Long Live the “Moment”

Once upon a time…well not really in the picturesque Alps. But at our indigenous Bandra there was this Moment. It had come unannounced. Nobody knew why and what would be its life but then it was like the Mumbai rain...nobody can predict.

The genre of Moment is usually ephemeral but this one was special. It stayed. May be it had different destiny or may be it had some reason to accomplish. I don’t know I am not the omnipotent .I am just the narrator. So my job is to keep my eyes open for the moment to arrive.
So anyway we are still at the moment. It was again at the sea face and then again at Mudhgao.

It’s nice beautiful and hallucinatory. It makes world look flat and Sea charming.
Too much brain can kill the Moment. And a STORY can’t keep the moment anyways. So what shall it do because living is nice and it does wants to live long enough to be counted?

It’s naïve. All moments do get counted so would this one. Not really like the rest of them coz of course this is special. Or maybe that’s what I feel.

Long live the moment

Viral Attack

After big I-day hoopla I was down with viral attack. Viral`s are horrible as they just breaks down the body and you don’t feel like doing anything. Worse if you don’t live with parents and nobdy there to take care of you…falling ill is not a bright idea at all.

Making chai for yourself… eating khichdi for lunch and dinner…watching sad re- runs on TV. That`s life with viral. Well managed to catch up with backlog of sleep. Got hold of life a bit. It was getting too fast for my comfort. Got enough time to think about future present and past.

Sometimes I do wonder am I too serious in life or oversimplification is an hypothesis. Any which way..Damn Viral

Another dig at Independence

Well I got more than prompt replies on my earlier post on independence. With Vikash being downright angry. But no kidding he`s got a point. I mean what we have done to ensure the taken for granted Independence.

There were Independence Day celebrations at the work place. Skits and dances...more of cultural zig-zag. Well it was kinda cute but one thing which struck me was…

Why whenever we talk of Independence it’s always nostalgic. Those Old songs whose records are also not available anymore. Same old condolences to the soul of Gandhiji and lamenting to the tragedy what democracy and freedom has became. Some 85% people in a national daily`s poll believed that we have too much freedom. Freedom to park anywhere...freedom to horn anywhere...freedom to be politician so that we can commit a crime and get away…freedom to shirk away from public responsibility and blame it to the system. Freedom for the system to blame everything to the population...freedom to the population to blame it to the GOD.

And GOD is anything but Free. The poor guy is so fragmented in this country that he must have forgotten his true identity. People are willing to fight for GOD. Willing to fight for the road to the shrine…willing to fight for anything remotely associated with GOD. But is violence associated with GOD?

My whole point is it all sound cultural but let’s not care for the dead. Let’s care for the living and for those who are going to live after us. It does sounds like MJ`s song saying let’s make this world a better place but then where are our new age HEROES. You won`t find them in Bigg Boss right? Let’s get our hands dirty. Try something new. Start with 1 good deed a day or may be not doing anything against the nation today. It may be anything…just about anything ..atlest get started..who knows some day we might be able to make difference in people`s lives other than ours.

Running 62

Abhinav Bindra won India maiden Gold. Well I should be a proud Indian. To an extent I am .Its a moment in history for all of us. I wouldn’t like to whine and spoil the moment .Michael Phelps also has just won his 11th Gold. Which is 1 more than India has won (including the GR8 Hockey) in 107 years of Indian Olympic History.

So is 61 years of independence am I missing something.

Road from Chakala to Sakinaka is definitely looks 61 years old. So many buildings in the city are more than 61 years old. They are not heritage they are just Old and ready to collapse. Traffic was probably faster 61 years back. And of course there was more honesty and more warmth (lets not even get there.)So what is so special this year? India may be shining but there are massive powercuts. India may be rising so is the flood all across the country. India may be set for global takeover but ground realities are communal riots, bomb scares and gross political insensitivity.

So does my balance sheet have only liabilities and overdue loans? Or is there a silver lining.I may be a too realist. But when I move across the road and see lil kids begging I see no sun at the horizon. When I see people cramped like dead chickens in a local train it does not inflate my chest.

We Indians call ourselves a smarter race. IQ`s always 150+ GMAT scores 700+…but tell me one thing we Indians have achieved. No I am not talking about China winning most no. of golds. Or even Malaysia Building one of the tallest towers in the world. We are not even brazil producing 70% ethanol for the world. My questions are simple If we are so smart then why aren’t we so rich. If we are so good then why the labor productivity rates in the country are one of the lowest in the world. Or Human Index parameters don’t even apply here. The rickshaw rides of the country are categorized against the ostrich ride in South Africa. This may be funny about there is no other way to parallel our mode of public transport.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not been educated in Oxford nor even from IIT`s wishing to set up a venture in silicon valley. I am an average Indian who loves his country. Loves the fact that we are so loud. Loves colors and things related with it. Loves the curry and don’t mind calling pilgrimage a vacation. Loves answering the question about what Indian culture stands for and all the confusion related with it.

I just hope nxt year I have less questions to ask and more answers to give.

Career Counseling

After being an unsuccessful book critic with my last post I have became unsuccessful film critic too. So now my list of trying my hand at various career options has got longer.

For those who have just tuned in...i have tried:

Singer – everybody does ...but in my times these reality shows weren’t there so the talent got frittered.

Architect – (yeah like “Ted the Architect” from how I met your mother)

Painter- I still think it was a good idea. But I could not fit in the traditional definition of Art and my abstractions had trouble explaining themselves. I still do it though like once in a decade

Author- once upon a time I used to be a very serious individual with profound thought. Then I discovered that it is so much fun being shallow… so the author dream I let pass

Footballer- it’s got glam, It’s got the brawn, It’s got the money (see ur day dreaming then u must dream about EPL only right)...the only think lacking was the TALENT

Public Speaker- I will became some day. Actually wd have preferred to be a Diplomat but then Indian Administrative services…if I could study so much I would have became scientist and secured a Nobel

Banker – It says once a banker its banker for life. So unfortunately I have worked in a bank for 2 proud years of my life. And I made a decision never a bank a bank again. Banking system is like high rising inflation. Once you get stuck with it your present value keeps diminishing.

Credit Card Analyst –Once you work in this industry u wouldn’t want a card in your life time and will advice all your friends against it too. Just kidding but it was dumber than banking .Not for me.

Wild Life Photography- It’s a lot of fun but it meant roaming around in jungles with only the swanky SLR. I was seriously interested in it. But was seriously short of TALENT

Travel Expert – For those who have read the “Moscow Diaries” can vouch that I can do a decent job with it. Might join Discovery “Travel and living” some time in future.

Finance Executive: Yeah ..boring but true. Gotta do something for living right

-So here I am Blogger without any specified ambitions and plans and hypothesis.


Careers I am still hopeful for:

Fashion Photographer
Tarot Reader
Mountaineering
Masseur at the beach
Graffiti Artist
Professional Kayaking

----ne bdy got more interesting idea can contribute.

Don bother about the skill set and personality type that is a very fluid concept in my case 

My Sassy Girl

I am so unfond of archaic romantic type movies that this Korean film (on which ugly n pagli is based...rather frame by frame and dialogue by dialogue ripped) was a very strange choice. Too much mush makes me puke. Nothing against “romance” but I have these mental ghosts who makes me apprehensive to believe and lame to accept as is.

But the movie is fun. Its new it’s refreshing and just never let the mush go overhead (most importantly).No it may not make people believe in love but I love the word serendipity. Sometimes the anticipation is so much fun.

The heroine is cute and Hot. Hero is dud and believable. It’s a crazy relationship which makes you feel sorry for the characters in a nice way. And the ending is just perfectJ. Sometime uncomplicated stories makes more sense than a literary marvel .I am the types who would want to see more believable stuff then larger than life action. Everything may not be absolutely convincing but would be still better than whims of fancy trash doled out.

Eu não falo Portuguese

Be like a child. Be like a child. My language teacher kept telling me for some umpteen times. That is how you learn about new languages. You should be inquisitive…You should be asking...pushing…blabbering.

After all what is a language…It’s just a medium of expression. To be loud and heard, to project your thoughts and be vociferous of your demands. You need to know the language.
Then there is a thing called foreign language. Which we Indians are lapping it up to make true the dream of global Indian takeover. I mean all this is nice, sweet and ambitious but foreign language is not so simple.
Interesting thing about foreign language is that it’s not just the language. It’s also the culture and tongue. The salutations and codes of decency gets redefined. The obligations and how to react to different sensitivity is a challenge in itself. With all these complications you should be like a child… jumpy and lively. Asking questions without being embarrassed. Truly hard work.

My Portuguese isn’t making any progress. Why can’t we all talk in sign language? Isn’t humanity is same everywhere.

The Friandshipp Dayy Weekend

It has started looking clichéd now. One more book review...one more travelogue..and one more weekend story.

It was a reasonably boring week and Fridays have some verve attached them which says enough of the stupid desktop.(not that I work so much) enough of this god forsaken office floor. Get out and be with life. So I started with shopping ( ya ironically guys too shop even though it was shorts and socks..this too is shopping rite?) followed with a dinner invit at my best friends place.

Though people change when they get married like he always insist on eating at home now contrary to the past but I guess Payal made up for it. Awesome food. Lucky Ga. I presented the wine to the hostess. My only contribution to the meal besides eating. It was fun meeting you guys after a long time.( A month is a long time in my dictionary.)

(Though I guess GA it was not necessary to put muck on my past colorful life to earn brownie points in front of ur wife J. I appreciate the effort but you are being a little thankless here…you were proud accomplice in lots of those escapades..)

With good home food on Friday night Saturdays can be a little late and slow. But then it was cleanliness and culinary day.So we decided to gave the rathole (read home sweet home) a new slightly cleaner look.

I can write a whole new post on the JAFRANI PULAO..and aftermaths and goodness that followed :) (jus that details are discretionary and ve promised not to spill :( (why men make promises its so stupid sometimes.) neways Then it was coffee at Mocha. beans eating competition…which never really happened coz beans were too many and stakes were so few..

Then there was a birthday party. Isnt it funny people are so happy on their birthdays despite becoming older. No new apparent influx of wisdom..a year further away from the childhood… a year more into earthly shit… year closer to responsibilities .a year away from innocence..but despite all this we eat cake..sing songs and dance our blues away. No it was not so boring. Actually party was fun..i am just exaggerating.

So for dancing the blues way we went to Enigma (again !!..ya again!!!). Which has an amazing mix of ridiculous prices..ok ambience ..funny crowd and sad music. And on this particular day it was flooded with fat-est. women of the town.( we are not talking plum or chubby here ) Well may be I am anorexic but see watching all the XXL`s of the city at one place wasn’t a happy sight. I mean isn’t for this very reason lounge culture was evolved. Women if you really wanted to dance so badly with all that flab tearing away from all the places..then join the aerobic class no. Nightclubs in stringy tops aren’t practice sessions right?

At 4 am. Returned home. The door lock refused to budge.why these things happen to mean I could never fathom. Finally managed to get after wrestling with it for 40 mins.(attained instant sobriety in the process).

Yippie it was the franshipp Day now.
So I slept.I had khichdi for lunch. Washed clothes. Collected laundry. Read newspapers.Assembled economic times reports of the week. Wrote Portuguese word-list on a chart.

Feliz friendship dia a tudo

Restore the SPARK

I just read the Chetan Bhagat `s speech urging to keep the spark in life alive. To make sure that the hunger in your belly does not die. To keep pushing yourself and people around you cause energy is contagious.

I wonder where`s the dynamo which will keep this energy flowing. It is so easy to get lost and be programmed. Be doing only as much and let the time continue to pass without wondering about any significant contribution from any side. I mean why there is a constant search of finding substance in all our actions why can’t I just stop looking for purpose .Let spark be there where it originated.

We keep reading about what we are cut out for life. Where`s my calling. Isn’t this whole passion game is more of a jargon and less of something which can be called intelligent.
At the end of the day what all I care for is money ain`t it? Why capitulation to this thought is so embarrassing. It’s just a modest way of accepting what world presents to us and not to pay heed to urge of initiating change. As if no. of initiations will act as passport while entering heaven. And like I am so enchanted with all the hip n hoopla of heaven.

Coming back to energy drainage and refill what makes it so important. We don’t want to constrict in the thoughts and actions. Because monotony can be more dangerous than anybody can ever assume. Because change tells us that we are moving. And as long as we are trying we are surely moving in the right direction.

How much I would like to dissuade myself. I am love with action. The thought of doing something , the sense of constructing something and the feeling of achieving something. I want to channelize the energies and restore the Spark

Only if I had known that something.