I was away for a couple of weeks; nice way to connect to one self and one's thoughts. Some random ones from the recent past.
We almost always fail to realize the worth of something or somebody while they still belong. Fear of loss or paranoia – is this what makes life interesting? If otherwise, one is either too complacent or doesn’t care.
I find today’s children are more sure and open about themselves and less pretentious.
There are some countries which are fifty years ahead of us and I wonder if we would ever catch up.
It’s interesting to know perception of some of my friends about me – bossy, selfish (know my priority) and nagging. “If you see yourself as a reflection in the eyes of others all they have to do is blink and you cease to exist”. I love you guys but I am at peace with myself.
I want to get away for a week just by myself to catch up on reading.
For now, I am back!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Teri maa ki….
Apologies for my foul language. But fortunately or unfortunately that is the subject of this post.
Work place, traffic, cricket ground (pun intended), fashionable night clubs, wherever you are, if you tune your ears to it, you can drench yourself in the rain of verbal abuse. Swearing is a quick way to release stress or so it’s perceived. Stress levels have increased, taking the number and frequency of usage of “gaalis” (bad words) proportionately higher. One of the lean days at work, post lunch, I took a stroll around my office complex. Men and women of all sizes, age and shape were hanging out, chatting, smoking, and having “cutting-chai” taking the noise level to a different decibel. A lady pouting her face told this male colleague of hers “f*** off b****** ”. Her male colleague retorted with mock anger, “don’t insult my mum” and the entire gang that was hanging out with them laughed oblivious to the surrounding.
I see that guys’ point. I have no issue with people swearing. Each of us has our own way of de-stressing. My question is why is it always the maa, behan and woman-related words? Ok agreed, there are also a few abusive words (if you squeeze your brain hard) that are male oriented, but they are relatively few in comparison with the recognition women get in this department. It just freaks me out to know that this injustice to male community is uniform across all languages. When you want to vent your frustration and the subject is a woman you use the term “bitch”; but when the subject in question is a man it never is as simple and straight as “dog”. You get the drift, right? I don’t mean to sound like a feminist, but this discrimination is hard to miss.
Why couldn’t Harbhajan use the term “Tera Baap ka…”? Probably that really was Andrew Symonds’s point. Tendulkar was nice enough to explain different contexts in which the term “maa” is used, including “Jai mata di”, but the damage was already done to Symonds’s mother.
The point I am making is, when you swear next time please be fair to men. Be innovative and when you manage, please share the same with me.
Work place, traffic, cricket ground (pun intended), fashionable night clubs, wherever you are, if you tune your ears to it, you can drench yourself in the rain of verbal abuse. Swearing is a quick way to release stress or so it’s perceived. Stress levels have increased, taking the number and frequency of usage of “gaalis” (bad words) proportionately higher. One of the lean days at work, post lunch, I took a stroll around my office complex. Men and women of all sizes, age and shape were hanging out, chatting, smoking, and having “cutting-chai” taking the noise level to a different decibel. A lady pouting her face told this male colleague of hers “f*** off b****** ”. Her male colleague retorted with mock anger, “don’t insult my mum” and the entire gang that was hanging out with them laughed oblivious to the surrounding.
I see that guys’ point. I have no issue with people swearing. Each of us has our own way of de-stressing. My question is why is it always the maa, behan and woman-related words? Ok agreed, there are also a few abusive words (if you squeeze your brain hard) that are male oriented, but they are relatively few in comparison with the recognition women get in this department. It just freaks me out to know that this injustice to male community is uniform across all languages. When you want to vent your frustration and the subject is a woman you use the term “bitch”; but when the subject in question is a man it never is as simple and straight as “dog”. You get the drift, right? I don’t mean to sound like a feminist, but this discrimination is hard to miss.
Why couldn’t Harbhajan use the term “Tera Baap ka…”? Probably that really was Andrew Symonds’s point. Tendulkar was nice enough to explain different contexts in which the term “maa” is used, including “Jai mata di”, but the damage was already done to Symonds’s mother.
The point I am making is, when you swear next time please be fair to men. Be innovative and when you manage, please share the same with me.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
A tribute to music
Most of us survive the mumbai traffic thanks to music.I can travel without a door in the car so to say, but I can’t travel without music. I love music and lose myself in music and rhythm. The reason for this late night blogging is that, I am just back from a musical concert and it was electrifying. One great artist is a treat; six of them are like a feast. This to me was a mega event. Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, Sivamani, Vikku Vinayakaram, Selvaganesh (Kanjira) and Mandolin Shrinivas – isn’t that a deadly combo?
Zakir Hussain was conducting the event to perfection. His husky voice and one liners added zing to his percussion skills. Audience may have missed his analogy of traffic control to a musical concert, they certainly didn’t miss the pun when he announced that he was making a trip to the gas station (refuelling with a Wah Taj or was it a smoke break?) If Zakir is classy, Sivamani is rugged and a firebrand. He creates magic with just about anything is so true! Huge Bisleri container, suitcase, dosa pan, Kadai, spoons and in fact just about anything.
Mandolin Srinivas, as he is famously known - as serene and divinely as he was about 20 years back when I first saw him in a much less hyped concert (in a temple at Nanganallur). The only difference is, I didn’t drool at his looks so much this time, as I was completely enthralled by the melody his instrument produced. Shankar Mahadevan is not one of top of my list vocalists; however he almost did a “breathless” (with his swara alabanai) and rendered the audience speechless.
Vikku is clearly an ace percussionist. His ghatam sings, speaks and romances with other musical instruments under the mastery of his fingers. He interacted with the audience through music. How could one make a musical concert interactive is something that you have to experience yourself. His style, for the uninitiated, is that when he plays, his shirt is unbuttoned displaying rows of rudraksha beads and vibuthi (ash) clad chest. Selvaganesh did a great job with his Kanjira.
Some observations as aside; most of them are long haired, most of them wore Kadukan (diamond ear stud) albeit single and all of them had a shawl. However one striking trait of all of them is their respect for each others’ skill. The jugalbandhi (literal meaning being “tied together”) of six musicians inspiring each other created a seamless performance. Each one of them took the “artistic conversation” to increasingly higher levels and it was a powerhouse performance!
Music is a great stress buster. The way the market has been behaving, I desperately needed to unwind, de-stress and rejuvenate; and that’s just how I feel now - completely unwound, de-stressed and rejuvenated. To borrow cross word’s line (modified) “wear an old coat; buy a front seat in a concert”, I wish I had bought the 2000 bucks ticket. Next time, certainly!!
Zakir Hussain was conducting the event to perfection. His husky voice and one liners added zing to his percussion skills. Audience may have missed his analogy of traffic control to a musical concert, they certainly didn’t miss the pun when he announced that he was making a trip to the gas station (refuelling with a Wah Taj or was it a smoke break?) If Zakir is classy, Sivamani is rugged and a firebrand. He creates magic with just about anything is so true! Huge Bisleri container, suitcase, dosa pan, Kadai, spoons and in fact just about anything.
Mandolin Srinivas, as he is famously known - as serene and divinely as he was about 20 years back when I first saw him in a much less hyped concert (in a temple at Nanganallur). The only difference is, I didn’t drool at his looks so much this time, as I was completely enthralled by the melody his instrument produced. Shankar Mahadevan is not one of top of my list vocalists; however he almost did a “breathless” (with his swara alabanai) and rendered the audience speechless.
Vikku is clearly an ace percussionist. His ghatam sings, speaks and romances with other musical instruments under the mastery of his fingers. He interacted with the audience through music. How could one make a musical concert interactive is something that you have to experience yourself. His style, for the uninitiated, is that when he plays, his shirt is unbuttoned displaying rows of rudraksha beads and vibuthi (ash) clad chest. Selvaganesh did a great job with his Kanjira.
Some observations as aside; most of them are long haired, most of them wore Kadukan (diamond ear stud) albeit single and all of them had a shawl. However one striking trait of all of them is their respect for each others’ skill. The jugalbandhi (literal meaning being “tied together”) of six musicians inspiring each other created a seamless performance. Each one of them took the “artistic conversation” to increasingly higher levels and it was a powerhouse performance!
Music is a great stress buster. The way the market has been behaving, I desperately needed to unwind, de-stress and rejuvenate; and that’s just how I feel now - completely unwound, de-stressed and rejuvenated. To borrow cross word’s line (modified) “wear an old coat; buy a front seat in a concert”, I wish I had bought the 2000 bucks ticket. Next time, certainly!!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Grant me a wish
Another year came and went. It started with dreams, plans and hopes like every other year. Some worked out and some didn’t. I take stock as another year begins and I believe even more strongly in my favorite line “everything happens for a reason”. By the way, I don’t intend turning this into another philosophical piece :-).
Here’s my New Year babble:
Rared to go, dared to do
There was hardly anything that I wouldn’t do
Endless days and chatty nights
Lovely friends and impish fights.
Now I wish I had a time machine
To get back to the valley of fun
Where care free is the way of life and
Goodness is the only feel.
If it’s a dream, let me remain asleep.
If it’s a fantasy, make me unreal.
If it’s crazy, brand me insane,
but then grant me my boon!!
All you readers! Have a wonderful 2008!!
Here’s my New Year babble:
Rared to go, dared to do
There was hardly anything that I wouldn’t do
Endless days and chatty nights
Lovely friends and impish fights.
Now I wish I had a time machine
To get back to the valley of fun
Where care free is the way of life and
Goodness is the only feel.
If it’s a dream, let me remain asleep.
If it’s a fantasy, make me unreal.
If it’s crazy, brand me insane,
but then grant me my boon!!
All you readers! Have a wonderful 2008!!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Lost and found
Chance, accident, mishap, luck – are these for real or merely a sign of our ignorance? Does the cosmic power have everything planned out to the minutest of detail? It appears that starting from place of our birth, the path we choose and the entire course of our life is a maze of events and we move in a pre determined path. The obstacles, opportunities and one’s experiences – sweet and bitter alike are pre-planned to turn one into an individual who s/he is destined to be.
The school we go to, the jobs that we bag, the cities we move and people we meet and connect at various levels are merely events that had to be. Also life is not a program of “if…. then…else”; there is just one path for each of us and what appears as options is merely a mirage. Could this argument be extended to say that, we do nothing about our lives? The answer is yes and no. Individual drive, passion, commitment, attitude and the likes are packed within a person in an appropriate proportion to achieve the goal that one is destined to. To put things in perspective, the configuration of a young CEO material is consciously created differently from that of a person who is happily serving as a clerical staff in the same corporation for decades together and they are programmed to work at different levels of efficiency.
Also, I have read somewhere and could relate to it, that relationships come to us as assignments. They last us for varying length of time but necessarily teach us lessons and impact us to varying degrees. I would like to believe that people we meet are agents who help us keep to our (pre-determined) path and get us close to our destiny at each stage of life. Destiny is a moving target.
Do I completely buy this theory? Honestly, I am not sure. But there is a reason for the philosophical bent of this post. I met a friend, who was long lost to me – 17 years. Once a while you come across people who influence you adequately and help you make critical decision. They encourage you to dare to dream and chase them. As we move from one phase to another, we sadly lose touch; especially in an era when connectivity was an expensive commodity.
I have had a simpler than simple childhood and humble beginnings. Hailing from a conservative family and not-so encouraging neighborhood, the credit goes completely to this friend that I dared to dream big and ended up in a b-school. Though we were surveying schools together as destiny would have it, we went to different b-schools. In those days (as ancient as it may sound) phone was for a different class and internet was unheard of. To add to it, I moved house closer to my school, completely immersed myself in studies and job (to fend for my school fee), graduated, found my life partner, moved cities, settled comfortably and accepted the fact that losing friends is a (sad) part of growing up.
After so many years and a few change of jobs, the recent one being a month old, I discovered that, we - the contemporaries are colleagues now. I am so excited that I tend to believe that good things do happen with zero effort from you. The super power hasn’t left anything to chance or human effort? Serendipity? Don’t know and it doesn’t matter. Life is beautiful!!
Welcome back!!
The school we go to, the jobs that we bag, the cities we move and people we meet and connect at various levels are merely events that had to be. Also life is not a program of “if…. then…else”; there is just one path for each of us and what appears as options is merely a mirage. Could this argument be extended to say that, we do nothing about our lives? The answer is yes and no. Individual drive, passion, commitment, attitude and the likes are packed within a person in an appropriate proportion to achieve the goal that one is destined to. To put things in perspective, the configuration of a young CEO material is consciously created differently from that of a person who is happily serving as a clerical staff in the same corporation for decades together and they are programmed to work at different levels of efficiency.
Also, I have read somewhere and could relate to it, that relationships come to us as assignments. They last us for varying length of time but necessarily teach us lessons and impact us to varying degrees. I would like to believe that people we meet are agents who help us keep to our (pre-determined) path and get us close to our destiny at each stage of life. Destiny is a moving target.
Do I completely buy this theory? Honestly, I am not sure. But there is a reason for the philosophical bent of this post. I met a friend, who was long lost to me – 17 years. Once a while you come across people who influence you adequately and help you make critical decision. They encourage you to dare to dream and chase them. As we move from one phase to another, we sadly lose touch; especially in an era when connectivity was an expensive commodity.
I have had a simpler than simple childhood and humble beginnings. Hailing from a conservative family and not-so encouraging neighborhood, the credit goes completely to this friend that I dared to dream big and ended up in a b-school. Though we were surveying schools together as destiny would have it, we went to different b-schools. In those days (as ancient as it may sound) phone was for a different class and internet was unheard of. To add to it, I moved house closer to my school, completely immersed myself in studies and job (to fend for my school fee), graduated, found my life partner, moved cities, settled comfortably and accepted the fact that losing friends is a (sad) part of growing up.
After so many years and a few change of jobs, the recent one being a month old, I discovered that, we - the contemporaries are colleagues now. I am so excited that I tend to believe that good things do happen with zero effort from you. The super power hasn’t left anything to chance or human effort? Serendipity? Don’t know and it doesn’t matter. Life is beautiful!!
Welcome back!!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Cheeni kum; spice zyada
That it was raining heavily yesterday and threatening to do a 26/7 in Mumbai is no news; that our house went under during the 26/7 deluge is not something that many of you might know. The deadly combo of high tide and more-than-normal rainfall is bad news for mumbaikars (or anyone for that matter) though this is something that we are getting used to. Yesterday, our family spent most of our day perched up on the sofa by the side of drawing room window and watching helplessly at the rising water levels outside. It was like playing a computer game of increasing levels of complexity; only here, we didn’t want it to move up to the next level. Anyway, to cut the long story (and day) short, we were spared this time by rain God. Oh well! Monsoon has just begun.
Weather settled a bit in the evening and power resumed. Our mood got better. Husband settled with his Jack Daniels and we decided to spend a quiet evening at home until I came up with the crazy idea to go to PVR Juhu to watch Cheeni Kum (11 PM show) . When I mentioned this, hubby darling didn’t take me seriously, actually neither did I. I must tell you that we are no movie buffs.
Fortunately for me (or my desire to watch the movie) my daughter decided to crash early; but so did my husband. However, my assertive side got the better of me and I nudged him out his sleep. This demand not being a regular feature (and of course he knows I blog such incidences) he sleepily agreed to take me.
After negotiating Saturday night traffic and fighting for parking space (all with half eyes closed) my husband settled into theatre seat comfortably and as for me I never felt more focused in life. I must mention that I had to wake him from deep sleep to stand up for national anthem.
About Cheeni Kum now. What a brilliant movie! A 34-year old falling in love with a 64-year old (I would at any age, if the 64-year old in question is Amitabh) and trying to convince a 58-year old Tabu’s father to agree to their marriage and all wrapped in sensible comedy. This certainly was worth my effort. The title song and Sooni Sooni are brilliant adaptation of “Mandram vandha thendralukku manjam vara nenjam illiyo” from Mauna Raagam. If there is one thing that I most certainly disliked about the movie, it is Tabu’s wardrobe, particularly her satin salwar suits (wonder who designed her clothes). Other than this eyesore (which is trivial anyway), the movie was top class. It’s a must watch, if you have not done so already.
When the movie ended and I helped my husband to his feet, I chuckled. What the heck if he didn’t watch the movie, it was really sweet of him to drag himself to the movie, despite the fact he sleep walked / drove and snored away the 2 ½ hours. It appears, in my life Cheeni is not kum after all.
Weather settled a bit in the evening and power resumed. Our mood got better. Husband settled with his Jack Daniels and we decided to spend a quiet evening at home until I came up with the crazy idea to go to PVR Juhu to watch Cheeni Kum (11 PM show) . When I mentioned this, hubby darling didn’t take me seriously, actually neither did I. I must tell you that we are no movie buffs.
Fortunately for me (or my desire to watch the movie) my daughter decided to crash early; but so did my husband. However, my assertive side got the better of me and I nudged him out his sleep. This demand not being a regular feature (and of course he knows I blog such incidences) he sleepily agreed to take me.
After negotiating Saturday night traffic and fighting for parking space (all with half eyes closed) my husband settled into theatre seat comfortably and as for me I never felt more focused in life. I must mention that I had to wake him from deep sleep to stand up for national anthem.
About Cheeni Kum now. What a brilliant movie! A 34-year old falling in love with a 64-year old (I would at any age, if the 64-year old in question is Amitabh) and trying to convince a 58-year old Tabu’s father to agree to their marriage and all wrapped in sensible comedy. This certainly was worth my effort. The title song and Sooni Sooni are brilliant adaptation of “Mandram vandha thendralukku manjam vara nenjam illiyo” from Mauna Raagam. If there is one thing that I most certainly disliked about the movie, it is Tabu’s wardrobe, particularly her satin salwar suits (wonder who designed her clothes). Other than this eyesore (which is trivial anyway), the movie was top class. It’s a must watch, if you have not done so already.
When the movie ended and I helped my husband to his feet, I chuckled. What the heck if he didn’t watch the movie, it was really sweet of him to drag himself to the movie, despite the fact he sleep walked / drove and snored away the 2 ½ hours. It appears, in my life Cheeni is not kum after all.
Monday, May 7, 2007
happy birthday
Hawaiian Shack on the eve, midnight party by Niyo with handmade cards, musical cards (really lovely) and a swarovski Bull for a gift (yeah, yeah, I get the message), loads of wishes over calls, SMSs, mails and gifts including Tissot from hubby (my last post worked!) and a sumptuous dinner at Penne, my latest favourite for Italian cuisine, couldn’t have asked for more! Had a wonderful birthday yesterday. Thanks a bunch to all of you!!!
I have read somewhere “growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional”… it’s so true!!
I have read somewhere “growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional”… it’s so true!!
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