Alone at room, with a broken wall next to me. Two bottles of alcohol, the levels indicative of the crazy last night. An end to what has been the most trying 3 months of my life. I was emotionally churned, physically emaciated, intellectually shagged to make me wonder that I am half the man I used be.
I leave it here, this will be the hook that would remind me of the first three months at Lucknow.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Friday, July 02, 2010
Anger
I am warning you of extreme anger. Dont touch it. It will not only melt your skin, it will burn your soul. Beware, oh innocent one. Beware, oh clown.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The ideal assumption
Happiness or Sadness is independent of the place you are in. You might be an achiever or you might be a loser. It doesn't matter to Happiness and Sadness. They will approach you nevertheless. Of course we have greats telling us don't see what you don't have but see what you have (some times in comparison to the less fortunates), but material achievements are no compensation for Happiness and Sadness.
How happy you are or how sad you are is independent of your bank balance or you status. Of Course an achievement leads to happiness and a loss leads to sadness, but repeat the same achievement and couple it with a loss of a dear one or an extreme embarrassment and you'll see sadness has suddenly taken over.
My point being, Just because you are dreaming to be someone and you idolise him/her doesn't mean you idealise his/her life too.
Even Superman wept.
How happy you are or how sad you are is independent of your bank balance or you status. Of Course an achievement leads to happiness and a loss leads to sadness, but repeat the same achievement and couple it with a loss of a dear one or an extreme embarrassment and you'll see sadness has suddenly taken over.
My point being, Just because you are dreaming to be someone and you idolise him/her doesn't mean you idealise his/her life too.
Even Superman wept.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Plan a trip to Shillong
So, right before I tell you how to enjoy Shillong. Let me tell you that its in Meghalaya. This 'just in case' fact is for people like me who untill I was planning to go there thought it was in Sikkim or one of the other 6 NE states. So ya, Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya and was once the capital of Assam!!
So to get there you have 4 options Taxi, Bus, Plane or just be born there. There is no railways in the state so you need to reach Guwahati for (some of) the above mentioned options. You could fly there directly if you and your wallet wish to. Taxi is the most preferred, they charge Rs 140 one way and they squeeze in 10 people in one one sumo (excluding the driver). So in case you want a little for comfort or privacy while you go through the beauty of Meghalaya hire your own taxi (lots of Maruti Altos for that) . There is a stark difference in the weather once you cross Assam and what an awesome gesture that is! It makes you feel like you are going on a holiday!
There are hotels, resorts and lodges all over Shillong. If you are the kind that wants everything around you while you are on a holiday, for example the pubs, restaurants, shopping malls etc.. then Police Bazar (PB) is the place for you. But I chose Laitmukhra a place 2 km from PB to stay cause its less crowded. The advantage of Laitmukhra is that you are at peace when you want and when you want to have 'fun' you take a shared taxi to PB at 7 bucks. But I preferred to walk all the way. What better than taking a hot water bath and then taking a walk through the serpentine roads of a hill station!! The added advantage being you get to see a lot of lakes and ponds on the way. One of them being Wards lake. Beautiful and a must visit!
Visit the Don Bosco NE cultural museum in Mawli, its extremely informative and its very modern! Go figure why I call it modern. You would have to take a taxi on 'reserved' for this, he will charge you 100 bucks from police bazar. It serves both the nerdy kinds and the fun kinds. I wonder where they get the kind of money. You can take a walk up the steep roads of Shillong to reach IIM Shillong, nice walk-nice place. Buy yourself a ticket to the Meghalaya Govt. transport corp for a day trip to Cherrapunjee. Take the 15 seater deluxe at Rs 280. Take your Camera! You will be surprised by the kind of music these people play in the govt. buses!! In Manali they played Himesh, here they played coldplay, BEP, local rock..
Other than the obvious places, go around Shillong walking (alternatively take a shared taxi), ask people for direction, they will befriend you and if you are lucky you can go drinking with some localites! Thats what happened to me. Some wonderful people these Shillong guys are!! Cloud 9 is a quiet pub on the top floor of centre point in Police Bazar. For the noisy kinds there is Tango below UCB. Another option is buy the booze sneak up to the terrace of your place and enjoy the drink with the dash of cold night wind, while you are at it you might also see some distant quiet lightning.. an indication that its still raining up there in Cherrapunjee!
The best way to enjoy Shillong is to see it wake up and see it go to sleep. Wake up at 5 and sleep at 11! Eat the apricot and buy the converse shoes. Watch the kids go to school and colleges with their hair style and party dresses. Every one is well dressed in Shillong! Enjoy the local dish Jadoh, chew on some Shillong Tamol (Betel nut, strict warning) Enjoy the moving rain in Cherrapunjee and trek through the caves in the trip! and ya dont forget to chat up with the locals!!
I enjoyed Shillong but I know I enjoyed it more because I had amazing company!
So to get there you have 4 options Taxi, Bus, Plane or just be born there. There is no railways in the state so you need to reach Guwahati for (some of) the above mentioned options. You could fly there directly if you and your wallet wish to. Taxi is the most preferred, they charge Rs 140 one way and they squeeze in 10 people in one one sumo (excluding the driver). So in case you want a little for comfort or privacy while you go through the beauty of Meghalaya hire your own taxi (lots of Maruti Altos for that) . There is a stark difference in the weather once you cross Assam and what an awesome gesture that is! It makes you feel like you are going on a holiday!
There are hotels, resorts and lodges all over Shillong. If you are the kind that wants everything around you while you are on a holiday, for example the pubs, restaurants, shopping malls etc.. then Police Bazar (PB) is the place for you. But I chose Laitmukhra a place 2 km from PB to stay cause its less crowded. The advantage of Laitmukhra is that you are at peace when you want and when you want to have 'fun' you take a shared taxi to PB at 7 bucks. But I preferred to walk all the way. What better than taking a hot water bath and then taking a walk through the serpentine roads of a hill station!! The added advantage being you get to see a lot of lakes and ponds on the way. One of them being Wards lake. Beautiful and a must visit!
Visit the Don Bosco NE cultural museum in Mawli, its extremely informative and its very modern! Go figure why I call it modern. You would have to take a taxi on 'reserved' for this, he will charge you 100 bucks from police bazar. It serves both the nerdy kinds and the fun kinds. I wonder where they get the kind of money. You can take a walk up the steep roads of Shillong to reach IIM Shillong, nice walk-nice place. Buy yourself a ticket to the Meghalaya Govt. transport corp for a day trip to Cherrapunjee. Take the 15 seater deluxe at Rs 280. Take your Camera! You will be surprised by the kind of music these people play in the govt. buses!! In Manali they played Himesh, here they played coldplay, BEP, local rock..
Other than the obvious places, go around Shillong walking (alternatively take a shared taxi), ask people for direction, they will befriend you and if you are lucky you can go drinking with some localites! Thats what happened to me. Some wonderful people these Shillong guys are!! Cloud 9 is a quiet pub on the top floor of centre point in Police Bazar. For the noisy kinds there is Tango below UCB. Another option is buy the booze sneak up to the terrace of your place and enjoy the drink with the dash of cold night wind, while you are at it you might also see some distant quiet lightning.. an indication that its still raining up there in Cherrapunjee!
The best way to enjoy Shillong is to see it wake up and see it go to sleep. Wake up at 5 and sleep at 11! Eat the apricot and buy the converse shoes. Watch the kids go to school and colleges with their hair style and party dresses. Every one is well dressed in Shillong! Enjoy the local dish Jadoh, chew on some Shillong Tamol (Betel nut, strict warning) Enjoy the moving rain in Cherrapunjee and trek through the caves in the trip! and ya dont forget to chat up with the locals!!
I enjoyed Shillong but I know I enjoyed it more because I had amazing company!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
To Kolkata
Well, as I am typing this note TMC has given the whip lashing to CPM in the elections for corporations. The city of Kolkata is in a moment of cautious celebrations. The new has taken its right stand. I am not a big fan of Mamata Bannerjee but since CPM has taken its time to prove its incompetence (actually impotence), I would welcome any change.
So this is the political weather in Kolkata. The police and the CRPF are walking the streets and I am house arrest until 6 in anticipation of the winning snare that the TMC dogs would give the older canines and hence the ever famous Kolkata bandh and curfew. Inside home, my aunt’s house in salt lake, the wind chime and its partner are successful in creating a winner of an atmosphere. Warm, peaceful and appetizing.. especially for a nice Mojito!
But this is what I feel. People from all around Kolkata have warned, sympathized and almost threatened me about how harsh, merciless and unhealthy this summer is. My aunt was surprised to see me happy and bouncy when I entered her house. She was expecting a wet cloth beaten on a stone and then wriggled and dried in the same state under the heat of Thar Desert. A friend of mine welcomes me to Kolkata albeit with a warning of this terrible summer. Although I don’t feel the pain.. this anticipated heat attack has spruced up the value (if I may say) of my trip. The “madness” has been poetized!
But yeah, in all fairness it is hot and bloody hell demoralizing. I have been in this kind of heat for 4 years and I know to handle it. On my first day in the sleeper class train seat (!!!A reason for awe and awwww!!!) I did feel that it was a mistake to plan a trip with such a budget, but then logic and physics got better of me. Thanks to continuous supply of water in the train.. I must say I managed pretty well with wet hair and face every 1 hr. Along with that, the best way to handle this heat when you don’t have a fan or AC is, though it might sound disgusting, let yourself sweat and then sweat a lil more and then, even a small whiff of wind will make you feel amazing and then before you know it you are in a sound sleep! 2 Hrs later its either not that hot or its time for “one more time repetition”. Then you will be so proud of yourself that you will smile condescendingly at people “struggling with heat”.
Well, this is the shortest time gap that I am coming back to Kolkata, 3.5 months. It feels good; this city is truly a Matrubhoomi! I like train travels to Howrah. City of Kolkata is iconicly depicted by the Howrah bridge or otherwise known as Rabindra Sethu. When you around the Howrah station vicinity the first big, smiling welcome is given by the same old Howrah bridge. Its like the city has never changed. And the best part is because of the Hoogli river and the railway station you don’t find the barrage of apartments towering over the beautiful past that has remained all these years. The view unobstructed veils the dirty tracks and you are immediately a part of this bustling energetic city!
While the new political party takes over the corporation I feel the old guy (aka Kolkata) will be more welcoming to the new suburban Kolkata that has been inching and pleading its way in. For the city with the repertoire of producing almost prolifically, sharp brains that the whole of India knows as probashi (some thing like a NRI, NRBengali, Mostly because the sharpest brains have no work in Kolkata), Its time the Non Residents return to their Mathrubhumi and give it that actual change that it is looking for since decades!
So this is the political weather in Kolkata. The police and the CRPF are walking the streets and I am house arrest until 6 in anticipation of the winning snare that the TMC dogs would give the older canines and hence the ever famous Kolkata bandh and curfew. Inside home, my aunt’s house in salt lake, the wind chime and its partner are successful in creating a winner of an atmosphere. Warm, peaceful and appetizing.. especially for a nice Mojito!
But this is what I feel. People from all around Kolkata have warned, sympathized and almost threatened me about how harsh, merciless and unhealthy this summer is. My aunt was surprised to see me happy and bouncy when I entered her house. She was expecting a wet cloth beaten on a stone and then wriggled and dried in the same state under the heat of Thar Desert. A friend of mine welcomes me to Kolkata albeit with a warning of this terrible summer. Although I don’t feel the pain.. this anticipated heat attack has spruced up the value (if I may say) of my trip. The “madness” has been poetized!
But yeah, in all fairness it is hot and bloody hell demoralizing. I have been in this kind of heat for 4 years and I know to handle it. On my first day in the sleeper class train seat (!!!A reason for awe and awwww!!!) I did feel that it was a mistake to plan a trip with such a budget, but then logic and physics got better of me. Thanks to continuous supply of water in the train.. I must say I managed pretty well with wet hair and face every 1 hr. Along with that, the best way to handle this heat when you don’t have a fan or AC is, though it might sound disgusting, let yourself sweat and then sweat a lil more and then, even a small whiff of wind will make you feel amazing and then before you know it you are in a sound sleep! 2 Hrs later its either not that hot or its time for “one more time repetition”. Then you will be so proud of yourself that you will smile condescendingly at people “struggling with heat”.
Well, this is the shortest time gap that I am coming back to Kolkata, 3.5 months. It feels good; this city is truly a Matrubhoomi! I like train travels to Howrah. City of Kolkata is iconicly depicted by the Howrah bridge or otherwise known as Rabindra Sethu. When you around the Howrah station vicinity the first big, smiling welcome is given by the same old Howrah bridge. Its like the city has never changed. And the best part is because of the Hoogli river and the railway station you don’t find the barrage of apartments towering over the beautiful past that has remained all these years. The view unobstructed veils the dirty tracks and you are immediately a part of this bustling energetic city!
While the new political party takes over the corporation I feel the old guy (aka Kolkata) will be more welcoming to the new suburban Kolkata that has been inching and pleading its way in. For the city with the repertoire of producing almost prolifically, sharp brains that the whole of India knows as probashi (some thing like a NRI, NRBengali, Mostly because the sharpest brains have no work in Kolkata), Its time the Non Residents return to their Mathrubhumi and give it that actual change that it is looking for since decades!
Monday, May 24, 2010
For you all
Some moments in life are so strong and imperative that a normal human being fails to grab the sense of it. A watershed event that it could be just doest seem to appear to the person. He thinks not ahead, he thinks only of the near future. Until it suddenly hits him. A sense of nostalgia, a good piece of art, good cinema, or longing for something completely different can put things into perspective that would make events until now appear in the right light.
There was this print advertisement of HAIG that I remember seeing on my way to Panjim from Margoa way back in 2006. It caught my fascination like no other. The tag line was "Made by Time". Time, the supreme most truth that a human knows and has proof off. Time makes a lot of things, and mostly they are the most valuable. The most important of its products are relationships. Respect and friendship form the indispensable ingredient of relationships.
When you start a relationship, an emotional investment is the equity of highest value. Its interest rates are extremely high. If it pays dividend you will receive the most priced "Return". Happiness. There is seldom any hedge for this, that is if you are truly emotionally investing.
You cant decide on whether to invest emotionally or not, it happens and when it does you are already knee deep. But, trust takes you ahead. A decade back, I was this student with a broken leg. Trying hard to prove to the world that even I can make it. With the stool in the class and my plastered leg on it, I made sure any sympathy that came my way, came with some bit of respect and awe. After the final exams of that year I realised I had nothing to do. The last exam was physics I suppose, I remember coming back home and going to sleep. That was 10th standard boards. While people played cricket, watched movies I slept. That was me 10 years back. Today for every occasion I have someone to share my happiness and more importantly my sorrows.
Friendship is truly what makes any event in a man's life worth it. Today even a parents success is judged by whether they are great friends or not. With friends we perennially have a sense of celebration, a sense of sharing. They give us freedom to tease, the freedom to criticize, the freedom to get angry without being judged and the freedom to ask. In the last decade I have not known life, but for some really important people. They know as they read this. Thanks :)
There was this print advertisement of HAIG that I remember seeing on my way to Panjim from Margoa way back in 2006. It caught my fascination like no other. The tag line was "Made by Time". Time, the supreme most truth that a human knows and has proof off. Time makes a lot of things, and mostly they are the most valuable. The most important of its products are relationships. Respect and friendship form the indispensable ingredient of relationships.
When you start a relationship, an emotional investment is the equity of highest value. Its interest rates are extremely high. If it pays dividend you will receive the most priced "Return". Happiness. There is seldom any hedge for this, that is if you are truly emotionally investing.
You cant decide on whether to invest emotionally or not, it happens and when it does you are already knee deep. But, trust takes you ahead. A decade back, I was this student with a broken leg. Trying hard to prove to the world that even I can make it. With the stool in the class and my plastered leg on it, I made sure any sympathy that came my way, came with some bit of respect and awe. After the final exams of that year I realised I had nothing to do. The last exam was physics I suppose, I remember coming back home and going to sleep. That was 10th standard boards. While people played cricket, watched movies I slept. That was me 10 years back. Today for every occasion I have someone to share my happiness and more importantly my sorrows.
Friendship is truly what makes any event in a man's life worth it. Today even a parents success is judged by whether they are great friends or not. With friends we perennially have a sense of celebration, a sense of sharing. They give us freedom to tease, the freedom to criticize, the freedom to get angry without being judged and the freedom to ask. In the last decade I have not known life, but for some really important people. They know as they read this. Thanks :)
Friday, January 01, 2010
.. I wanna grow up once again :)
Watching 3 Idiots and wake up sid made my eyes moist. As evident both the movies dealt with one theme. Do what you love, Doing things that you enjoy and are adept at can contribute not only to the world but would make a world of difference to you.
3 Idiots is an amazing movie. I dont care what the world thinks, they may say they played to the gallery, they may say that goofball game was too over the top but trust me life is nothing but these goofball games. Delivering a child on TT table is weird?? Try birthday bumps turning into gore when a kick tore the small intestine of college mate. One seen on screen one before our eyes. Now you do your reality check.
The detailed ragging scenes, the feel of an engineering college complete with posters of science fest and result notices was a complete nostalgia run for me. The hostel chronicles, the vodka on the terrace top, the philosophical discussions, the altercations when we have lost ourselves to the spirits. The relative grading and even the toilet humor. I felt at hostel, sorry I felt at home.
But this movie did more than just entertaining me. It made me think, It made me a stereotype, It made me cringe at my past decisions, It made me analyse where I am now. Am I heading on the right direction. Am I the same wide eyed, inquisitive wanna learn everything kid that joined engineering? More importantly Am I an engineer?
They are good stories that create conflicts between characters, they are better movies that create effective internal conflicts in their characters but the best are those that creates a internal conflict in you, the viewer. At this point you are in personal interaction with the movie. This point the movie is not merely an entertainer, it a piece of art, its a cinema.
I watched 3 idiots as a way to spend my New years Eve effectively, but ended up feeling weird that few decisions in my life were not in the track of happiness. Its never too late to realise your mistakes. Boss catch the next train on time and make sure its on its way to happiness.
3 Idiots is an amazing movie. I dont care what the world thinks, they may say they played to the gallery, they may say that goofball game was too over the top but trust me life is nothing but these goofball games. Delivering a child on TT table is weird?? Try birthday bumps turning into gore when a kick tore the small intestine of college mate. One seen on screen one before our eyes. Now you do your reality check.
The detailed ragging scenes, the feel of an engineering college complete with posters of science fest and result notices was a complete nostalgia run for me. The hostel chronicles, the vodka on the terrace top, the philosophical discussions, the altercations when we have lost ourselves to the spirits. The relative grading and even the toilet humor. I felt at hostel, sorry I felt at home.
But this movie did more than just entertaining me. It made me think, It made me a stereotype, It made me cringe at my past decisions, It made me analyse where I am now. Am I heading on the right direction. Am I the same wide eyed, inquisitive wanna learn everything kid that joined engineering? More importantly Am I an engineer?
They are good stories that create conflicts between characters, they are better movies that create effective internal conflicts in their characters but the best are those that creates a internal conflict in you, the viewer. At this point you are in personal interaction with the movie. This point the movie is not merely an entertainer, it a piece of art, its a cinema.
I watched 3 idiots as a way to spend my New years Eve effectively, but ended up feeling weird that few decisions in my life were not in the track of happiness. Its never too late to realise your mistakes. Boss catch the next train on time and make sure its on its way to happiness.
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