.. hmmmmm...

guess the post been reflecting my mood as of late.. it's totally random! i can go from happiness to frustration and back in the blink of an eye.. something tells me i have got some unresolved issues in my mind.. need to sit down and reflect sometime...

I was thinking about how I perceive myself.. so i thought of this..

Take some of Jack Shepherd, quite a bit of Ted Mosby, add a bit of J.D. and a little bit of Alan Shore and mix it together.. wat you get is me!!

For all those to whom the previous line sounded like Greek, go watch Lost, HIMYM, Scrubs and Boston Legal.. and no am not telling wat HIMYM is.. hrrmmmmphh!!

I have been asked by Sid to write something or the other for Entelechy.. But I jus don't feel like doing it.. Sowwie mate.. i guess i am past that stage where i could will myself to write, now I have to be in that zone... otherwise all that i can manage is the crap like wat am dishing out now..

ohh yeah.. how can i forget this.. the original subject of the post! was talking to rachu a few days back when she said that she was feeling lost.. and then and there i came up with these lines..

anjaani raahon mein na jaane kahan hum kho gaye;
tanha tum, tanha hum reh gaye..

nice naa? i don't know where that poet in me keeps disappearing.. :P vaise just in case, if anybody of you has heard these lines somewhere b4, do lemme know.. have to sue the buggers for plagiarism!! ;)

From the Pink City to that of the Nawabs, and everything in between... Part II

ON@TKS- The crazy 7 hours

Relax folks, I am not gonna do a Chetan Bhagat here... after all mera bhi kuch standard hai..lolz.. ;P

ON@TKS bole toh One Night at The Kalka Station... Again one of my fondest memories of the whole trip.. simply because I had never experienced something like this ever before.. and frankly had never even thought that I would...

Well we reached Kalka around 9 pm and had our dinner... Dad had non-veg for a change!! After all these years... :D (Am not recommending any restaurant coz there is only one decent place to eat in the town... a place called Shelly restaurant, a 5 minute walk from the rly station..)

Hmm so now we had about 7 hours to spend before we boarded the toy-train that was to take us to Simla... And so we obviously scouted for hotels... but to our dismay the ones near the station were full :( and the only room that was available wasn't worth all the trouble...

since it was just a matter of 7 hours, we decided to pass the time at the rly station itself.. and trust me on this, we couldn't have made a better choice... During the next 7 hours I explored the station as if I had to spend my entire life there, clicked loads of random and silly pics, even learnt the correct way of holding a kulhar containing hot tea... lolz...

And I cheat death...

We had been waiting at the Kalka station and having a look at the toy trains that were lined up. We were contemplating shifting our tickets to the 6 o'clock one instead of the 4 o'clock one; the seats were better and their was more leg space. But it meant two more hours of waiting. So in the end we decided to stick with the original plan.

Five hours later, when we disembarked at Simla, we came to know that the train coming behind us had derailed. It was the same 6 o'clock one. Even now I shiver to think that it was the same merry looking train in which i had clicked pics the night before...

I am the Boss!!!

One of the more adventurous things that I did on the trip. We were at Kufri, and the only means of transport there were the ponies. A guide used to accompany every two ponies, steering them. All was well initially. However suddenly my guide, apparently impressed by my riding skills ;P, decided that my pony no longer needed guidance!! For half the duration of the ride, I was actually riding the pony!! It was a liberating experience and tell u wat, it feels beyawesum :D ...

Ohh btw, the pony was named Tiku... :)

To the Anonymous Wanderer

This is my 100th post.. I never thought I would blog so much.. and well I had all but given up blogging, but then I rediscovered it, my blog was like a soothing balm that helped my scalding wound to heal..

O anonymous Wanderer, I don't know if you'll ever read this, but if you do, you'll understand what it means...

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

--Rudyard Kipling

Oh btw, I have decided to change the url of my blog.. the next post onwards, the musings shall be available at http://rozzville.blogspot.com

@ Lanky.. I know it's not imaginative, and tell u what.. i dnt care.. ;P

From the Pink City to that of the Nawabs, and everything in between... Part I

Safety Paranoia

I was travelling from Jaipur to Delhi and the bus had stopped at the Midway. When the customary twenty minutes were over, the driver started the bus and revved the engine. He was all set to go but there was a slight problem; a couple of passengers were missing. The conductor made his enquiries, the driver honked his horn but to no avail. The passengers were getting restless. It was then that the issue of the luggage of those passengers came up. Apparently there were a couple of unclaimed bags in the bus. And lo! The passengers were after the conductor to dump them off, who after his initial relucatace, complied with their wishes. For the first time I saw first-hand what the recent terror strikes had done; they had instilled fear in the people's mind. They were simply too afraid to proceed with some unclaimed baggage in their bus. It was only after the baggage was dumped and a call made to the nearest police station that the bus moved on. I wonder if this fuss had been there a few years back...

Cafe Bikaner

For all the foodies out there, do try out the new restaurant at Bikaner House. It's at Pandara road and serves excellent food. Rozz recommends paneer lababdar.

And hey, the hardcore non-veggies don't be disappointed.. for it serves non-veg too.. and jab paneer itna accha tha, toh socho chicken kitna accha hoga.. ;P

Su-do-ku chicklet

This is one of my best memories of the trip. I was in the Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi quite content reading my borrowed copy of Maximum City. The seat in front of me, on both sides of the aisle, was occupied by a Sikh family. There was this cute young chick, naa chick is not right, chicklet is more like it, the youngest member of the family, who was enjoying herself a lot. Hopping around from one side to the another, posing questions to her dad, she was the epitome of innocence and free spirit. Her dad was busy with his newspaper and I guess she caught sight of a su-do-ku in it and for some reason was fascinated by it. And there she was shouting suu-do-kuu, suu-do-kuuu on the top of her voice. I looked up from my book, grinning. Our eyes met, and suddenly she was conscious of herself. For the next couple of seconds we continued to gaze into each other's eyes even as her voice trailed off and she shied away and hid in her father's lap.

This little chicklet once again made me realize how much I like being around with kids. I would have loved to have her as my younger sis... she was cho chweet..... :)

97.89

97.89, for the uniniated, is my CAT percentile... I don't really know whether to be happy or sad.. I didn't actually prepare for it, so I guess I should be happy with what I have achieved... But no I am not happy.. and am not sad either.. nor do I regret not preparing... I am just indifferent to this whole thing.. it just doesn't bother me...the only thing that i regret is perhaps the reason for not preparing... I guess I am angry at myself only because of the stupid reason that I wasted the months of august and september..

I know what I am capable of... But then I have always known that... there are many out there who have been floored by my score... not here.. not in the environs I inhabit, here it's just another statisitic...

I know I can crack any exam if i really want.. but there's the catch.. if i really want... I am just too lazy.. And I hate entrance examinations... I am ready to slog for any cause.. but when it comes to entrances, I just become irrationally lazy...

However I have had enough of this... I guess the stupid reason that made me waste the precious two months alongwith the 97.89 statistic has rekindled the fire within... No more medicority... here's my promise to everyone.. friends, family, and moreover to myself... Come 2010, be it IAS or CAT, I'll crack the goddamn thing...

Hmmm Home...

Just some random things that make homecoming so special.. :)

~

Its 4:30 in the morning. I lean out of the fast moving train as it slows down to stop at the outer signal. After a brief hiatus it moves on again, gaining speed and I stand there enjoying the pleasant chill against my face even as the wind blows through my hair, pushing them back in the way I like. As it enters the terminal I lean even further, hoping to catch a glimpse of my parents. And there they are, both of them, ready to take me home. Let me be honest with you. No sight in the world beats the sight of seeing your parents after a long time.

~

Its 5 in the morning as you drive out of the station. The roads are almost empty. Papa has brought his own car ( he assumed I was bringing back lots of luggage..lolz :P) and not my (ohk it's not mine. Technically it's mom's.. ;P) cute little 800. As we move to Ajmer Road, I put the car into the 5th gear and press down the accelerator. The speedometer crosses 100. Wow!

~

Hardly ten minutes later I am home. And guess what? Bua has cooked me awesome methi ke paranthein ... yummm!!!

~

I have been to a couple of weddings in the short stay here. And hey, weddings are fun this time of the year. Pleasant weather, good food, and oh well, this time the chicks weren't half bad either.. ;P. Ok but that wasn't the main point (however important and relevant it might be ;) ). The thing is, I get to spend some quality time with my family away from home. Oh that reminds me, am heading to simla for a week!! :D Finally a vacation with my family after nearly six and a half years!

~

Hot water baths!!! you can't even begin to imagine how much I like these. And ghar pe I don't even have to wake up early to have one (unlike the hostel, where the hot water runs out at 10 in the morning, that is, if there was any at all )

~

Breakfast in bed!! :D

~

I like to read a newspaper first thing in the morning. It hardly ever happens in the hostel. At home, I wake up daily to find my ToI lying besides me.. :)

~

And oh, how can I not mention home cooked food! Seriously people before heading to college I was fed up of it. Now I just can't get enough of it. I guess that's the same with everyone though...

~

Home Calling!!!

ohk fellas... am off to home finally.......

come this monday, and i wud be off to my favourite place.. to my favourite city....

And as quite a few of you were expecting, no these are NOT my last days in college.. don't know wat the future has in store... but one thing is for certain.. would be coming back.. whether for the last time or not.. dunno...

48 hours to deaprture.. yipee!! :)