Thursday, June 28, 2007

Back again..

I'm writing this blog after a long hiatus.. All these days, I was quite busy.. busy pondering over the decisions I've made.. and about their repercussions..
The monsoon has set in.. The world around me has sprung back to life..
As i sit near the balcony and relish my mug of hot coffee.. I watch the world change around me..
The rain drops play an amazing orchestra on the trees and the metal roof above my balcony through the night..
The Gulmohars are slowly vanishing.. and lush green colours have replaced their fiery red colours..
Theres a surge of urgency amongst the bird kingdom.. Crows are frantically trying to build their homes.. just so that they can start their new life amidst the stormy atmosphere.. what a time to bring out a small new innocent life into this world.. and who knows whether it will live to see the winter..
A huge downpour.. and they try to shelter themselves anywhere they can.. amongst the branches n the foliage of trees.. or on the windows..
The vacations have long gone.. school kids in colorful raincoats, umbrellas and gum boots make their way gleefully to school and back... splashing the rain waters on each other..

There is a tree below my balcony.. Its a Chickoo tree.. This summer, the tree was entering our balcony and so my mom had the top chopped off..
Now when i look at the tree.. 8 new shoots have sprung up around the chopped off end.. Raring to shoot skywards.. like they always had been.. fresh new leaves have already started to grow..

I see a group of kids playing in the rain water below.. theres a steady flow of stream running down the slope... The kids are trying to obstruct the flow.. they try everything.. first they stand with their feet together.. then they try to build a dam-like thing with stones.. whatever they try, the stream always by-passes the obstruction by flowing around it..

Nature is beautiful.. Just by sitting at my balcony for half n hour.. Ive learned such an important lesson in life..

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Video clips from my last trek with Zankhan -- Naneghat-Jeevdhan (18-19-20 May 04)

The 18-19 May 2004 trek to Naneghat-Jeevdhan was my last trek with my buddy, Zankhan.. I came across this vcd after months of shuffling and turning my entire home upside down, and managed to upload a few clips on youtube to share it with u all..

Zankhan, you may not be here with us, but we'll always miss my friend! The "Falcons'" wings have been clipped off forever...




1] Introduction - The morning after the climb


2] Watch Myself and Zankhan make our favourite JUNGLEE SANDWICH :)


3] The first view of Jeevdhan from the top of Naneghat


4] Climbing the final portion of the Jeevdhan Rock patch


5] Watch Zankhan guide me thru the rock patch


6] This is how we filter the water on our treks!! :)


7] Daktar babu...performing a minor surgery on his injured foot!!


8] The end of our journey



Sunday, June 10, 2007

These Feet are meant for walking

One fine sunny day, myself and my friend were walking the streets of Bandra..

"You know, you should never make a lady walk... but u always make me walk, that too in this scorching sun... at least we shud ve ricked it up.."

"Rick? cmon.. its just a 15 min walk to the theatre... and whats wrong in walking?"

"Why dont you get a bike?? In that way, we can save so much money on travelling..."

"Well thats exactly what we are doing, saving money and saving fuel by walking... "

Yesterday, like every other day, my mom asks me...

"Take a rick to the station.. its too hot outside.."

"Why?? Have my legs been amputed?? Cant i walk??"

I dont understand.. People have become so dependant on their vehicles that they barely walk anywhere... Especially the guys of the younger generation... Driving a bike is considered to be cool ... and even use their bikes for even going to the nearby store...

Whats wrong in walking?? Ive walked places... Ive walked innumerable times down the 14 km walk to Kanheri... and not to miss out the 70 km 21 hr walk to Titwala, in scorching heat!!

Theres a particular purpose for each and every part of our body.. We ve been provided with eyes for seeing, fingers for holding, teeth for chewing.. and huh.. legs for walking...
As more and more humans grow dependant on their cars and bikes, a new species of humans will evolve..
Around the turn of the twenty-third century, I can see legless humans being born...

By then, of course, there will be flying wheel chairs....

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Sasura sab confoosion hai re...

I was returning home by bus in the evening.. the Bus was stuck in traffic on the Andheri fly-over, besides the railway station, when 2 young bhaiyyas came and sat behind me..

"Idhar dekho..." said one, pointing to the station visible outside the window...

"Oo rightwa jo hai, ooka 'Easht' bolat hai... aur oo leftwa jo hai, ooka 'wesht'..."

"Par Gulbajiya mein to leftwa pe Easht bolat hai...."

"Abbe ee bambai hai bambai... Bho****ke, agar tujhe bambai ka eashtwa aur weshtwa naahi maalum, to tohar kuch naahi hone waala..."

"Haa.. ee baat to theek hai..."

The lights are green, and the bus starts again with a rumbling sound that sets up a series of borborygmi in my tummy... God im hungry...

"Par Misraji..." the other guy goes again...

"... agar hum oo taraf se dekhe.. to leftwa easht ban jaawat hai aur rightwa wesht..."

"Ee baat sasura humaar khopaddiya mein kaahe naahi ghusi??? sasura sab confoosion hai bhai..."

Haa ji... sasura hamaar khopaddiya bhi tohaar logic sunke ghumwat hui gawa... saala sab confoosion hai...

Thursday, June 7, 2007

But it Rained...

I was sitting near my balcony, relishing a mug of hot coffee and the rains, when out of the blues, i remembered this song... "But it Rained" By India's best rock Band Parikrama...

Well this song has nothing to do with the rains as such.. Its their number 1 single, released in 1996..
The main theme of the song is about the kidnappings that were going around in the Kashmir valley in the mid nineties.. hundreds of people had simply disappeared, and even after years, their families , keeping hope against hopes.. that someday, their loved ones just might come back home...

A very catchy song and good lyrics.. watch it and hear it...

But it Rained - Parikrama



Wrapped in a polythene tucked away safe in my mind
A little goodbye maybe or just a passing smile

The birds fly away to the southern sky searching a home
A bunch of paper flowers or a little boy left all alone
Can somebody hear me I'm screaming from so far away
Morning who will calm you now, the evening is eclipsed again

Well does life get any better
More yesterday than today
How I thought the sun would shine tomorrow
But it rained . . .

They justified the cause for which Daddy might give up his life
It's been so long, so long a time, still I miss Daddy at night
The ache is long gone but the never keeps staring along
The waters in the seas are high
and all the sand castles have drowned

Well does life get any better
More yesterday than today
How I thought the sun would shine tomorrow
But it rained . . .

" ... Meanwhile, relatives of the four kidnapped tourists are back in the country to make yet another appeal. It has been a year now since the abduction, and the last seven months have seen little but a stony silence.”

"Amid reports of illness, injury and threats of death, was the uncertainty of not knowing what to believe ... she did not even get to say goodbye" said the wife of one of the hostages. More appeals have been made some even by other militant organisations, but the message is ..."

This is an excerpt from a magazine report published more than 5 years ago. It hit us in the face then, it still tingles in the spine each time. We wrote this song then, in an effort to feel the uncertainty, the futility, ourselves. To share the yet shimmering hope of those who are left waiting for a loved one. At times forever. It's worse still, not having even said a goodbye, or caught the last eye. As funerals are. Ceremonial farewells, perhaps?

Five long years, not a word, nor a trace. Some of them have still not given up, as we read in the papers recently. They wait, even today ... we can hear the strain ...

- Parikrama

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Inequality in Equality


This year, the French Open for the first time is giving away equal amount of prize money for Women's and Men's Events...
Well, the thought is good.. Equality of sexes and all..
But just give it a thought... Is it really worth it??
I'm not trying to be a sexist and a Male chauvinist here.. But Ive several reasons for the same..

First of all.. Men's event can be won if a player wins 3 sets.. so the minimum no. of sets played is 3 , which many a times goes to even 4 or 5...
A Women's event on the other hand goes for a max of 3 sets... duh!!

Furthermore, the intensity that is seen in a men's event is rarely seen in a women's match... all we can hear is Grunts from the marias and the williams... but no power in their shots... and their tennis is a complete bore to watch..

All that attracts a Women's events is short skirts and style icons with bouncing balls!!! While, true tennis is seen been played in the Men's event.. amazing rallies and zealous fightbacks..

I know , the entire feminine species will run for my throat on these comments.. but facts are facts right??!!

Monday, June 4, 2007

Choices...

Choices... a very essence of being a human is the ability to make a choice in life...
Unfortunately, I havent been such a good choice maker... in fact.. i hate making a choice..
Sometimes, i wish God had just thrusted stuff over me.. I wud have taken it with a big heart.. But why do we have to make choices in life..

Sometimes, i feel that maybe.. its just this typical geminine trait in me.. and sometimes i think im still not mature enough to make a choice.. anyways, making a choice has always been tough for me right from the beginning..


From choosing between comics at the local library... to making a choice between hundreds of cool compass boxes and school bags...
From chosing chocolates... to a good tee ..

from various flavours of ice creams.. to that of fruit juices..

Life as a child was never easy...

And now.. even as i turn 24.. Choices havent left me...

To make things even more worse... Now there are MULTIPLE CHOICES everywhere...

Train, rickshaw or bus??

Boot cut, straight cut or comfort fit??

Cappuccino, espresso or Cafe mocha?? With flavor /without flavor?? with ice cream..without???

Caramel, salted or Plain pop corn???!!

Thanx to multiplexes... Pirates, shrek , metro or chini kum??

Mc veggie.. chicken or maharaja... with cheese /without cheese?? medium/small/large coke?????????????????????????????????????????????

God damn the cafe/mc dee culture!!!
Just put in every f***ing thing uve got , but dont ask me what...

and now... even in acads.. my life is screwed...

Hypoparathyroidism following thyroid surgery commonly occurs within
a) 24 hrs
b) 1-2 days
c) 2-5 days
d) 7-10 days
e) 2-3 weeks

And now...

According to the passage, which of the following are true about quarks...

1. The are elementary building blocks for neutrons
2. They ve no internal structure
3. They r grouped with leptons in a single class of particles

a)1 only
b)2 only
c)1 and 3 only
d)2 and 3 only
e)1, 2 and 3

aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggghhhh!!!

And when all this shit is over...

University of ohio or autin??? baltimore or houston?? Florida or toronto???

MS or Phd??

Whoever said life was easy should go and screw himself!!

The other day, there was a mega block on the western railway and i had 2 options... either catch a bus or the train.. I went to the station to see that the next train was 20 mins late.. and the platform was jam packed at 4 in the afternoon... ominous signs ...
I took the decision.. ill catch the bus.. I went to the highway.. and waited
and waited
and waited
30 mins.. not a single bus towards borivali
I kept hope against hope as the bus towards dahisar went totally packed with passengers..
4.30 and im leaving from here.. i told myself
The clock struck 4.30, and just as i was about to leave.. out of nowhere... this empty bus pulls out of nowhere in front of our stop..
Apparently, they had started a new bus service since the mega block on the railway was on..
I reached home comfortably...

Finally.. I had taken the right decision.. and id decided...
My decisions will be on pure instincts.. and ill stick to them no matter how foolish they may seem to be..
When i had to decide between R and A.. between M and L... i lost everything..
which led to me making a decision of U over I... and i hope ive taken the right one..
Cuz im not thinking over it anymore..
The Decision's been taken.. and this time, its straight from the heart!!

Friday, June 1, 2007

Bad Hair days...

Hmm.. U must have heard those words from every other girl in town...

Oh God!! Im having a bad hair day... blah blah blah... and they sulk around the whole day..
Nothing what the guy says or does to cheer her up works.. Hair r the most precious things to girls, i must say..
Especially, when the new coiffure goes haywire.. U better be away from her at that moment..

But my blog is not about Girls and about their bad hair days... thts so hackneyed!!

Its about something more interesting.. Its about guys and their bad hair days!!

Yeah... we guys also do have bad hair days.. Its just that women dont seem to notice them, unless they give a medusa-head appearance, cuz they think that guys hair are too short to have bad hair days... or rather, they r too preoccupied with their own hair.. and with the hair-dos of the other so-called hep girls whom they're jealous off!!
They are absolutely wrong!!
In fact, a guys bad hair day gets accentuated cuz of his short hair...



Take my sad case for example..
Every time i get a haircut.. its a disaster in the making.. the kind of weird hair that ive inherited..

"Sir.. kaise cut karu??"... the barber asks... with a comb and a pair of scissors.. snipping away in his fingers.. and he looks at my hair and smirks.. concealing his joy in going for the kill...
But i can guess his diabolical intents... sigh!!!

"arre.. saamne se medium kaatna.. side se aur peeche se chhota karna.. lekin jyaada chhota nahi.. ye side se baal khade nahi rehne chahiye.. aur upar ke baal baraabar se kaatna... schiisel ghissel mumbaazool gunterostekal.........."

snip snip snip... He barely heard what i had to say.. merrily snipping away ... my precious hair fallen all over my sides.. I close my eyes.. I cant see the disaster unfolding in front of me in the mirror...

15 mins.. and its over...

"bas ho gaya sir?? ki aur chhota kaatu??"

I slowly open my eyes... gathering courage, a mm wide each time.. hoping against hope that not this time.....

There u go... just like like how it is every month.. a DISASTER!!

"arre mere bhai.. aur kitna chhota karega?? sir par machine hi ghooma deneka na yaar!!!"

There i was... a "GOLF BALL"... thats what someone once used to call me..
Time to stay indoors for a week till some hair grow back to keep them settled down...

Just another bad hair week rather...

Reborn..

A year has gone... the darkest year so far in my life.. a year which saw me lose everything... a year in which i was thrown into a dark chasm.. an abyss which seemed endless... I was falling in deep, that is until a hand came down to pick me up... I was skeptical.. skeptical of this unseen hand that had all of a sudden shown itself.. and when even people close to u hurt u, i was incredulous about my ownself...

Hold my hand... and have faith in me... a voice called out to me...

I had no choice.. I d given up on everything, including myself...

Try to drag urself up.. the voice exhorted me..

And thats what i did.. taking his support, i tried to get my life back on track...
I tried hard.. I gathered all my lost emotions and locked them up inside.. like a person once close to me had told me... You have to enclose ur heart within a chamber- a chamber with walls so thick and so strong, that noone else can break them apart.. and noone else can pierce it again.. and thats what i did...

Today, May 31st marks the end of the year ... the dark year has gone by...

Im reborn again.. after 24 yrs..
May 31st marks a new beginning for me.. a new hope that has kindled within a bruised and battered soul..
And that was all that i needed..
a ray of hope in the chasm that i was in.. and i ve seen that
And today, as id begun my march towards that ray of light, with a callous and a stoic soul..
The hand that was held out to me out of nowhere is now pulling me up...
And the lips that had told me to hang on and keep the faith are now smiling..
And as i look up at the heavens tonight... and feel the first rain drops on my face.. i know ive been blessed.. just like the parched up earth has been blessed with a new lease of life..