You Asked For It!

Extreme emotions can help one articulate well. It is true in my case at least. The thought process is a simple string of words. When it decides to flow, it flows. At times no matter how hard you work on it, it just does not fall in place. It's been a long hiatus, ten days since the last post.

Abhineeth (Dabba-musician-friend) suggested that I write more about my day out, the one I had on V-Day. I will allocate a few lines for it. I started driving intending to reach the Cherry Hill Mall in about 20 minutes, for Google Maps told me that I'd take that much time. I set out very confidently and I lost my way!! Trust me on this, there is enough anecdotal evidence that I am as bad as 'bad' can get when it comes to directions :). It took me about one hour to get to the Mall. But the plus point is I got there eventually. I faltered, agreed, but something told me not to give up (I still can get around without a GPS :)). When one goes wrong, there will be a hundred people telling you 'I told you so'. But next time you want to tell some one that, just stand back and reconsider for a moment. When one is down in the doldrums, 'I told you so' is the last thing one would want to hear, is it not?

In one of my conversations I was vociferous on how I felt about, probably, India's most talked about freedom fighter. When I was asked why I opined so, I realized that it was mostly because of what other people narrated and what other people accounted for. I then tried to understand the deeper meaning of History. The etymology of this word, we are taught, is his-story. Story of man. Mostly it is what is told to us. It's a story and a timeless narrative. If Abul Fazl had decided against penning the 'Akbarnama', an account of the Moghul emperor, Akbar - The Great, our understanding of his glorious days, as one of the most formidable kings, would have been different, perhaps.

Deeps (School friend) wrote in her blog, there are a few friends, long time friends, ones we have known long enough to disregard how well we know them. As real as this may be, I still maintain that Friendship is not a Function of Time. This statement would probably act as a catalyst for a lot of discussion. Bring it on :)

Most of you would have heard of Walter Elias Disney or better known as Walt Disney. He is the person behind Walt Disney Motion Pictures. I was watching 'The Lion King' today and remembered how much a motion picture can teach you. I started watching these motion pictures when I was about 5 I guess and to this day I cannot get enough of them :). Try watching it some time. It's a great story, one that will never fail to inspire, in it's own sweet way.

Rendezvous Solitaire

So most of you out there would remember this show called "Rendezvous with Simi Garewal". This show was famous for a plethora of reasons. The most prominent ones, however were: the stark white sets (after a point it got to me!), the hostess (almost demure), the line of questioning and lastly it's guests (sadly, they came last). On the whole, it was entertaining. The only take away, for me, from all this was the word "Rendezvous" :)

On the 14th of February (Valentine's Day), I asked myself out and I decided to go out with myself (the ONLY narcissistic statement in this post, I swear!) And hence I'd like to call it 'Rendezvous Solitaire'.

I had not been to Mc Donanld's in a long time (since I stepped out of Texas) and hence decided to savour the Hot and Spicy alongside the Mocha. Have you ever wondered, how it is possible to find the 'M' looking back at you, exactly when you want it to! Simplifying, whenever you are out and driving long distances, when hunger strikes, more often than not, you will find Mc-D's 'M' beckoning you to come and dine. Dhiraj and I were having a conversation about this, sipping on M's Mocha. I very innocently asked him, why is it so, that where ever you go in America, you will find an 'M'. He told me then that there were engineers who developed advanced models to decide the best suited locations for such logos. The technical bits, I did not comprehend of course, but I can imagine what it must be like, if indeed, your job is to decide where the 'M' should be. It's fun, to say the least, plus there is a cool factor associated with it :)

On that day out I realized one thing. Our mind is full of conversation. Often, in a group, this voice goes unheard. But during stints of solitude, this voice grows louder. It torments, opines, suggests and at times dictates. And without realizing, we yield. At times I feel, no matter what, the only thing that comes a long way, with ourselves, is this voice. Hence, even in a group, try not to let it go unheard. I feel this practice, is an essential spring board, for what we often call, individuality.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said 'Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted'. Why I digressed to what Longfellow said, I have not a clue. Falling in and out of affection is very common. But let us try to imbibe the brighter side of it, rather than thinking, that it was wasted and spent, never to be recovered, for affection does not recede.

Confessions

Language is like any other interest one has. The more one appreciates it, the better one gets at it. English is just the same. Rajeev and I were talking about how difficult it is to conjure the right words at the right time. It takes effort indeed in the beginning. It becomes a habit over time. Eventually there will be no fumbling for words.

Valentine's Day is coming up. 14th of February. This is supposed to be a day for honoring the Christian Martyrs. But some how, it turns out, people express their love on this day. (Romantically so, for one could choose any day of the calender to tell one's parents, friends or relatives : "I love you") Hence, for a few, it's lovers' day, for a few others, it's a count of how many years one has spent being single, for a few "more" others, it's a day to get good discounts (or so they feel!), for a few "many more" others and especially this year, it's just another Sunday. The prices of red roses shoot through the stars on this day! Red-roses are most sought after on V-Day. Two simple events can help one understand economics in a simpler way. 1) Valentine's Day and Red-Roses 2) August 15 and Indian Flags. To be fair, our Economics teacher did use the 2nd option to illustrate better :)

When a guy (conventionally) is trying to tell a girl he likes her, the word often used in place of 'tell' is confess. If a person 'A' is telling another person 'B', "I like you", why is it called confessing? What is so wrong about it that it is called 'confessing one's feelings'. Terminologies used for a few deeds and expressions elude me sometimes!

Chetan Bhagat in his new book said- 'you often take digs at people you call your own'. Is this true? Why do we take digs at all, in the event that they are our own. Pannaga (age old, timeless friend) once wrote in my slam book, a friend is one who knows you completely and still likes you. Notice that I said 'and' not 'but'. You might try to rephrase this sentence with the latter conjunction. I like it with 'and' better!

So here is wishing everyone (all sectors of 'a few') a happy V-Day!

Small Talk

I promised my readers that I'd keep it small this time. However, here the definition of "small" is not totally devoid of ambiguity. Keeping it simple, let's say I will jabber with fewer lines this time around.

There is this American teen drama series called One Tree Hill. I first heard about it from Shwe and she would not stop talking about it :). And now I know why :). The lives of teenagers are complicated indeed ! If I had to give you a comparison, off the cuff of course, my life (so far) would appear like in a Black and White movie while the life of an American teen would be a Broadway Musical !

I watched this movie called "10 Things I Hate About You". Heath Ledger is in this movie. This verse below is taken from the movie:

I hate the way you talk to me and the way you cut your hair
I hate the way you drive my car and I hate the way you stare
I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind
I hate you so much it makes me sick and it even makes me rhyme
I hate the way you always lie and I hate it when you lie
I hate it when you make me laugh even worse when you make me cry
I hate it when you are not around and the fact that you dint call
But most I hate the way I don't hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

It's an austere poem. But sweet.

In a sincerely empty Bolloywood movie called Kaho Na Pyaar Hain, the only sensible dialogue is something that the Hero tells the Heroine and it goes like this: "Saadgi Khoobsurat Hain". This translates to "Simplicity is Beautiful" in English. Do we all agree on this? It's rhetorical anyway :)