Sticky Notes

The Half Marathon :)

2009-07-21T11:28:00.002+05:30

2009-07-04T14:27:00.001+05:30

Suc Jackky cess

2009-06-13T12:42:00.000+05:30

Life Can Wait

2009-05-30T10:20:00.002+05:30

One of my favourites, the Mocha Menu is an alluring write on what the brand truly stands for. The coffee place is no longer as charming but this little introduction of theirs still is.

A Slice of Heaven

2009-05-19T00:36:00.001+05:30

Off small town Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh is a little known place called Bhedagat, home to the incredible Marble Rocks of India. Just off the river bank is a fantastic property owned by MP Tourism very creatively titled Hotel Marble Rock. On a ridiculously hot summer day when the rain gods bless you with a few kind drops and gorgeous grey skies ... something inside of you tells you that you're tasting a slice of heaven ...

Dedicated To...

2009-04-26T12:45:00.002+05:30

Dedicated to the one who always kicked Peppy's butt, to the one who made Ruffles Lays green with envy. The one rockstar who, like my blog, I missed for the longest time. Until I reconnected. To my first love - *drumrolls* Piknik :)

Sunset

2009-01-28T20:27:00.163+05:30

Hmm.. That's my sign! Wow...Isn't that glorious?

My time to sign out ;)                                You want some coffee?
Chal I'm rushing. Bye.                              Another day slipped by...
Hi Ma! ya..'twas okay!                          Wheels of time. No mercy.
Hey ssup? drink or two?                      We've got a long way to go!
@ Pop Tate's - 8.30?                         You fancy that business idea?
Dude, work sucks man!                          Isn't it a tough year ahead?
I mean theek hai but...                                                        Yummy.
Not inspiring yaar!                    Arrey C'mmon!! We'll Make It!
Don't get real sleep.                           Focus, work hard and detach.
I don't rise well :D                                  Anwyay, how bout a play?
You get what i'm sayin'?                                     It's his finest work.
Some good work at times.                        Such a charmed evening!
Work cult's good though.                   Plays at Prithvi are a joy. Na?
Anwyay, woh chod!                             C'mmon stop worrying! :)
Btw, belated Happy B'day!               Btw, your birthday was super!
Memory sucks man. Haha.                       You liked the gift, really?!
What's the bill?                                   Mum and I went to choose it.
Do the math brother!                             Oh!!! Gifting is such joy! :D
No Ma! Had Pizza.                              I'll see you soon. Love you!
Goodnight Ma. Goodnight Pa.              Hi Ma! Today was super!!!
Fuck Facebook's slow!                             Ya sit na!... I'll tell you...
Hey... what you doing?                  Guess what! She loved our gift!!
Not getting sleep :(                        Hahaha...Ya! she worries a lot :(
Ya! Have to report early!           Tomorrow's the big meeting Ma! :)
Bitch!                                          I'll wake you up at 7 okay. Walk!
No!! I haven't put on!                     Can't run away from the walk ;)
Maybe a couple o kgs.                                         Only figuratively!
Whatever.                                     I'm going in to read for a while.
Dude! She's dating Ram.             I'll read extracts to you tomorrow.
I am telling you.                           Ma... Come let's pray for Papa.
Hahahaha. Unbelievable.               "Lord, May you give him....
She was such a slut!                                 I love you Ma, goodnight!
Anwyay, I am sleepy.                  "Give me the strength and fortitude
Ya Bye.                                                                                 Amen.

Our eyes see the same things.

Yet some paint glorious dusks on life's canvas
While some others merely fade away
.... Into the Sunset.

The PJ binds us All

2009-01-23T18:49:00.006+05:30

Jaipur, Rajasthan January 23, 2009 10:17 am
Just got in to this lovely city and in this most elegant Hotel - the old Palace of the Maharaja of Jaipur, Rambagh. When I said last night that there is an air about Jaipur, it was both metaphorical and real.
If I were to design a slogan for the city I may have constructed this -
‘There is an air, in and about Jaipur’. Did you get it ? There is an A-I-R in J-A-I-P-U-R !!
- Amitabh Bachchan

P.S. - I think PJ ke maamle mein Bachchan saheb abhi kacche khiladi hai!

Emotional Atyachar Updated

2008-12-26T00:02:00.002+05:30

Jia Jia Jia Jia Doleh…
1-2-3-4…6…

Yeh dil pighla ke saaz bana loon,
dhadkan ko awaz bana loon,
smoking smoking nikle re dhooan.

Seene mein jalti hai armanon ki arthi,
Arrey what to tell you darling kya hua.
Arrey sapne dekhe jannat ke,
par mitti mein mil jaen,
phooken re ghar baar ki duniya..
ko bole good bye..
Chad jae haye Allah,
jisko bhi yeh bukhaar,

Tauba Tera Jalwa, Tauba tera pyar,
Tera Emosanal Attyachaar!
Tauba Tera Jalwa, Tauba tera pyar,
Tera Emosanal Attyachaar!

Jao Jao oh dilbar,
oh dilbar ohh!!
Tauba Tera Jalwa, Tauba tera pyar,
Tera Emosanal Attyachaar!

Ho gai dil ke paar tregedy…tregedy,
lut gai re bahaar, gul sukh sukh murjhae,
Ho gai dil ke paar tragedy…tragedy,
lut gai re bahaar, gul sukh sukh murjhae,

Bol Bol why did you ditch me,
Zindagi bhi lele yaar kill me,
Bol Bol why did you ditch me whore.
Bol Bol why did you ditch me,
Zindagi bhi lele yaar kill me,
Jao pia jao pia jao pia….

Tauba Tera Jalwa, Tauba tera pyar,
Tera Emosanal Attyachaar!
Tauba Tera Jalwa, Tauba tera pyar,
Tera Emosanal Attyachaar!

Jao Jao oh dilbar,
oh dilbar ohh!!

Tauba Tera Jalwa, Tauba tera pyar,

Tera Emosanal Attyachaar!

Mavericks at Work

2008-12-14T01:37:00.000+05:30

It's not just the Terror Attack...

2008-12-05T14:11:00.009+05:30

Like in our personal life, I wonder why failures and life-threatening incidents make breeding grounds for change. Proaction is a rare trait. But as a nation, like many of us, we are extremely reactive. Also our reactions seldom treat the root of the problem. We are a nation that believes in quick-fix. Of a people who certainly don't believe in win-win and collective victories. Take for instance, the rickshaw wala at the airport who will refuse to take you to your destination on 'as per meter' charges. His immediate craving is self-rewarding. There is no foresight that a trustworthy nation is a tourist's delight. That the long-term demand will outweigh his selfish motive by an exorbitant measure. And this attitude is pervasive across the socio-economic spectrum. Identify with that exporter who sells imperfect goods for a one-time windfall gain? Or the youngster who, on breaking a signal, looks behind and says with nonchalant ease "Chill guys, I'll handle it!"? The problem obviously is with how it is handled. I've done it so many times. And now it's part of my instinct. To bribe, to escape unscathed with only my self in mind. And yes, I know "That's the way it is!". But like we do with our personal inadequacies and failures, we accept the public ones too. From "That's the way I Am" ... we've moved on to "That's the way We Are". The way we become numb to our private consciences, the public conscience goes for a walk too. The harsh truth is that we seek only self-rewarding victories (even at the cost of public loss). We will hound our maids to clean the rooms but not say a word to the reckless taxi driver who leaves his mark across the city landscape. They say good judgement comes from bad experience. For India, they should've been more quantitative. You see, we're good at numbers. Someone is testing our math in a way we never wanted.

I am an optimist but an optimist often loses his grip on reality. The reality is that this is not only about terrorism. It's about our collective character. We may invest in our armed forces but the question is - "Will we look at this chink in our armour?"

Email-Blogging

2008-12-04T17:53:00.002+05:30

Testing Testing Lallan Testing!!!!

Startling Revelations

2008-11-29T02:12:00.005+05:30

Initially, the idea of this post was to throw more light on the abbreviations and jargon used by journalists to describe the mayhem unfolding in Mumbai. NSG, fidayeen, Marcos, Lashkar-e-Taiba etc... But as I investigated each link on Wiki and googled those terms, I hit upon some sinister weblinks and most of them - official. The Lashkar and other militant organizations in Pakistan are living ammunition posing a huge threat to India, America, UK, Israel and other nations on their radar...

I'd leave you and your intelligence to draw inferences from this information. Also note that some of the information and links lack context. But, disclaimers aside, it is starling...

1.Who are the NSG?
The National Security Guard (NSG) was set up in 1984 as a Federal Contingency Deployment Force to tackle all facets of terrorism in the country. Thus the primary role of this Force is to combat terrorism in whatever form it may assume in areas where activity of terrorists assumes serious proportions, and the State Police and other Central Police Forces cannot cope up with the situation. The NSG is a Force specially equipped and trained to deal with specific situations and is therefore, to be used only in exceptional situations.
Source : NSG's Official Website

2. What is a Fidayeen attack?

A fidayeen attack is a suicide tactic used by militants. Such attacks are especially common in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In a fidayeen, a militant equips himself (most fidayeens are men) with weapons and a sizeable amount of ammunition. He then proceeds to gain entrance into a military base, checkpoint or other military installation and proceeds to open fire on law-enforcement personnel. He continues his attack until he runs out of ammunition, at which point he is gunned down by security forces. Fidayeen militants sometimes do attempt to escape but are almost always shot by security forces shortly afterward because the militants rarely have a "getaway" plan chalked out. These militants, like suicide bombers are prepared to die during the execution of the attack.

But a Fidayeen attack is not a suicide attack. It is a different kind of attack usually carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba in Jammu and Kashmir. In this attack a Fidayee heavily armed enters into a military camp or convoy and start firing bullets and throwing grenades and fights till death. A fidayee does not blow himself up with explosives and if he gets a chance after fulfilling the mission he may try to escape.
Source : Wikipedia

3.What is Lashkar-e-Taiba?

- Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET) is the armed wing of the Pakistan-based religious organization, Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI), a Sunni anti-US missionary organization formed in 1989. LET is one of the three largest and best-trained groups fighting in Kashmir against India, and is not connected to a political party. LET's leader is MDI chief, Professor Hafiz Mohammed Saeed.

- LET has conducted a number of operations against Indian troops and civilian targets in Kashmir since 1993. LET is suspected of eight separate attacks in August that killed nearly 100, mostly Hindu Indians. LET militants are suspected of kidnapping six persons in Akhala, India, in November 2000 and killing five of them.

- LET has several hundred members in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and in India's southern Kashmir and Doda regions. In their operations, LET uses assault rifles, light and heavy machineguns, mortars, explosives, and rocket propelled grenades.

- LET is based in Muridke (near Lahore) and Muzaffarabad. LET trains its militants in mobile training camps across Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Afghanistan. LET collects donations from the Pakistani community in the Persian Gulf and United Kingdom, Islamic NGOs, and Pakistani and Kashmiri businessmen. The amount of LT funding is unknown. LET maintains ties to religious/military groups around the world, ranging from the Philippines to the Middle East and Chechnya through the MDI fraternal network.
Source : For Immediate Release
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
December 20, 2001

Description: A black AK-47 rifle, placed against a yellow sun in the center, protrudes vertically from an open, green Koran. Above the rifle, in black, is a semi-circular Koranic phrase which translates: "And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah." These images are set against a light blue background. Below the Koran is white lettering against a red background; it bears the group's original name: Markaz al-Dawa wa al-Irshad (the Center for Preaching and Guidance).

Explanation: The Koran signifies the centrality of Islam to Lashkar-e-Taiba's ideology; green is also Islam's traditional color. The blue background represents Allah's mercy and the sun symbolizes wisdom and virtue. The rifle's placement above the Koran, and the inscription above, denote the organization's belief that violent jihad will establish a society based on Islamic precepts. The red on the bottom is a symbol of strength and violence.

More on Lashkar-e-Taiba

Please don't miss this link!

4. Who is Professor Hafiz Mohammed Saeed?

CLICK ON THIS LINK: INSANE

I hope these articles don't evoke an anti-Pakistan sentiment because that clearly isn't the need of the hour. Nonetheless, one cannot deny that the country is home to a FACTORY of living bombs waiting to be deployed at the point of a finger. Also, I happened to hit upon a link to Professor Hafiz Mohammed Saeed's official organization Jamat Dawah. Prof. Saaed as you may have read earlier is the founder and chief (which he denies on this website) of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. His claim on his official website is contradictory to the NY Times interview above. His website has so many references to the use of 'jihad' and Anti-India tones that it fails me as to how this man is allowed to function so freely.

P.S. - Some Shocking Links :- (PLEASE VISIT THEM)

If you read the date on this writeup, it reads 25th April, 2008

The students were shouting slogans such as, “The only remedy of correcting those who have insulted the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, is Jihad”
"The rally was so humongous that it stretched from the Press Club, all the way to the G.P.O."
"They also demanded an end to the oppressive GRE test system for admission to universities"

Please understand that this is Prof. Saeed's official website. Date reads 21st May 2008

"In a statement issued here yesterday, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed said Muslims should wage jihad against countries that have disrespected the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, instead of signing trade and friendship pacts with them"

"He said Muslims should implement Islamic laws and values in accordance with the teachings of the Quraan and Sunnah in their homes, and urged Muslim women to cover themselves and instill Islamic values in their children, and to abandon Hindu traditions and customs. The solution to all the problems of Muslims lies in turning back to the Quraan and the Sunnah, he stressed."

Amidst this madness, I found solace in a website named Bharat Rakshak

P.S. - I am truly rattled guys. As I type these final words, I hear L.K. Advani address a gathering that - during his tenure as the home minister under Vajpayee's prime-ministership he ensured that all terrorists were invariably killed. Vote-bank politics, anyone?

*Phew*

P.P.S - Read these words by Vir Sanghvi which I absolutely subscribe to.

Mumbai is Bleeding...

2008-11-26T23:15:00.003+05:30

As I write, the news keeps pouring in... our city is bleeding... from indiscriminate firing, sporadic blasts and our indifference. Tomorrow we will wake up with the comfort that our kin escaped the mayhem. Tomorrow we'll flash our 'Things-To-Do' list and catch up on the lost time tonight... As I write, 5 die in Vile-Parle ... but you see I am unaffected. At home. Safe. My family is upset. Like your family is. But you see... we are unaffected.

This clearly cannot go on. Our country is not a playground. I am at a loss for words and solutions. But this cannot go on. Just Cannot. I am willing to do anything that is asked of me to contribute to our nation's security. I cannot live in this fear. Because I realize that I've only been lucky until now. Sorry, but I am not going to wait until my misfortune catches up on me or my loved ones.

Mumbai is Bleeding... And today... even I am.

P.S. - It is getting much worse. It is apalling.

P.P.S - Wake up and smell the blood. This is a threat to our fundamental Right to Freedom. It's 2.15 am and some of India's top cops have died. The Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai's iconic ambassador to the world is in a blaze. Is this India's 9/11? I hope it is. Because after 9/11 I haven't heard of a single terror attack on America. More importantly, I hope the night comes to an end soon. No more deaths man. No more deaths.

Coffee

2008-11-24T16:49:00.002+05:30

The familiar aroma of the sun-kissed bean

Of blue-eyed dreams under November skies
A frothy mouth so passionately speaks
Of epic Greek fables and the distant sun
Fragile fingers fondle the Holy Grail
A hair strand fails to distract her heart
At the innermost core of it I lie
And in her magic eyes love comes alive
Gullible men such as I don't see
It was never us
Always that goddamn Coffee

Luck By Chance - First Look

2008-11-21T17:10:00.000+05:30

No Other Option

2008-11-17T17:21:00.000+05:30

There is no room in this world for people who wallow is self-pity. No room for people who sigh, look back and say, "I wish I had done things in another way". There is no room for people who are unwilling to fight out their moods, obstacles and the barriers of their mind. There is no room for people who say, "I'd do it better the next time around". No room for people who look at someone else succeed and say to themselves, "I wish I was there". There is no room for people who can't toil. There is no room for people who don't have the conviction to follow their heart. No room for the ones who don't learn from their mistakes either. Because in this world, there are too many of them. Too many of them fighting, struggling, pushing, challenging, growing and pursuing the lives of their design. If you have a design for your life, you better live it. There is no room for another option.

Light

2008-11-13T21:03:00.000+05:30

Read from bottom to top

With love in my heart I climb your each stair Your Door of Light opens to the soul I bare...

But I don't seek power of self over mortal men

Instead I seek to love in the pure way love can;

It is in the ego of man to create wonders alone

To carve victories, win a seat on envy's throne;

& in that lifeless moment I feel your calm

Your reassuring voice : my healing balm;

In the eerie dark of the night I pray

For some holy light to come my way;

It speaks of all the things I am not

And the myriad things I wish to be;

In the silence of the night I feel

My inadequacy creep upon me;

Choices - I

2008-11-11T23:37:00.000+05:30

My choice of food has a profound effect on my intellect, energy and well-being. Not just the choice of food but also the timing and frequency of the intake. I really don't know if any of you will be able to relate to the post but it's the truth of my life. Had I not been a physically weak kid with a severely dysfunctional diet - don't know if I'd have paid much attention to what goes into my stomach.

Folks of my age revel in the pizzas, pastas, sev puris, pav vadas, pav bhajis and the likes. With a metabolism that comes with our age, this diet is no surprise. No surprise because it caters to the taste buds. The generous layers of mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, onion and other divine ingredients lead to an orgasm for the tongues across the world.

Unfortunately, sometimes an orgasm for the tongue leads to an impotent stomach *Yes, I need some serious help with analogies* So, great tasting food often creates a not so great experience after the food slips down my throat. Hence the question I ask is - Food for the stomach or food for the tongue?

In an ideal world this question would be irrelevant. But in my not so ideal universe, this awareness has brought with it certain choices. The choice to either create a sustained feeling of zest in me or to let my hedonistic tongue rule my body.

Until a few months back, I had no such awareness. To keep up with the dietary prowess of my peers, I put my body through all the foods that evoked feelings of lethargy, restlessness and depression. Foods which did not align with my relatively weak digestion. and it happened for the longest time. Until Yoga came into my life.

Yoga Institute in Santacruz advocates a Sattvic Ahara (diet) which focuses on the nutritional aspect of food alone. Infact, it is a fundamental requirement in the practice of Yoga.

Sattvic diet is food that gives life, strength, energy, courage and self-determination. Sattvic food gives us more than the gross physical requirements of the proper mix of proteins, carbs and fats etc. It also gives us the subtle nourishment necessary for vitality and consciousness. Food is seen as a carrier of the life force called prana and is judged by the quality of its prana and by the effect it has on our consciousness.

With this knowledge and awareness, I am more prudent with my food choices. The pizzas and burgers still exist but they now co-exist with the awareness that I have to replenish my system with nutrients that will allow me to feel better and lighter from within. With food which will allow me to be in greater control of my emotions. And with a lifestyle which allows me to be zestier, healthier and free of disease.

Let me ask you - What do you eat for?

Ahara-suddhau sattva-suddhih, sattva-suddhau dhruva smritih; Smriti-lambhe sarva-granthinam viprarnokshah - By the purity of food follows the purification of the inner nature, by the purification of the nature, memory becomes firm and on strengthening the memory, follows the loosening of all ties and the wise get Moksha thereby.

Shit Happens.

2008-11-06T18:15:00.001+05:30

Today was like any other day. Until that one dreadful moment. Everything was shaping up well. Hot water and lemon did its duty like the soldiers on our war front *Insane metaphor*. The joy on my face transcended into every other action. There was an obvious jaunt in my step. Life was as it should be. Glorious. Until that one dreadful moment. My maid prepared the most delicious lunch. And surprisingly I ate more than my four year old nephew. Until that one dreadful moment. I looked up to the heavens with Sachin as he scored his 40th Test hundred. Watching him play that glorious on-drive to Lee, I thought aloud "Is there anything more joyous than this?". Until that one dreadful moment. Anyway, today unlike any other day - my math accuracy was at an all time high too. When that happens - you simply know that life's good. Until... yes, until that one dreadful moment.

As the voluptious November sun set before my eyes I refrained from switching the lights on. Soaking in all the joy that twilight had to offer, I moved towards the, surprisingly unfinished, lot of Diwali mithais. Kaju Katris and Kaju Puris have traditionally been my favourites. And to retain the decadent consistency of the day I chose not to experiment. Restlessly, in the dying light, I struggled to find the right box. At the bottom of the pile, written in Gujarati in barely legible font, was my treasure trove. Like Gulshan Grover in his rape scenes - I quickly undressed the box. My eyes were gold *metaphor* as I stared at the hordes of uwrapped, glistening Kaju Puris. The sun I saw, from my balcony, was within kissing distance of the horizon. My undressing *unwrapping* skills came to the forefront. In no time - a large, divine, delicious Kaju Puri was sitting in the center of my mouth happily tickling my taste buds. Savouring the taste, I moved towards the window. This was about the time when I took my first bite. And *Crunch* - there it was!

Now *Crunch* was one sound I did not quite associate with Kaju Puris. I was surprised but I gave it the benefit of doubt. I mean you rarely ever analyze why good food is good. It just is. So keeping that golden rule in mind I continued chewing until I reached my next bite. And guess what I heard again? *Crunch*

Something was clearly fishy. I rushed back to examine the box. The light was the kind in which you'd mistake Rakhi Sawant for Rani Mukherjee. But common sense still eluded me. A brand new Kaju Puri was in my hand. I squinted my eyes to see if I could spot some interesting ingredient. It's about the very time when something started tickling me on my arms. Clearly a bad time to start fantasizing hot women I told myself. But the tickling persisted. About time I swtiched on the light, right?
I did.

And holy fuck! ... An army, no a continent full of RED ANTS stared at me from the box. The Kaju Puri in my hand had a few of those fools dancing too. Petrified!, I threw the puri back in the box... my hands swooshing some of the heroes on my arms. "Phew! That was close!", I told myself.

And then came - That One Dreadful Moment. *Crunch* as I bit into the remnants of the original Kaju Puri. The one in my mouth. This is one of those moments when the world laughs at your stupidity, misery and trauma without an iota of guilt. It is also one of those moments when you can't ask them to not laugh at you. I knew Shit Happens. I loved it each time it happened. But now.... I hate metaphors. Especially this one. Because today Shit Happened in a way I never expected.

P.S. :- Anuj was last seen removing fossilized ant bodies from his tongue

A New Voice

2008-11-05T13:27:00.000+05:30

Never before have I felt words evoke so much grace, strength and character. His voice has a quite resolve to it. A voice that not only reassures but also inspires. The man epitomizes poise and equanimity. And his words are but a reflection of those qualities. Like Ankit, I believe this to be the finest speech I have heard in my time. India needs a dynamism like his. It needs a voice which talks beyond crass factional politics. A voice that upholds growth and welfare of a united nation. I wish youngsters like us don't fall prey to shallow voices which depend on vote-bank politics. I, like the rest of you, await that change. Until then, as America celebrates, we will tread carefully under Raj Bhaiyya's (oops... Bhau's) watchful eye.

Rab Ne Bani Di Jodi : First Look

2008-11-02T18:41:00.000+05:30

Bulleted List

2008-10-29T23:34:00.000+05:30

If you're a Wonderwall fan - listen to this outstanding version of the song.
Sometimes, I've found it more difficult to say No to people not close to me. Clearly, it shouldn't be that way. But ironically, it has.
My physical health is intricately linked to my mental health. Just like everyone else's. Only now, I really want to work on my physical health - at both the physical and the mental level.
Why do I realize the worth of people when they are not around me?
I wish to be many things in life. But what I wish to be foremost is - An Entrepreneur. If at all I can become more things, i'd like to be a writer, paraglider, capoerista, photographer, musician, film director. But first and foremost - an entrepreneur.
There were many instances when I couldn't choose between the many things I wanted to be. Poorva asked me, "What do you want to be known as?". Her age (being 73 that she is and her experiences in life) came to my rescue. That's when I realized that I wanted to be an entrepreneur first and everything else, later.
I start dancing each time I listen to "Jaane Kyun" from Dostana
Changing the positioning of my blog from a Writing Playground to a Thought Playground is comforting though I clearly don't want it to become a random rant space. This one entry (hopefully the only one) is an exception. When I have the luxury of time I will use this blessed service to hone my writing skill.
My respect for Mr. Amitabh Bachchan increases multifold with each new entry on his blog. I strongly recommend a read. The man's dedication, commitment to his art, energy, wisdom, intelligence are simply awe-inspiring.
I'd also like to thank the 3 P's on my blog - Poorva, Peru and Pratik (3 of the loveliest girls i've known) for having the kind heart to stay with me on the blog for close to three years now.
Also, i'd like to extend my thank yous to Varun Prasad whose comments have been forever encouraging and Mudra Mehta who, inspite of being an extremely talented writer, grammarian, star-blogger and a Tashan-lover, has given my blog some of her valuable time.
There are a whole lot of other people who have commented under pressure (not the pot one). To them also, I am grateful. Grateful because they chose the right kind of pressure to comment on my blog.
@ Poorva, Peru and Pratik - I will dedicate more post space to you'll in the near future. Please don't stop commenting. You'll won't na? Promise?
I love you all.
Ok. Now my entry is increasingly taking a "written in a drunken stupor" shape.
So, Saal Mubarak! :D

What are you doing?

2008-10-22T23:37:00.000+05:30

Every once in a while a 'what the fuck are you doing with your life?' kind of question pops up from nowhere and especially when I am imagining Monica Bellucci in various stages of undress. My mind, which has no sense of priorities, subtly moves to that dreaded question. Leaving her dress on the floor and my imagined self screaming "Hey, what the fuck do you think you're doing by calling it a day at this utopian moment"? - my mind dances over my insecurities.

Today was one of those days. The question though was more retrospective in nature. It asked me, 'What the fuck have you done in your life?'. *Damn it!* After 14 minutes of "Can I get Monica back! umm.. err.. I'll be done real soon!... Please!!!...C'mmon it's MONICA BELLUCCI you celibate fucker!" I gave up. The question took over. After beating around the bush for a while, the truth basked in its naked glory. Naked Truth or Naked Monica Bellucci? Who would you choose?

For me, it was a day when I finally accepted a certain truth.

The truth that there is an obvious disparity between knowing the knowledge and living it. That knowing how to have sex and having sex are two very different things. I realized that in my 22 years, out of the umpteen thousand things I have read, known and thought to have believed - my only growth has been in height and weight, the latter also being negligible. I've read books on Zen Buddhism, parts of the Gita, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, so many Robin Sharma's pop self-helps ... Infact, I've read bits of The Secret too *in a fit of desperation* ...

But little did I realize that for self help to actually work, you have to help your self. And honestly man, knowing one's self is not rocket science. It simply needs the honesty and earnestness to look at yourself for what you truly are. A dash of ruthlessness can help if you are subconsciously biased to yourself. *Eg : Me*

With objectivity must come acknowledgment and then acceptance. And then the willingness to change the unwanted. Damn, see I am writing like the way they do in those books. Digression :- Sincerely, some reputed self-help practitioners and preachers make the entire process so serious and challenging that it becomes a put-off. And that's true. Most books make self-awareness sombre business meant for the world weary. Isn't it?

And when you only know the knowledge but are not living it, you come across as preachy and philosophical too with mere clutter and little clarity. And I realise how this information overload has taken a toll on my mind. My spontaneity is not spontaneous. I write lines like the last one. And most importantly, Monica Bellucci has begun to lose interest in me.

So, ladies and gentlemen my parting wisdom to you is :

It's a hundred times more beneficial to live the little you know & believe in. Jee haan! Sachi! Anyway, you tell me :

What are you doing?

P.S. - The 'Knowing how to and having Sex' line in Para 3 was just an example to elucidate my point. It certainly wasn't the subject of my introspection. Jee haan! Sachi!

My Daily Bath

2008-10-22T14:42:00.000+05:30

Have you seen the new Limca ad? Delightful! Isn't it? And its airing could'nt have been timed any better. Unrelenting tropical heat. Sundry afternoons. And amidst this grimy sweat comes a hauntingly refreshing melody... I'm drawn each time it plays.

Singer kaun hai yaar? Kya awaaz hai!

Raj-u Ban Ja Gentleman!

2008-10-21T12:03:00.000+05:30

It's a charming morning. The October sun is shamelessly flamboyant and the birds are at their chirpy best. Is it mating season? A little pigeon comes by my pseudo balcony to wish me good morning. He seems well fed. By the way, how does one determine a pigeon's gender?

And guess what! The mugful of hot water and lemon creates magic on the pot. The yellow background on my blog makes me nostalgic about my lil' trip to wonderland. And ironically it's titled Sticky Notes. For once it wasn't :)

Aah, What a good morning!, I say. What joy!, I say.

And then mom comes. Grim-faced. Tells me to rush to our living room. Damn. The man has fucked my morning, again! His hypnotised followers justifying the dastardly acts. The powers that be turning a blind eye to their very conscience. I know a fucked up morning is a trivial inconvenience.

That man has fucked up people's lives.

“When liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood it is hard to shake hands with her.” - Oscar Wilde

That Irreverent Streak

2008-10-21T00:16:00.000+05:30

I think ambition needs a little irreverence. Not insensitivity, but the irreverence and quiet confidence that comes with conviction. Skepticism is Success' fiercest enemy.

Recollect Gurkukant Desai's tiff with a fellow merchant in the cloth market? His inability to paint a larger canvas compelled him to thwart Guru's vision. But that man. What conviction! What self-belief! ... Isn't that what it really takes? Obviously, a lot of other factors come into play. But without a timeless faith in that lil' voice within which says : Hey Anuj, that's your dharma, go live it!... every other thing fails.

So, next time you see irreverence coming at you, ask where it's coming from? It may just not be a frivolous disregard for your thoughts...

Zindagi

2008-10-20T11:43:00.001+05:30

Sometimes, very rarely though, a song comes and penetrates your very soul. Asking why it evokes so much within an otherwise mundane spirit is blasphemous. Zindagi is one such song. Often I have pondered and with much futility on the enigmatic power of music. This song from Rahman's new work of genius (though certainly not his best) is an ode to the pathos of life. This conversational masterpiece sung by Srinivas and penned by Gulzar is one of the my favourite's on the album. Also, Mastam Mastam and Tu Muskura i'd absolutely recommend. For the time being, allow me to gift you this demure classic in the making.

Album Name:Yuvvraaj
Song Name: Zindagi

Zindagi Zindagi, kya kami reh gayi?
Aankh ki kor mein…
Aankh ki kor mein, kyon nami reh gayi?

Zindagi Zindagi, kya kami reh gayi?
Aankh ki kor mein, kyon nami reh gayi?
Tu kahan kho gayi?
Tu kahan kho gayi?

Koi aaya nahin
Do-peher ho gayi
Koi aaya nahin
Zindagi Zindagi

Din aaye, din jaaye
Sadiyaan bhi gin aaye
Sadiyaan re…
Tanhayee lipti hai…
Lipti hai saansoun ki
Rasiya re…
Tere bina badi pyasi hai
Tere bina hai pyasi re
Nainoun ki do saakhiyan re
Tanha re…
Main tanha re

Zindagi Zindagi, kya kami reh gayi?
Aankh ki kor mein, kyon nami reh gayi?
Zindagi Zindagi

Subah ka kohra hai
Sham ki dhool hai
Tanhayee hai
Raat bhi sard hai
Dard hi dard hai
Ruswayee hai
Kaise katein?
Saansein uljhi hain
Raatein badi jhulsi jhulsi hain
Naina, kori sadiyaan re
Tanha re…
Main tanha re

Zindagi Zindagi, kya kami reh gayi?
Aankh ki kor mein, kyon nami reh gayi?
Zindagi Zindagi, kya kami reh gayi?
Aankh ki kor mein, kyon nami reh gayi?

Tu kahan kho gayi?
Koi aaya nahin
Do-peher ho gayi
Koi aaya nahin
Zindagi Zindagi, kya kami reh gayi?
Aankh ki kor mein, kyon nami reh gayi?

I dont know.

2008-10-14T17:35:00.000+05:30

I dont know.

Today like everyday i was at the traffic signal. It was very hot today. Not like other days when it is only raining. I was very hungry also. Had not had food since the last night. But thankfully that college girl gave me a chewing gum. Chewing gum is good to eat when you are hungry. It removes the hunger for some time. I told thank you to the girl with a smile. She told me to brush my teeth. I told her – Didi I do but the water only makes the teeth dirty. I dont know. She made some silly face. Some college girls are nice girls. Very often they share their chewing gums and choclates. But then some are dirty. They laugh at me and my friends or say some dirty things. I dont know but when they have some white wire in their ears they dont care about anything in the world. Rama tells me that we can listen to songs and talk to people from that wire. I told her you are stupid or what. And she anyways says lies so I dont know if she was saying the truth. She says that in Mumbai every second person puts wire in their ears. So funny it is. Maybe she is right. I dont know.

Anyways my favourite buble gum was now in my mouth. Strawberry buble gum I really like a lot. And I like how when i bite in the starting the buble gum breaks and all the strawberry juice comes into my mouth. It is just so yummy. I love to feel that. So then when I was having chewing gum for some time that day Satya – my best friend came to me with a big pav vada. The pav vada was the biggest I had seen in my life. The pav looked yummy. It was soft and not rubber. Mostly we get rubber pav when some person feels like giving us food instead of money. I say why give us such food because one time Rama had such a pav vada and she fall sick. For three days her stomach was paining so much. Full night she cried and Satya and I had to beg in the medicene shop to give us tablets. Medicene shop uncle is sweet. He gave choclate for Rama also. But how many times he will do like this? I dont know. So anyway this Satya’s pav was not rubber and i could smell the lasun chutney inside. My mouth was full of spit. It happens when you want to eat something you like a lot or when you eat after long time. Now I had to remove my chewing gum. Satya was telling me to take it quickly because his signal had stopped and he was losing his dhandha. He told me some abuses and put the pav vada in my hand forcingly and ran across the road. Now I was too hungry to eat so I wanted to quickly throw my favourite strawberry buble gum and eat the vada pav. I was anyways eating chewing gum for a long time.

Normally what I do na is if I have not eaten the chewing gum for too much long time then I put the chewing gum back in the paper then eat food and then after sometime I eat it again. This way I dont waste it.

But today was diffrent. When I removed the chewing gum I realised that there was a problem. I had removed the chewing gum but there was no paper to put chewing gum inside and throw it in the dustbin. I was so foolish. My two fingers were now one because of the sticky gum. Now with extra big vada pav in one hand and three useful fingers in the other hand I was crawling on the road to find some paper. Till last week this paper finding job would be very easy because everyone just throws papers from rikshas and bus but since one week BMC has done good job to clean the road. I like it when people dont litter. Lata Di who is my teacher and has taught us drawing and reading and writing and speaking in English and Hindi always tells us to not throw kuchra on the road. Lata Di is a college student who comes to teach us every evening. We learn on the road only. Because she also does not have lots of money to buy a class for us but she has promised to do something about it soon.

She says that I want all of you kids to be Litterate. And she says Litteracy means when you dont throw paper and chewing gum and spit on the road. She says only people who are not educated and who come from dirty homes dirty the city. But I want to study. And become a big person. Lata Di tells me always that Zaheer you are very smart and you will become successful one day but only if you dont put finger in your nose and eat the dirt. I took many days to stop that habit. Really but I used to like the flavour of the semud a lot. She only has told me to write in this notebook everyday so that I will be able to write in correct English after sometime. I really like Lata Di. I want to be litterate so that she is proud of me. So that no one can say I come from a dirty family. So that people think i am educated. So everytime my friends throws something on the road I just start fighting with them. I tell them that do you want to be known as dirty children from dirty families when you become big? Or do you want to be Litterate? I dont know. It just makes me very angry. I dont like it. I dont know.

Anyway after much searching I finally found a paper and threw my chewing gum in the dustbin. Now I was finally going to eat my vada pav. It was so hot but then the vada pav in front of me made me feel nice. Cars like everyday were making the full air full of smoke. And there was so much of noise and traffic. I feel like removing my ears at times for sometime.

Eating my vada pav with a smiling face I was sitting next to the road. I saw many big people and big cars passing by. And then my eyes went to this big long black car. It was a superb car. Full black with silver outline. And the windows were dark and up. It was so long. I could not properly see who was inside. The car was right in front of me. I told to myself that Zaheer you will buy such a car someday. Again I started eating my pav vada when suddenly the window of the car started coming down. It was superb. Inside the car I saw a young man wearing spectacles. He was reading English newspaper. He looked almost like Hritik Roshan. He was eating a banana and reading together. He looked at me and smiled. His body was also great. I told to myself that Zaheer you must study hard and become like this man. Smart and educated. Just then he made a seeti sound to call me. Looking at me from up to down or down to up I dont remember he gave me one big banana. I was very happy. I told him that I want to be like him when I become big. He smiled again.

Then after 1 minute the signal became green. I waved out to him. He did not see I think. After that - what I saw has just made me very upset. I am not getting sleep also. Why did she teach me the wrong thing? Why did she say that it is the most imporant thing? I cannot understand.

He has studied so much and is such a rich person with a big nice car – then why did he throw the banana peel on the road? Why? He is not from a dirty family then why did he throw it? I can still see the yellow peel with black dots on it in my mind. For ten minutes I was only looking at it. My anger was funny today. I did not want to tell him abuses. It was a funny thing.

And as I am writing this I am thinking. I am thinking that people who are educated and are big people do this kind of behaviour then – Why is Litteracy so very important? Is it?

I dont know.

Zaheer Sheikh
14-10-2008

Rock On!! - Reviewed.

2008-08-29T01:48:00.000+05:30

Caution : Spoilers Below. Read only after watching the movie. Unless you don't plan to watch it. Or don't care about the spoilers.

(Edited)

To X,

Guess who's back? :)))))))

I've just read all the things you've written to me and you've written so much :))) So sweet of you. Thank you... I love reading your mails as you obviously well know.... And the best part about your mails are that they recreate you and your voice in words... And that is just amazing... unlike my mails which I guess are carefully worded, boring at times and mostly introspective...

Anyway, now that I am back, I guess i'll make the most of this opportunity to bore you...

I just returned from Rock On!!

Aaaah.... I am sure you're awaiting my take on the movie with bated breath...

But you will have to wait.

Yes, Rock On!! was a keenly anticipated movie. Promos do these things to you. Also brands. Rock On!! has Farhan Akhtar debuting in the movie. I have savoured his cinema for the kind of sensitivity he brings to all aspects of film-making. From the script to the screenplay - from the use of music and background score to the nuanced performances he is able to extract from his actors - all are a hallmark of a man who knows his stuff. And when you come to know that very Farhan Akhtar is acting in a movie centered around a rock band - at 22, as an avid movie and music buff - the adrenaline certainly starts pumping :))(happens to me atleast!). To add to it, he lends his voice to 5 of the 8 songs in the movie. And then if I said, "I wasn't expecting this movie to meet a certain intangible benchmark" - it'd be an absolute lie. Did the movie meet this benchmark is the big question?

The answer to be absolutely honest is Yes and No.

Rock On!! is the story of 4 friends (Aditya - lead vocalist and lyricist, Rob - keyboard/ programmer, KD - drummer and Joe - lead guitarist) who between the age of 20 and 22 (no exact mention) form a rock band named Magik. For them, music is life. They eat, sleep, breathe, drink music. And each of them passionately believe in Magik - the band. The movie is about these 4 friends/ band members who under certain circumstances and misunderstandings split and lead their individual lives. Lives which are a far cry from the magic of Magic. And that is where the movie begins...

The narrative of Rock On!! is almost rhytmic : present-flashback-present-flashback and so on... and as much as it is about the story of a band with 4 members - it primarily revolves around the lives of Aditya (Farhan Akhtar) and Joe (Arjun Rampal) ... and for me, that was a big let down. Why create a 4 member band when your movie will so obviously tend towards two of them. Instead of being a rollicking story of the life and times of these 4 friends/band members - their chemistry, their joys, their sorrows : the movie focusses on the 2 'lead' characters for most of the screen time.

I may lose the flow of my review so instead let me compartmentalize it into Story & Analysis, & Performances to bring some order...

The Story : The story is quite straight-forward. Successful band. Splits because of ideological differences amongst 2 band members. Music brings them together after 10 years. For their final performance.

Of course, it isn't as vanilla as it was made to seem above. Despite the fact that KD and Rob's characters are thrown in the background - the two tracks centered around Aditya (Farhan Akhtar) and Joe (Arjun Rampal) are fantastically scripted. There are some well directed scenes in the movie which bring about Aditya's (Farhan Akhtar's) dissatisfaction with the material world. He is a fabulously successful (monetarily) Investment Banker who seeks solace in his work by burying his zest for music and poetry and life in one little box in the attic. His wife played by Prachi Desai as Saakshi is the ideal wife whose only pursuit is to help her disillusioned husband find himself. There are some poignant moments in the first half between the couple.

At the same time, Joe Mascarenhas played by Arjun Rampal is the idealist, dreamer ... whose only aspiration was Magic. And after his dream came crashing down, so did he. Unwilling to sell his talent for money's sake - Joe is the perfect example of the idealistic, impractical rebel who you might just run into in one of the bylanes near Mount Mary. His wife (don't know her name) Debbie run his family's fishing business, giving up her own dreams in order to feed her son and husband. For Joe, he knows nothing but to play the guitar. He doesn't understand the dynamics of the consumerist world. He lives in a world of his own. Again, the scenes revolving around Joe's struggles and his languishing family are sensitively handled.

The other 3 tracks are

1. KD's (Purab Kohli) who joins his father's business after the split
2. Rob's (Luke Kenny) who is a programmer/keyboardist with Anu Malik and is obviously dissatisfied with it
3. The 3rd track is the flashback which comes at regular intervals.

Even if Purab and Luke's tracks were mellowed to squeeze in the authenticity of the 'lead' tracks (pardon the sarcasm) - the flashbacks were quite dissappointing. I expected them to be entertaining and memorable - full of camraderie and fun moments akin to what Akash, Sameer and Sid share in DCH just after their college days... And that, for me was the most disappointing part of the movie. There was scope for so much humour (like the Dandia scene - an absolute killer scene) in the movie but alas, in order to keep the realistic tone to the movie, Abhishek Kapoor almost treads the rockumentary path. Who told you rockers don't have a sense of humour? You could have added so many quirky incidents. No dope, no tributes to the greats, no covers, no beer - Why? Beyond a few scenes, the movie never picks up.

The end is also average. Did not make me want to sing with the band at all. Especially the choice of songs : 'Sinbad the Sailor' according to me was the worst choice of song for the finale. 'Tum ho Toh' was excellent and I wish they'd have put 'Saat Dino Mein' at the end instead. The 'Don't Download. Buy CD.' note at the end was damn neat though.

Now to the Performances :

Farhan Akhtar (Aditya - lead vocalist) : Farhan Akhtar makes a smashing debut. Being a non-actor, I may not be able to point out some miniscule flaw in his performance but I was thoroughly impressed by the authenticity with which he plays the suave rockstar as well as the disillusioned Investment Banker who finds his calling again. Watch him in the scene with Prachi Desai after his birthday party. And when Debbie requests him to let Joe off the band in the pre-climax ... and you'll know what I am talking about. He is bloody good. And that unique voice only adds to the flavour of his character.

Arjun Rampal (Joe - lead guitarist) : As the moustached world-weary father, Arjun Rampal does a fabulous job. The fact that his range of expressions are countable on your fingers allows his to flourish in a part where no expressions were asked of him. But as the lead guitarist of Magik, I thought he was pretty weird. Wind blowing through his hair whilst he plays his solos killed it. And that he was expressionless here too, with his solos not matching the actual sound did only more harm. For the last, the director is more to blame for the lack of attention to detail.

Purab Kohli (KD - the drummer) : Alas, he had only that many scenes! The guy is a scene-stealer!!! Abhishek Kapoor may have been threatened by Farhan Akhtar to limit his scenes lest he steal the limelight ... because his character simply begged more screen time. And it is not just the funny scenes. Purab handles the sensitive scenes with aplomb too. Especially the one in the climax where he stands up for himself. From My Brother Nikhil to Rock On!! - he has only grown as an actor. I am your fan man!

Luke Kenny (Rob - the programmer/ keyboard) : Luke Kenny delivers a sincere performance. No histrionics but does what he is asked to with utmost sincerity. I wonder though if he will act in any other film. But if he chooses to, I think he'll do okay.

Debbie (Arjum Rampal's wife) : Debbie (Please help me with her real name, too lazy to google) delivers a power-packed performance. Playing the harrowed wife to an adamant, idealisitic (give me another word) husabnd - Debbie's love and concern for Joe and more importantly the stability of her home is conveyed effectively in some of the scenes where she compells Joe to take up different odds and ends to keep the house running. Her character is also neatly sketched.

Prachi Desai as Saakshi is the absolute find of Rock On!! - I was amazed to see her perform. Not only is she fabulously petite and pretty, she is also a stunning performer. She adds so much depth to the role of a disillusioned(new word here too) husband's wife that my heart went out to her. There are too many wonderful scenes to highlight but special mention must be made of the post birthday-party scene when she discloses her pregnancy. Also when she hums 'Ajeeb Dastaan' at the Channel V party - What a scene! She is clearly the winner for me in this movie. An actor to look out for.

Finally, Rock On!! is a bold effort (not in the way Taran Adarsh means it when he writes it - as a prelude to bad ratings), it genuinely is. There are some very obvious flaws which, if you let your objectivity come to the forefront, will jump at you. My pre-conceived idea (why do I have pre-conceived ideas?) of the movie was that it would be a fabulous celebration of music, life and your most cherished dreams. I was hoping to come out of the movie in a way I came out after watching 'The Pursuit of Happyness' (that same feeling) : but the feeling was quite different. In my head, I appreciated that it was a quality film with good performances and nice music. But in my heart, it didn't move me. It didn't do any Magik for me. Movies which really up the ante are the ones which move your head and heart (TZP, RDB, DCH, Swades, Lakshya, Pursuit of Happyness, Munnabhai's, Dor etc.) - Rock On!! certainly will not belong to that elite league. But having said that it is enough value for your ticket money. So, unless you are expecting the universe, you will come out reasonably happy with the movie.

In any case, I am looking forward to know what the movie did to you. When are you watching it?

Love,
Anuj

P.S. - For N.M.ites - Catch Sharad and Terry perform as part of their band Radio in the movie.

Farhan Akhtar's rendition of One by U2

2008-07-28T13:57:00.000+05:30

The man continues to amaze me with his myriad talents. Check him cover U2's One here - smashing!

& Someday

2008-07-27T17:50:00.000+05:30

& Someday
The light will pierce your morose soul
& The daunting peak
Will become your most glorious goal

Some Place Else

2008-07-08T00:09:00.001+05:30

Far up North...

Is a place

Where Mr. Grass does his famous tango on Red Rooftops

Far up North...

Is a place

Where Mrs. Ocean suffers from her 'Not just Monday Morning' Blues

Far up North...

Is a place

Where Uncle Snow slides down Miss Mountains' voluminous Breasts. Lucky Him.

Far up North...

Is a place

Where Miss Mountains lets Uncle Snow slide down her voluminous Breasts. How Cheap.

Far up North...

Is a place

Where our Old Fella' Sun never goes to bed.

Far up North...

Is a place

Where Madame Sky flirts with Monsieur Clouds quite shamelessly. What Nerve.

And Far up North...

Is also a place

Where Father Rocks and Mother Sand live Happily Ever After.

Because Far up North...

Is not just any other place

The Earth is One.

2008-06-26T00:32:00.000+05:30

Alone.
As I wander.

Over browns of arid lands.
Over flickers of city lights.
Over miles of ocean grey.

I am not lonely...

New faces from origins unknown
Smile at me,
And their warmth melts my soul.
For there may be us on our planet a six billion some,
But in the end...

The Earth is One.

Phirst time Phoren

2008-06-14T21:45:00.000+05:30

1.10 pm IST, 35,000 feet over Kandahar, Afghanistan

I am on my first flight abroad and the excitement is palpable. The sound from my Helsinki bound Finnair engine is a monotonous drone and the dusty, brown middle-eastern terrain runs endlessly as far as my sleepy eyes can see. Jagged mountains, deserted plains and a seemingly irrelevant river make for an incredibly picturesque view. The cloudless sky and the midday sun bake the parched earth. And my sleepy mind directs my eyes to look out for militants training in these desolate hills. There is a fleeting thought of being able to spot Osama run with his men in a secret trail which I could shoot with my 4X optical zoom enabled Canon Powershot A570IS from this paltry height. Alas, such fantasies are short-lived as we soon meet turbulent weather - the kind which forces you to wear your seat belt and start praying. I wonder what atheists do during such times? I guess they'd be listening to music on their iPod.

Many people i know will wish to plug iPod headphones in their ears instead of the customary cotton plugs during their cremation. What a product!

Nonetheless, the turbulent weather allows me to flash-back into the whens and hows of this trip.

On May1, 2007 Sharan, (my dearest school friend), now graduated from the University of Virginia, & I spoke of travelling together to a foreign destination. The oft and well travelled bloke meant it in all earnestness but for me, it was simply a distant dream as is the case with many fellow middle-class Gujarati 21 year olds. And going to phoren is akin to asking Salman Khan to act. Surprisingly, I was very comfortably able to convince my father to grant me a Rs.1.5 lakh budget for my trip to Europe for which I had to contribute 50% of the amount. And that casual conversation, the kind in which you tell your father you want to buy a BMW and he continues reading the paper, was where it all began... Only this time around he looked up and said - Sounds good. *Still pinching*

So now, armed with theplas, bhakris and and a lifetime supply of other sundry 'gujju' food items, I reminiscence Sharan's trip to India in December 2007 when we laid the foundations of our trip. By pulling up maps of Europe and juggling between logistical and financial constraints, we were finally able to zero upon a 23 day trip spanning 3 countries and a one-day trip to catch the Mont Blanc in Chammonix, France as an added attraction. 8 days in Switzerland, 6 days in Italy and 9 days in Norway was how it eventually mapped out. Sidestep.com, Tripadvisor.com, Swissrailpass.com and other angelic .coms came to the rescue. Sharan blessed the internet and wondered how men in the pre-internet era planned a trip. The advantage of booking in advance meant we got reasonably good fares for our flight and hotel bookings. For example - My Finnair flight (Mumbai to Zurich and Oslo to Mumbai) cost me Rs.33,000. So unlike my spontaneous domestic travels, time in such a case is literally money. After completing all the bookings online, the next obvious step was to obtain the respective VISAs. The dreaded 4 letter word of which a first time traveller such as me - had no idea of. Procuring a VISA in my case was A) Time-consuming and B) Draining - the reasons being multifold.

Firstly, I was ignorant. Secondly, I was a blank passport holder. And thirdly - my application was unique. To go to Italy, Norway and France, I had to apply for a Schengen Visa. The Schengen Visa suffices for entry into 15 countries which have signed the Schengen treaty. The contries being Austria, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden
The Netherlands

For a blank passport holder, obtaining a Schengen Visa is challenging purely by virtue of the number of documents they ask for : (The Swiss ask for more or less the same application)

Fully filled and signed Visa form©
3.5 X 2.5 cm matt finish photo (most photo studios will help)
©Covering letter from self stating purpose of visit (in my case it was tourism)©Letter on company letterhead from sponsor (not required in case you are sponsoring yourself. In my case, my father had to submit)
©Last 3 years IT Papers of the sponsor©1 year bank statement
©Photocopy of Passport©A copy of your flight booking along with a copy of your hotel reservations with your name 'explicitly' mentioned on the bookings.
©An itinerary with Day-Place-Country-Sightseeing-Hotel Address to be submitted
©Leave letter from work (If employed. And it works in your favour if you are employed or affiliated with a college)
©A Travel Insurance copy©6 months salary slips from work©1 year bank statement (of the passenger)
©I was asked for a letter stating details of Internal Travel within Europe©Plus a DD of Rs. 4,500 (unsure of the amount)
©©And all this for only a TOURIST visa.

Me thinks, they must be asking for an Encyclopedia on Self, Family and Country if you ever dare to apply for residency. The process of obtaining a Schengen / Swiss Visa is chaotic and painful to say the least. And I was not surprised to see agents thronging these consulates on behalf of the once-upon-a-time humiliated passengers. Unless you are prepared to spend 5 hours of your morning in a queue waiting endlessly for a humiliating stress interview (interview compulsory for first time visitors) or if you have no choice - don't do it. The embassy, especially in the peak season was brimming with people waiting from 6 am (embassy opens at 8 am) The unabashed, loud gujarati conversations will consistently fill in the suffocating embassy office at Maker Chambers 4, Nariman Point and remind you that wherever you are in the world, even if you don't find an Indian - you will find a Gujju. Go Gujju's!. I was fortunate enough to have applied through my friend Disha (rockstar) at International Travel House in Parel. And even though i was supremely hard-pressed for time, I am ON my aircraft flying on schedule which talks volumes about their efficiency, my desperation and the very important thing called destiny. For first time travellers like yours truly, I recommend their guidance if you are applying from India. As per the Swiss Consulate's requirement - you MUST apply for the Schengen or any other country's visa you intend to visit before or after Switzerland before applying for the Swiss Visa. The Swiss Consulate (rather ridiculously) asked for Sharan's visa as a pre-requisite to grant me a Visa. Since he was in USA and applying late - I obviously could not submit it. They also told me that I may have to postpone my trip till I was able to submit his visa copy. What nerve! At that moment, in my heart, I had shown the Swiss consulate my middle finger. My money, my time, my energy - and after having succumbed to all their innocuos documentation requirements, they still threaten me trip-postponement. For 2 days, in deep-stress, I procured a letter from Sharan (forged one ;) with the help of my friend Devina who fabulously forged his signature) stating his inability to send the visa. I sourced his passport and I20 copies. And finally after a reinterview (this time a considerate, sweet lady) - I struck gold! Anyway, its been great learning. I now know what not to do. The Schengen Visa, the Italian Embassy states, may take upto 10 working days. I got it in 4 days itself. But be wise to give yourself room for re-application. The Swiss Visa takes less than 3 working days. The earlier you apply - more the time to accomodate last moment mishaps. No Travel House/ Agent guarantees a Visa so pointing a finger is futile. If your apllication is sound, genuine and in time - invariably you will get it. I can write an essay on the Trials and Tribulations in getting a Swiss/Schengen Visa. Again, experiences are subjective - so some may ride it easy ... others may get harassed. With more trips (hopefully) i'll be able to judge the process better. Anyway, i've been typing for quite a while now. I am really looking forward to meeting Sharan at Zurich. My only concern is that my delayed flight from Mumbai may not allow me to take my connecting flight to Zurich. I remember excerpts from Bachchan's blog and Harivanshrai Bachchan's words - Man ka ho to acha. Man ka na ho to aur bhi acha. If what your heart desires, happens - good. But if what your heart desires does not happen - even better. So, on that optimistic and poetic note - I end my lil' note from the skies. It was Visa centric, I realise, but then as a self-enrolled member of the travel community, sharing such information is vital.

Anyway, they're screening a Finnish soft-porn movie in some time. Time to tranquilize those hormones.

Adios.

P.S. - I am back from my trip but these are my entries which I MUST post or else it'll be a horrid waste of phone memory. And since some of you are STILL kind enough to visit my blog. Please be party to the suffering. And no - I don't write for myself.

Miracles in the Wind

2008-04-07T12:13:00.000+05:30

The amber sun is setting on me.
And the summer winds bring warmth.
I breathe.
As my wing bobs on the kind thermal.
Time stands still.
The past fades into oblivion.
And the future is now.
I breathe again.
My lungs are charmed.
They know this is not the usual.
And moist eyes.
They tell me.

Son, we call them Miracles in the Wind.

New Delhi, India

2008-01-09T18:27:00.000+05:30

Those Hidden Jewels...

2007-12-29T23:01:00.000+05:30

As I rummage through the countless photographs on my laptop - my weary eyes light up as they see some timeless expressions captured by my seeking companion. The pictures leave no room for the written word and rightly so. These little jewels do justice to the hours that I have put behind the camera. Because, the heart of photography is not as much in technique as it is in the humble intention of reducing life's beautiful moments into an immortal frame.

Children of the Mountains

The Discovery of Innocence

Dil Chahta Hai kabhi naa beetein chamkeeley din

The Anatomy of Dissent

Leg Glances on Sunday Afternoons

The Freedom of Imagination

Abstraction

Gandhigiri - Live

The Magic of 3

The Gateway of Expression

:D

Campus Flamboyance

Miracles in the Wind

Humanoids

Faith.

2007-12-20T00:24:00.000+05:30

Hotal Relax International

2007-12-02T23:50:00.000+05:30

India is fascinating. Not only for its diverse landscapes and the eclectic mix of cultures but also for its eccentric sense of humour.

In tribute : Pasted below are 10 photo-stamps of how we tweak English, Intellectual Property Rights and the rules of grammar to create some silly, some ridiculous and almost all ignorant, instances of PDI - Public Display of Indianness.

For me, I love this grammatically incorrect flavour of India. It gives me enough reason to spend a couple of hours in the hotel-crowded, people-infested streets of Pahargunj in New Delhi. And I come back to my room with a huge grin on my face. The grin stemming not so much from what I see but from the underlying humour that misses the eye.

Tibetan Market, Nainital, Uttaranchal

And we thought it was Adidas all this while? I was so disappointed to know that the brand I long cherished, admired and flaunted was actually Adedas. The Tibetan Market in Nainital - pioneers in original imported goods were the ones who enlightened me two weeks back. Anyway, its not too late - Ribok and Nikke have not yet entered the market. Waiting for some competition in the high-performance sports goods sector...

Streets of Vapi, Gujarat

Aptly abbreviated, BP met the eyes of three innocent young men on their way to an innocent young village named Sonwada near Vapi. The title demonstrates the surplus of creative talent in our country and that directors like Farah Khan can do better than call their movies "Om Shanti Om"

Pahargunj, New Delhi

Imagine a bamboo hanging right in the middle of a bustling street. Its height - just about enough for you to scrape under it. Why the bamboo? Cuz Dal Fry is Rs. 8/- and Roti is Rs. 1/- only. Reason enough to paste a huge yellow banner on a shaky bamboo to create yet another Indian promotional delight.

Bhimtal, Uttaranchal

This unique board was stationed outside the scenic Bhimtal lake. Sometimes good intentions can go awry. But nonetheless, my heart-felt (devoid of sarcasm) appreciation for the tourism board for initiating awareness. You left me with a message and a smile. For both, I am thankful.

Pahargunj, New Delhi

Now, Pahargunj in New Delhi could make its way into the Guiness Book really soon. Since my hotel was in this locale, I had the opportunity to soak in the place. My hotel was in this lane named Ram Nagar (famous for everything Lord Ram wouldn't have associated himself with.) And in a lane of 300 metres, I hand-counted 40 salons (or saloons as they call them here.) Now they can't possibly be cutting hair off from anywhere besides the head - atleast me thinks. Nonetheless, these barber-shops had some hilarious names and taglines. Some offered massage service in your room and others like the one above were for both Ladis and Gents. And yes, they are not barber-shops... they are Beauty Saloons.

Off Palika Bazaar, New Delhi

From Connaught Place, on your way to the New Delhi Metro Station - you will find *hold your breath* India's largest collection of desi porn magazines. A feast for the senses, this place is nothing short of a heritage site. You will find Amisha Patel pose in the double X rated - "Love Hua". Then there is the globally popular "Madhosh" and "Sabnam", both of which were selling like hot cakes. Unfortunately, these magazines did not offer pictures and were only erotic reads in Hindi. But probe the guy a little and he will show you his private collection of nude photo mags. And boy! - he had some collection... As you may have guessed, I spent a chunk of my time here when I visited Delhi.

For the travel weary in Pahargunj, let me present to you, none other than Hotal Relax International. The tagline is the classic "We care for you". Look closely and you'd be able to appreciate the slick logo that makes this hotal truly international.

I wonder how British tourists react to such nuances of the English language as is in the case on our left. Massorie, Jambu & Udaypur (Yo!) are must-visit places. Of course, if there are commuting problems then "Availabl on Haire are Latest Car & Coaches"

Ram Nagar, New Delhi

Bhimtal Lake, Uttaranchal

"The public toilet is ahead. Please control till you reach your destination. Don't soil the road like a shameless fucker. This message is for both Ladis and Gents"

10)

Kala Ghoda, Mumbai

In the heart of upmarket South Bombay. In the artsy-fartsy surroundings of Kala Ghoda. In an ambience that respects the power of words and visuals - Why would you name your shop what you have? Why?

----------------The End---------------

Come and Get Lost

2007-11-22T14:33:00.000+05:30

As my feet slipped on the morning forest dew, I bent to clear the assortment of forest witherings to make my way towards Ram Singh - my forest guide. An unattended brochure of a luxury forest resort met my eye. The leftover of a reckless tourist gave me the words I was looking for.

It's title read : Come and Get Lost - The Binsar Forest Retreat.

And that is what this cozy haven perched on top of Almora is all about. It brings to life Pico Iyer's words like never before :

We travel, intially, to lose ourselves;
and we travel, next, to find ourselves...
And we travel, in essence, to become
young fools again - to slow time down
and get taken in, and
fall in love once more...

Nestled in the heart of Kumaon hills is Binsar, a picturesque, sleepy hamlet only 30 kms off Almora, Uttaranchal. It is 120 kilometres from Kathgodam, the nearest rail route. Perched at an impressive altitude of 8,000 feet, it offers a majestic view of the snow covered Himalayan peaks - the mesmerizing ranges Chaukhamba, Trishul, Nanda Devi, Shivling and Panchchuli. From here, on a sunny day, you can have a glimpse of the holy shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath and Gangotri. Binsar also happens to be a trekking paradise. One can trek in the salubrious air, amidst misty mountain tralls, towering oaks and rhododendrons. This sleepy hamlet amidst orchards, silver streams and green meadows, has unmatched beauty to offer.

For my trip,I opted for a taxi ride from Kathgodam to Binsar which cost me Rs. 750/- I was riding with my mother and the price worked out to Rs. 375/- per head. Taxi's normally don't go all the way to Binsar and most tourists take another ride from Almora to Binsar (30kms). The ride from Kathgodam to Almora (90 kms) is across the Kumaon hills with dense pine and deodhar forests to add to the delight which some scenic rivers that flow through the valley provide. Almora is a lovely town with a population of 40,000. Uttaranchal is dotted with places that have a connection with the mystic mythological stories of ancient India. The stories sound ridiculously surreal to the naked ear but the people here strongly believe in the existence of the tales. In any case, they are very imaginative and interesting to hear. It is unfortunate that tourism here does not get the attention it deserves because the place is truly beautiful. But the lack of development ensures that you break your head bargaining with taxiwallahs for every ride. My experience backed by some research tells me that I paid a just price for my ride.

The ride from Binsar to Almora is back-breaking to say the least. I thought of using 'bumpy' but realised I would be very biased to the place to call the ride only 'bumpy'. But the place does justice to the pain. At 8,025 feet is an isolated rest house that offers a remarkable view of over 300 kms. of the Himalayan mountain range. The rest house is a property of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam which has access to some of the best locations in Uttaranchal by virtue of it being a government body promoting tourism.

The price at Rs. 900/- per room is undeniably very good. The charm of the place is that they offer only three hours of solar-generated elecrticity per day from 6p.m. to 9p.m. The nights are candle-lit. Sunrises from the hotel are the most awaited. The darkness of the night breaks into the madenningly beautiful dawn. At dawn you can see the sun rays kissing the western face of the Himalayas to create a stunningingly picturesque moment. So much so that I am ashamed to use words to describe it. Each morning of my 3 day stay was unique.

On one particular morning, after it had rained the previous night, the clouds formed a carpet of white over the nearby villages to create an unreal scenery for all of us at the Tourist Rest House. For kilometres across the Kumaon Hills, the valleys were covered in a thick layer of white clouds. For hours - unmoved, sleepy and languid - these clouds revelled in the early morning sun. The image still creates magic as I write about it.

Lastly, Binsar is not a place to go with family for 3-4 days because it offers precious little for tourists on the move. But if you want to lose yourself to the rhythmic beauty of virgin nature. If you want to heal. If you want your soul to dance again. Come to this incredible little place in our country.

...And your soul will not stop dancing again

The 6,57,000 Hour Long Movie

2007-05-23T16:01:00.000+05:30

Who does not enjoy going to the movies? Scrambling through Bombay Times at a random time on a random Tuesday to catch the latest offering is an experience missed by few. Be it your college gang, the promiscuous couple or the solo movie buff – each of these categories makes its way to the cinemas to celebrate the movies.

And as the hours inside the theatre tick by, an interpretation makes its way into the recesses of the mind. Ofcourse, this interpretation is supported by the very versatile F word. Ranging from “What a Fuckin’ good movie dude!” to “Fuck All” to “Fuck man, it was sooo lengthy”. And as the junta moves out of the theatre it creates a place for this movie in the archives of cinema history.

I also know of some 6 Billion people directing movies too. And it’s a mere 6,57,000 hours long or 75 years for the numerically challenged . The movie is unanimously titled “My Life” for each of these filmmakers.

It’s a fascinating idea this and it struck me as words poured out of Raju Hirani’s (Munnabhai fame) mouth. He opined that the seat of the editor is a most powerful one. The position allows the movie-maker to ensure that the movie is tailored to suit the director and the audiences’ taste. It also gives him the ability to delete irrelevant parts. Surely, its an amazing place to be.

The question that hit me was – What if we could edit our own lives? Of course the flipside and the irrelevance of the question was that editing is a post-production process or atleast a post filming process. Thus editing can only happen at the age of 75 when we are reciting tales to our grandkids using the powerful tool of selective memory.

The above paragraph may have been a futile exercise of the unemployed mind but I thought I'd hang onto that thought. And the question that followed was rather interesting. For obvious reasons the seat of the editor holds no value in our life. So the question is – How do we direct “My Life”?

The answer screamt out – Direct your movie without an Editor.

And that captured it all.

The Underlying Philosophy – We are on the sets of “My Life” all the time. The camera is rolling all the time. And there is no CUT. So, the challenge is – To shoot it in a way that is fulfilling as a scriptwriter, satisfying as a director and entertaining for the audience. Remember you have 6,57,000 hours. Unbelievably long or short depending on the script of your movie.

Remember :- The challenge is that you can’t ever edit it. You can’t ever change a frame once its shot. It could either be the most exciting movie making experience or one that you’d get tired shooting mid-way. If it’s the latter, spare a thought for your audience.

So make sure you’re directing the right script. Make sure the actors are ‘your’ best choices and that your soul sinks into every frame of your movie.

I want to ensure my movie is worthy of directing. I am searching for ‘my script’. I hope you’ve found yours.

Cheers,
Anuj Gosalia
Director
‘My Life’

On Travel

2007-05-14T11:42:00.000+05:30

We travel, intially, to lose ourselves;
and we travel, next, to find ourselves...
And we travel, in essence, to become
young fools again - to slow time down
and get taken in, and
fall in love once more
- Pico Iyer

The Strange-r Connect...

2007-04-27T14:57:00.000+05:30

6.15 p.m. : Mapusa Station, Goa, India

The Sun sets beyond an unassuming brown hill as Sam and I sit on the benches of this picturesque Goa station. Our eyes meet a firang backpacking couple's as they prepare for another 'Indian Railways' journey across our diverse lands. "Would you wish to sit?", we offer the lady some room on the bench. She gladly accepts it. I wasn't surprised (the backpack seemed heavy).

"What train are you taking?", "Where are you from?", "How was India?", "Ooo.. How's the weather like in Italy?", "What you saying, you don't like cricket?", "How can 10 men wait for the ball to come and do nothing till then?", "Varansi is mystic, don't you think so?", "What! You haven't been to Varanasi?", "Ain't India a religious country?", "Is India still elephants on road and snake charmers for westerners?"

What started as a simple act of chivalry ended up becoming one of the most beautiful human connections i've experienced so far. Fred and Joe, the lovely Italian couple, allowed me to marvel at the unpredictability of life and the realisation that there must always be room for such unusual, unexpected connections. The kind which make life not seem like a computer generated programme.

Because when you look back at life, you don't want to see a time-table that you followed rigorously. I don't intend to prophecise a vagabondish existence nor am I promoting randomness. What I wish to share is : that in my humdrum of daily existence I have lost so many Fred's and Joe's that, until I met them, I had come to a point of indifference to the strangers around me.And you may wonder why the need to be open to such random quirks of fate?

All associations - frivolous or intimate - begin with a mutual statement "We were strangers till we got to know each other." So you never know, there may be a beautiful person waiting to know you.

Again, It is a very personal choice and one that I strongly adhere to. One of "my" primary reasons of existence on planet earth is to travel new lands not through a Raj Tours & Travels but with my Lonely Traveller book, camera, backpack and compass. To meet new people not because its cool to chat up with foreigners but to genuinely exchange a part of my life for theirs. To part with some of what I am and what my country and my upbringing has made of me and take back some of theirs.

My travel ideas are primitive and it probably explains why I get this strange sense of comfort when i meet like-minded foreigners travelling in India. I feel responsible to fulfill their need to explore by showing them not what the guide book asks them to see but to help them connect with our country, our people, our joys, our sorrows. Its no good to travel as a tourist because what you come back home with is mere photographs of exotic locales, magnificent monuments and a heavy shopping bag. But the essence of travel is beyond these obvious. As Coelho says "Its in the cafe's and bars - the alleys and small homes - Its in the ordinary guy who you may be able to talk to and who shows you the oft unseen"

The essence of travel is in meeting the one stranger who makes the journey worth it. It is in this very strange-r connect that the heart of true travelling lies.

My India

2007-01-24T20:30:00.000+05:30

My Dream

As I snuggle into my blanket warm,
I sense the magic come along;
The magic... of an India New,
Of domestic virtues and a worldly view;
My India transcends me into lofty dreams,
Of triumphant mountains and sunlit gleams;
Dreams of men who strive to lead,
Sowing global plants with an Indian seed;
And I see empowered women too,
Powerful in thoughts, words and the things they do;
Communal harmony, abolished casteism make their way,
Into my India, my India of another day;
Our culture too soaks in out heritage,
My India is akin to a bird out of cage;
My nation finds flight in prosperity,
What with economic freedom and eradicated poverty!;
India dances in colours as well,
Its vibrant diversity makes me swell
with pride; I sleep and nurture my land,
Holding its sanctity in a grain of sand;
Well Almost.

Almost till Mr. Reality dawns on Me,
Tells me "Son, dreams are never meant to be!";
I ask him, "Mr. Reality what makes you so convinced?";
He says, "Do not argue! - Take my heed";
Anguished, I tell him : "I seek the Truth!",
Aggravated, He says, "Go Ahead. I will follow suit";
So as I live another Indian day,
Mr. Reality lets his tongue wagger the Real Way;

The Indian Day, The Real Way

As I gently brush my pasted teeth,
I observe the toothbrush and its manufacturing feat;
"Son, by falling prey to multinational brands,
You aren't increasing domestic but their selfish demands";

Pondering over that nationalist thought,
I let the water run unstopped;
He said, "Water, like other resources, is flowing away,
You will sell diamonds to buy water, someday"

The train, as I get in, for college today,
Is crowded with men and sweat gone astray;
"Crippled infrastructure and population disorder,
Is the way of your Law & Order?";

My college meets me with a lecture free,
My dissent for the professor compounds my glee;
"The essence of education is the stimulation of the mind,
Alas! for the multitude who seek but do not find";

And as my friends and i engange in mindless banter for hours,
We spare little thought for a country that is Ours;
"The mother needs her children strong,
Mental strength, brute force and an attitude that tolerates no wrong";

Tolerates No Wrong in the judiciary
Tolerates No Wrong in the administration
Tolerates No Wrong in the name of liberalisation
Tolerates No Wrong in the name of conservatism
Tolerates No Wrong in the name of right
Tolerates No Wrong...

In the darkness of the night,
I see a beggar's plight;
"Poverty, my child, is not God's delight,
Together to uplift - We must strive, We must fight";

I looked at Mr. Reality in the eye,
And as he looked back, he heaved a gentle sigh;
Of concern, of despair and helplessness,
Of feeling disempowered, of feeling less;

He spoke of inflation, corruption and disparity too,
His voice now louder and it only grew;
Questioningly, as I retire after my day spent,
The last ounce of optimism I need to vent;

A Belief

Civilizations survive in their quest to become the ideal society. Over two thousand years my India has relentlessly strived to become its absolute self. It has stumbled, stuttered, scraped, fallen...risen to fall again but It never gave up. At this moment in time, heroes from the hallowed portals of our ancient past voice their wisdom - "Tread the path of excellence with a fearless mind. Live the noblest life for yourself and your India". Because when dreams meet vision and vision meets clarity, they form Belief. My India is no longer a dream, it is my Belief.

A Belief that rises to the occasion and exults : "Its time to fly..."

What's your New Year's Resolution?

2007-01-01T23:19:00.000+05:30

The concept of a New Year, the celebration and all the hoopla has missed my probing mind for twenty years now. Apart from the alcohol and a pseudo school reunion that invites my attention every year, the higher purpose has deluded me - always. So today, from my exceedingly busy schedule of doing nothing I spare whatever time is required of me to understand the significance of a New Year.

The New Year for obvious reasons will make us write 2007 or 07 in our notebooks if and when we choose to go to college. Also the accounts sums will feature the new year in the form of "You are required to prepare a balance sheet as on 31st March 2007". Beyond these academic significances none have been important enough to draw my curiosity.

Anyway, I am pleased that I am now exploring the fundamentals of a New Year albeit a little philosophically.

A school friend of mine and i'd liberally take his name, a certain Mr. Mayav Movdawalla worked under the premise that what you do on the first day of the year more or less sums up the year for you. He would practice mathematics etc. rigorously on any such auspicious day. I did something similar. I got drunk.

Sorry to go a lil' off tangent but this is a very candid write. So logical sequence and other such inconsequential things will obviously be missing.

Coming to why Mayav practiced such unpopular practices was I believe to anchor his priorites in life. Anchoring or soaking deeply into the subconcious your innermost commitments is very essential. Because when you anchor or commit deeply enough, your subconcious does the hard work of remembering your priorites for you. Its akin to the subconcious action of shifting the car gear into neutral mode every time you take the driver's seat. Subconscious Reinforcement, i'd say. Aanh... and thus resolutions happen to be an integral part of a New Year celebration.

Hmmm... that puts forth the questions then :

A) Would I participate in the "What's your New Year's resolution" activity?
B) If yes, How should I go about?
C) Pehle haan to bol.

NO would have been my obvious reply and would also make for a lame end to this uber cool exercise. So, after donkeys' years I shall be a part of the "What's your New Year's Resolution?" Event. I would obviously choose to word "Resolution" differently because resolution as on Pg. 445 of the New Oxford English Dictionary means a promise to self, lasting for as many hours as the alcohol effect on the day of such an act of promise to self. (Often used in logic examples as If alcohol then resolution)

Now that question A) is answered we will look at the seemingly trivial "How should i go about it" question. I mean isn't it as easy as :-

Ladies and Gentlemen, on this special day, December the 31st, of the year 2007 which allows me to live like Bond (007) I, Mr. Anuj Jayant Gosalia, resolutely resolve to drink alcohol only socially and that I am inherently an introvert and that social gatherings along with alcohol shall henceforth be restricted to social gatherings which serve alcohol. I also on this sacred day resolve to resolutely resolve. And also to understand what resolve and resolutely mean in the New English Oxford Dictionary.

By around this time I should have received my first round of applause by my goodwill ambassadors. Thankyou.

So as seen from the aforesaid extract of my friend Mayav's very popular "How to take Effective Resolutions & Doing Other Unpopular Things" (Pg. 792) you can see that it is an easy task.

Damn. Lost ground again. Question B) and typical self-help answer beckons.

Going about what resolutions to take and how to go about them is a very personal issue. Typically the 4R's should work well namely Reflection, Realization, Resolution and Resurrection. I personally too wouldn't want to glamorize the exercise and wish to retain its sanctity. Because our year just like our life is in our control. Some moments, some cirumstances, some freak events do disturb the alignment but not our faith. Because life like history is a bad motorist. It will not warn us of the upcoming hairpin or an unnerving bump nor will it flash the "Express Way" banner. Year after year and moment after moment we are asked to make a choice. We don't need a special day to make special choices. But if our unspecial, ordinary lives walk that lil' extra on this day towards an extraordinary life, then this day is worth celebrating. I've always held that our values, our beliefs, our passions, our family, our work, our friendships and our integrity to all of these will determine the kind of life we will eventually lead. So today I raise a toast to Integrity. Integrity in thought. In words. And in action. Because many men come on the battle field with bold thoughts, some with words too. But the man who triumphs is the one who does what he thinks and at the age of seventy years and forty seven days speaks to his grandchild about it.

So to all, including me, who think and talk but little do. Lets turn the tables this year. Let all gas and no shit be restricted to gastro-intestinal disorders only.
And for all those who've read until here, may I ask you :

What's your New Year's Resolution ? ;)

Cheers,
Anuj Gosalia
Integrous

My Poem

2006-12-12T14:49:00.000+05:30

There are poems that move you to tears,
And there are poems that address allying fears;
There are poems, intellectual and profound,
And there are poems that make the world go round;

And then, there is my poem...

My poem arrives with an exalted cry,
Promises celebration until I die;

My poem walks on its tiny feet,
I learn to drive before taking the seat;

My poem sees life in its purest form,
With joy in my heart and my heart full of song;

My poem revels in mischevous pranks,
Of childhood days and spontaneous cranks;

My poem talks about a man called Father,
Life without him is "no life" rather;

My poem tells me about a woman named Mother,
Her blessings and food - like no other;

My poem meets its adolescent life,
In all its glory and impulsive strife;

My poem soaks in the glee of its first crush,
The brashness, the risque and all that mush;

My poem raises a toast to the word - friendship,
How can i let those precious hands slip?

My poem celebrates the world of relationships,
Not money, not fame but the small joys from life's trip;

The small joys...

My poem encompasses the break of dawn
My poem sings the last song of dusk
My poem bathes in silver ponds
My poem drinks the nectar they call water
My poem relishes the chocolate mousse
My poem savours the roadside food
My poem dances to random notes
My poem sails the sunshine boat

My Poem...

My poem as of today is at an important juncture,
Will it tread the unconventional or the popular culture? ;

But then my poem steers its own course,
Tells me, thats how I shall meet my source;

My poem inculcates some values too,
Of discipline, hardwork and distractions few;

My poem rings in the old world charm,
Of chivalry, romance and everything warm;

And then my poem felicitates the perfection of man,
That if I want, I certainly Can;

My poem knows that there is that much time,
Why sulk, why crib, why mourn, why whine? ;

My poem finally expresses the power of love,
The force that makes dastard men rise above;

My poem ends with a noble thought,
In the end, men and grass will become nought;

So, my poem is a gift from God. Just like your poem and yours too.

Because my poem is not mere words on paper.

My poem is ME.

Anuj Gosalia

On the hows and whys of Himesh Reshammiya

2006-11-28T01:55:00.000+05:30

India is a "hero-starved" nation. A nation that seeks heroism in all walks of life. History in the form of Ramayana, Mahabharata, the War of Independence are testimony. Our heritage is a reflection of our chain of thought. The present era is no different. From Sachin Tendulkar in cricket to SRK in the movies, India wants or I may dare to say needs to identify with a demi-god in human form. And this incessant need creates a market waiting to be tapped. Given this background, it is not surprising that mediocrity is often elevated to heroic proprtions to fit the need of this market by smart brand managers. Pull the right strings and you'd end up becoming the toast of this nation. One such man who's got his game spot-on is none other than Mr. Himesh Reshammiya. He works on a simple premise that India needs a rockstar. And he claims to have all the makings of one. Not a singer, not an actor but a rockstar. A rockstar minus the pseudo phirang antics of unkempt long hair and electric guitars. This man works and how.

The Big Idea : Presenting to you the One and Only Indian Rockstar - Himesh Reshammiya. A distinct brand identity that will strike a chord with the man in Sonwada village, Gujarat as well as the club-hoppers in Palk Street, Kolkatta.

As much as I despise his genre of music, I belong to a miniscule section of like-minded individuals. "HR's genre" of music itself speaks volumes about his penetration in the music industry.

The Real Picture: Close to one-third of India's population sways to "Aap ka Suroor" and his other anthems. So what works for the man?
Lets dig deep into one of the most fascinating case-studies in Brand Creation and Brand Building.

1. Brand mein dum hai kya ? :- Starting his career as a music director, Himesh got initially noticed for his upbeat numbers in 'Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya'. Himesh then did a series of Sallu flicks. The initial recognition gave him the much needed encouragement that a new brand requires in a fresh market. This was his testing gorund. He had succeeded in understanding his brand potential.

2. Starting mein full public mein nahin aane ka :- Himesh underplayed to a large extent in his initial years. HR as a brand was largely unrecognised. Premature entry of a product into an over-crowded market can be disastrous. Himesh waited for that one elusive hit film.

His official mass recognition as a music director came with Tere Naam. An album that found superior brand loyalty with rickshawallas, chaiwallas etc. The songs attained junta popularity. Remember the "Lagan Lagi's" in rickshaw rides across the city? Tere Naam ensured that he had a market for his music. Even then, the music was not Himesh. It was an old-school, Nadeem Shravan-ish genre of music. It was of importance that he offered something unique to the audience for longevity.

Understanding your product in terms of market offering is very essential. A Nestle Munch might be an excellent product but Kit-Kat will always have the upper hand in brand recall with regards to waferbiscuit chocolates. For a brand to become huge it has to be novel, one-of-a-kind.

3. Experimental Jhol-Jhal :- Aashiq Banaya Aapne took the nation by storm. Himesh lended his vocals to his song for the first time. It worked and how. To experiment with your talent is essential to attain the big break. He'd have never known that had he not tried.
Post the phenomenal success of "Aashiq Banaya Aapne" Himesh was quick to understand and realize that he had hit the right formula. Capturing what works and not making it a 'One-Off' worked in his favour. Post which he adhered to another simple philosophy : If it ain't broke, don't fix it !

4. Senses ko fultoo trap karne ka :- This was probably the moment when he realised that he had found his ticket to fame. Behind the mic made him unidentifiable. Rockstars aren't shy to expose themselves, their emotions. The true-blue rockstar is the macho man who can cry for his beloved without giving two hoots about what people think of him. This was his identity. A man that would pull the senti string of an emotional nation and mesmerize them.

5. Brand design jhakaas hona mangta :- Reshammiya has developed his trademark style of composition, based on pop music and catchy techno beats. He also places a particular emphasis on melodic hooks to his songs. Reshammiya has a unique fashion sense that makes him a recognizable face within and outside the Indian film industry. He wears a baseball cap and is usually seen wearing a pair of jeans with a conspicuous belt buckle along with his trademark stubble. The way he holds the mic with the bottom facing upwards and the trench coat that he wears in concerts and his videos are also consistent elements of his style. His packaging is flawless, distinct and consistent. Cadbury has been purple with white fonts ever since its inception and its taste has been more or less the same in years too. The same funda works for the man. Distinctive music, distinctive style.

6. Aage kya? :- The man is everywhere and his music videos have nearly saturated the market. The "In your face" approach worked in the initial stages of Himmy hysteria. Now a lot will depend on his next move. He realises that people are getting used to his monotony. But Himesh bhai has another ace up his sleeve. Three aces infact.

a) Aap ka Suroor - The Real Luv Story (The Moviee) : Yes our man explores new grounds in what seems to be a movie based on his love-life. See the use of the word "Luv" and "Moviee". As wannabe as they seem to the urban junta, it works with the masses. Time will tell. Don't be surprised if the movie breaks a few box-office records especially overseas where he has a loyal and an ever-increasing fan base.

b) HR School of Music - This one is a super-hit because a dearth of music schools is a genuine problem and also an unexplored market.

c) HR's signature line of clothes - A bold move in his effort to extend the Himesh Reshammiya brand. Quality and resemblance to his outfits will determine success. Pricing will also be decisive. The upmarket liberal spenders will avoid coming close to his line of clothes. The 'aam aadmi' will buy if it offers VFM.

This effort was to determine and rationalize how brands work and why certain brands gain far-reaching popularity. One cannot negate the luck factor and the man's hardwork and fierce ambition to succeed while analyzing him. But a lot of us work hard and are supremely ambitious. But there is only one SRK, one Sachin Tendulkar and one Himesh Reshammiya *I am saddened to put him in that league but am only getting used to it*. The difference is that their ambition is backed by keen insight and heightened awareness. To conclude his journey in the words of Robert Frost :

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

Mr. Nine

2006-10-29T11:03:00.000+05:30

An English Gentleman named Mr. Nine,
Took, one eve, an Indian lady out to dine,
And he called a five course meal for two ;
The chef bought in the wine and cheese,
Waiter! she said, "Serve the rasmalai please",
Aghast, he looked at her in disdain.

As he sat, observing the seconds' hand,
Her etiquette mellowed his erotic gland,
Giving our man reasons enought to whine;
At that moment he saw Madame Emily Stitch,
Hard men call her the promiscuous bitch,
And so a Stitch in time saved Nine.

Warsaba : of A Timeless Love

2006-09-21T20:34:00.000+05:30

I am brimming with nostalgia. My naked feet pave a pathway on an otherwise isolated canopy of untamed trees, shrubs and creepers. Smiling to myself, laughing loudly at times, I make the forest come alive. The wrinkles make miniscule waves on my tarred cheeks as I smile from within. The trees bend like teenage gossipers wanting to hear musings about random first-loves. Cackles of devilish laughter paralyze the bees in the midst of their nectar-nal activities. Against the white, blue currents of the river I sit on the forlorn rock. Gathering my breath I make my way to the adjacent entrance. It is a bright red gate. There are balloons and christmas-trees adorning the gate. The walls are done up in punky graffiti. Inspite of the solemness and sanctity attached to the place, it gives out another reason to live.One of the wall reads "So, how was the ride dude?". Another reads "Where's the party tonight?" and the huge, spray-painted sidewall screams : Bravo!. In a secluded corner, in metal,was engraved - Cemetery.

"Rohaan Carnegie", he cleared his throat as he introduced himself in his unwarm voice. A sense of deja vu ran through him as he took his name for the second time in 48 years. "Parinaz", "Parinaz Ahana". 'Mera Lucknow se aana', I giggled as I introduced myself.'

I recollect the shy diffidence in Rohaan's voice as I run my fingers through my hair, every strand of which stands testimony to timeless memories. My unkempt nails leave behind stains of life on my hair. Stains of meals shared, skin felt, and tears seeped.

"I am the caretaker of this cemetery. I have been working here over the past twenty five years, what can I do for you?", his tone as if he owned that grey mausoleum.Nothin much that you can do but give me company, I am the new sweeper", she said. "Rohaan Mia, humein in murdo ki sehad ka khayaal rakhne allah ne yahaan bulaaya hai", in an angelic voice which startled Rohaan. "If you are not aware, you will work under my instructions. You will report to me every morning", said Rohaan in a cold, unapologetic tone. She laughed, "Yahaan, jahaan allah taala khud humein unke instructions pe leke aate hai, wahaan aapki or meri kahaan chalegi, khair baaki aapki marzi... i've come here to make this seemingly boring place a lil' more exciting and colourful, tum saath doge humaara", in a voice that leaked raw energy. Rohaan for obvious reasons was shocked beyond words. In his colourless world surrounding the dead, he could not fathom a) this sudden outburst of sonorous sound, b) change.

Rohaan Carnegie had had a placid childhood. There hadn't been much movement in his life. His parents passed away when he was eight. His uncle took adequate care of him. He was served a meal once in a day and had to work for thirteen hours in his garage for five years. Beyond this, his life was a smooth sail. When Rohaan was twelve, he made his first enemy. His name was "Emotions". Rohaan never understood what made people laugh, what made them cry. He never reasoned. His reasoning had no answer. He would wake up in the morning, do his work in robotic monotony, come back home, have his meal and go off to bed, everyday.

"So will you give me company?", she asked seekingly. "Yes", he said sternly. "When we die, I will ensure that my tombstone is next to yours to give you company",
he added with venom. "Hum rukenge! Aap time pe aana", she added cheekily. Rohaan did not smile. He walked away.

Rohaan undertook his tenure as the caretaker of the cemetery when he was twenty-three. He's been dead ever since. Till he found another reason to live. The dark, depressing, detached life aligned with his very being. Men and women would come to bury the dead, day in and day out. Some would cry, some would howl, some would forgive, some would discuss. Some would talk about the will, some about the sex-life, some about nothing. Some would wonder why they came, some would get bored with rituals, some would pretend to be deeply affected, some would pray. He was interested in none of the some. For him men on earth were just there. There was no meaning to existence. "As time-bound mortals, we are born on this planet to kill time", was one of his famous quotes. He wanted to save time. Thus he took up a job at the cemetery. Life for him, was not white or grey. In a grey ambience, his life was Black.

"Good morning Rohaan! - ain't it amazing to feel alive at the cemetery", said she in her traditional giggle. "No. But its amazing to die here.", he replied curtly."Why have you come here Parinaz?", he asked discomfortedly. "Kya bataaein..."

(Monologue)*Pointing at herself* Her name is Parinaz Ahana - Born in Lucknow, 1964, she hailed from a family of "vaishyas" in old lucknow. Her childhood was filled with turmoil. In school, she was an outcast and had to give up on her education at the age of fourteen although she was a bright kid with relentless untapped energy. Post independence, her family was looked down upon by Independent Indians. What irony! Her mother at that time told her something simple, yet profound - "Society will mould you to their comfort. You have two options - Change to fit in OR be yourself and form your own society. A society of liberal, free-thinkers - beyond prejudices and conventional trappings : which will let you grow in the purest possible way". Thus at the tender age of fourteen, she did what most conventional parasites call "Rebellion". She ran away from home to St.Augustus Villa in Panchgani and spent thirty-five years of her life teaching, praying and living.

*Continuing*

I taught mathematics, dance and theatre to children. I also handled the administration of the church for the last fifteen years. Under Father Menezes, I realized my true potential as a human being. He helped me identify my strenghts and honed them. He inculcated timeless basics of hardwork, focus and discipline in me. But more importantly, I learnt the power of love - pure, platonic love.

During my stay with Father Menezes at St. Augustus Villa, I learnt some beautiful life lessons :In one of his letters to me he shared,

1. Life, my child, is one big celebration. In the time between our womb and tomb, we experience the greatest spectacle in the universe. Life. The best part is, a chunk
of the celebration is designed by us.

2. Our journey is evolutionary in nature. So unless we try really hard to retard our growth and state, we will move over events and circumstances in our life which seem
devastating at that point of time.

3. Paint your life with colour. "Grey will give you insight. But grey out of choice, is no delight." So paint the town red.

4. Give love for the joy of it. Forgive for the joy of it. Pray for the joy of it. Learn for the joy of it. Live for the joy of it.

5. Do not Ahana, you promise me, give up on your integrity and loyalty to people you love, care for and swear by - even if they compromise.

6. Do not, for the sake of the Lord, take life too seriously. When God created mankind, it was one helluva' joke. Laugh with Him.

7. And lastly, do not lose faith in God. Even if he wrongs you. Just laugh at the irony and continue to celebrate.

Arm yourself with these insights and you will have no looking back in life. Life's biggest regret is that we regret. All the Best Parinaz Ahana. Conquer the World.

Father Menezes,
St. Augustus Villa,
Pachgani - 32

After serving the church and the children for thirty-five years I finally ventured into the world. I took up various odds and ends to fill my stomach. I did not have anything that society asked an employee of. Insights, experience, joy and a smile. Won't work at most places.And thus after working for eight months at a bakery where I served bread and a smile, I took up the sweeper's job at the cemetary to understand why people cry out of sadness and not joy?

"Aaanh, you have an interesting story. It's the longest i've heard in forty-eight years", and he burst out laughing, ole' Rohaan."Parinaaaz darling! - where were you? I've been waiting for over four hours now. Idiot... and when you're sleeping by me? - It's been two years now that i met with that fateful accident. It's getting damn boring here. But I love enacting our introduction act everytime we meet... In that one year you changed my life Parinaz".

"This dusky, loud, over-enthu muslim girl gave you a new life, you fool! - you were boring, old and dead. In the one year before your death, you've lived a lifetime", I announced.

"I sure have angel ! - Father Menezes was right after all. Love Wins. Always.", laughed Rohaan. "Remember, how irritated i got when you put up balloons at the entrance of the cemetery. I couldn't for the life of it believe that I, Rohan Carnegie, was letting you do it. I was warming up to your smile, wishing that you come a little early everyday and so something ridiculously new at the cemetery", said Mr.Carnegie looking into my eyes.

"Hahahaha... you bet! - tum to pure heraaan hi ho gaye, and remember how i got caricature's made on coffins - you were soooo scandilized!", I rolled.

"I Love You Parinaz", came his sudden expression. I loved it that way..."I Love You too Mr. Cemetery Caretaker", teary-eyed I told him...

"Now go back into your dumb grave and eat the blue-berry cheese cake i got for you from Aunt Martha's place. Listen to good music and if it gets stuffy inside, come out for a breather. And take care of the new christmas trees, will you?"

Anyway, 'ts time for me to go - go spread the power of our love. It might seem like an abrupt, incomplete, exaggerated excerpt of my love story to some. But for
thosesome, this narration i do not mean to write. I write this for all the people who've had the priviledge and the power to love, lose and love again. This story is a celebration of the survival instinct of humankind. It is an ode to the one man I love. My Rohaan Carnegie a.k.a Cemetery Caretaker.

Tere pyaar ne humein pyaar karna sikhaaya,
Tum naa rahein to kya,
Un chann lamhon ki badaulat,
Humnein duniya ko phirse jeena sikhaya

Love,
Parizad Ahana,
1964 - Immortality

(Read : This one's for you darlin' : your strength i admire, weakness i overlook. God Bless You. Love you. - Somebody ;)

The bay before the bombs

2006-07-15T00:41:00.000+05:30

BOMB-BAY

My Alcoholic Retreat

2006-07-08T23:48:00.000+05:30

she eyes me at the bar, she fondels her raven mane,

the glint in her eye, drives me insanely insane;

her dusky skin & her uber seductive stance,

her sultry legs deserve another glance;

the trance, tequila & vinegar highs,

in this moment-our destiny lies;

moves i make, behind hers,

reciprocating wonders;

it's a blinding night,

succulent delight;

what beauty?,

dark,sooty;

ephemeral

impulsive

luscious

hedonist

sensuous

engaging

adorable

magnetic

attractive

in this surreal moment of truth i find my feet

alas! here's where i end my alcoholic retreat.

neO

2006-07-04T19:35:00.000+05:30

Double click on the picture to enlarge it.

Click on the square at the bottom-right of the photo to retain enlarged image.

The Image is a graphical representation of Neo's journey through "The Matrix".

The Thought-Bubbles are relevant dialogues from the the movie that sum-up his state of mind at that point of time in the matrix.

1.The exercise is a celebration of the unlimited potential of the human mind.

2.It is also a reinforcement of my notion that each one of us has the capacity to become "The One" in our lifetimes if we believe strongly enough.

3.Beyond everything, it is an ode to the ability to break-free from the limitations imposed on us by society, peers and most importantly 'Ourselves'.

Cheers,
Anuj Gosalia a.k.a neO
Matrix Fan
Coldplay Fan
Peru Fan
Wannabe Writer too

Chronicles of Sonwada : Sunday

2006-06-28T19:57:00.000+05:30

The Early Riser : Sam

Warm air mellowed their home. Sonwada was an early rising village like most villages in India. Sam - the wannabe villager got up early like most villagers in India. He welcomed the sanguine Sonwada air with his own air. Sonwada was now warmer. Early mornings in Sonwada inspired Sam to pen some poetry too, warm poetry :

Subah hoti hai, havaaon mein garam khushbu hoti hai,
Murga bolta hai, suraj ki komal kirne girti hai;
Lota beckon karta, usmein bhi ek alag mazaa hota hai,
Potty hoti hai, havaaoon mein phirse alag khushbu hoti hai

Sam embarked on his sojourn on the Road Less Travelled. With a jaunt in his step, he resembled a sloth on viagara. That was how he described his renewed vigour. Am and Damn blisfully slept. Damn fantasised playing football with kids and starting a Rural PR Agency for Sonwada. He would employ the kids in a unique form of child labour wherein he'd give lessons on football, guitar and "how to pull Sam's leg" as remuneration. Am in the meantime was dreaming about rural women: The "gaon ki goris", all in backless cholis and alluring waist-lines. He had thought of cladding up in a dhoti and a sleevless kurta. At 5 ft 10", Weighing 58 kgs, he had an envious physique. He even anticipated the gori's sayin "Anuj ni body to jo - ekdum Himesh jevi che."

Sam, at that moment, was treading the Road Less Travelled. The man was thinking about how Buddha attained enlightenment under the tree at Bodh Gaya and was hunting for his own place at Sonwada where he'd renounce his desires and lead a pious life. "Abstinence from guys and cows whom he ogled at in his teen-age days", is what Sam pledged for himself. Sam was nineteen. Sam often questioned things like - is there life after death? He promised to call from wherever and tell Am & Damn really soon. They were waiting.

7.30. a.m. - Sam returns to popular culture. Aam junta infested Sonwada Proper tell Sam - Koi Shaq, Whaaazzup!. Seeing Damn on the bed with "Arms Wide Open" turns Sam On. (Read: Damn is sleeping). Sam tries to cuddle Damn. At that very moment Damn is busy playing a football match with the kids in his dream. The ball passes the midfield and moves towards the undefended part of the field. Damn, at his tactical best, does a fantastic one-man act and goes for the Roberto Carlos 30-yarder to go 1 up in the first half. As the kids strengthen their defense, Damn takes a deep-breath and lets go. At terminal velocity, his legs move to hit the ball/s.Ouch.It's a goal!

Am & Damn finally get up to Sam's crooning of "I love you O Sayonee", the latest Himesh anthem. Ofcourse, Am and Sam ended up in a brutal fight wherein Sam was ummm..brutally beaten up. Am tried the pile-driver, tombstone and the rock bottom simultaneously on Sam. Sam was ummm.. brutally beaten up. Sam tried the two legs in the air kick (read: not flying kick). It was remarkable how me managed to stay in the air for 1/173rd of a second. A feat in human acrobatics. Ofcourse, he came crashing down and he was ummm.. brutally beaten up.

Meanwhile, Damn was tryin to teach the kids football. Ofcourse, the consequences weren't as grave as his dream cum reality episode. The kids learnt various skills on how to kick the ball with their foot and foot only. On how holding the ball in their hand would make it another form of football though there was really no foot involved. The kids learnt a lot. Damn taught them how to not mistake shperical portions of human anatomy for footballs. The kids learnt a lot.

The rest of the morning was dedicated to village sight-seeing and dropping into random homes. The villagers were a cohesive unit. It was as if the families were asked to live seperately to promote the concept of "My Home, is strictly My Home". The concept failed miserably. The city-dwellers were awestruck. They thought of promoting this culture in Bombay too. Sam suggested, "Wish we could enter random-homes too. Not random really. Since Mumbai is so big, we could zero upon homes occupied by the opposite sex between the age of 19 and 19." Sam was a focussed guy. For him, it was cows, men and cow-shaped women aged 19.
Am, Sam and Damn relished the elaichi flavoured milk for the 14th time (n is the 14th alphabet).

Am and Sam took photos of naked kids to show people the "Real India". It was a pity that city-dwellers looked at villages with a derogatory eye. Alas! if happiness was the purpose of life, they sure had achieved it. If one could smile involuntarily, live with heads held high, have nutritious food and find contentment in the moment - what else would you ask for?

Of course, the argument veers onto - A cocooned life, exposure to real world curtailed, limited opportunities, the need to break free, the need to connect, information-penetration, infrastructure - the works.

From the eyes of a management, systems & processes student - the village, for Am was at the threshold of growth and progress. But on a philosophical note: the village had gotten its basics right. Am further added, "They've set certain basic rituals for themselves which they thoroughly enjoy and relish. Their need for instant-gratification is very low because of their constant exposure to Nature's Law of Exponential Growth. The villagers sleep with a sense of serenity and quiet because they indulge in a lot of physical labour. Their belief in natural cure to various ailments makes them internally healthy and strong. Aversion to medication and practice of the age-old ayurvedic healing therapies ensure immunity to common diseases. The fresh, unadulterated air which Sonwada breathes in by default is another boon.

10.00 a.m. - Industrial Visit - Excel Process Pvt. Ltd.

Industry : Printing, embossing and affiliated

Company Profile : Manufacturing of metallic logos for electronic companies, banner and other outdoor publicity etc.

Purpose:- Study manufacturing and factory process. Factory labour-orientation, industry orientation, supply-chain and management practice (plus personal interpretation)

Am wondered how men from villages around Valsad worked for as many as 10 hours and all they did was punch holes in steel. They surpassed all conceivable levels of monotony and industriousness. Made him wonder how they'd define happiness and joy in their lives? The need for security it seemed was their driving force.

Their trip at Excel enlightened them on the many practical aspects attached to their beckoning management education. Interactions and conversations furthered their learnings. It was a holistic scan of the factory and its various manufacturing activities.

Sonwada Calling :-

Mohan Bhargaw a.k.a Damn

Post Lunch, the three returned fondly to a place called "home". A Bumpy chaggda ride took them to Sonwada. Damn was shot in various Swades-ish poses in the chaggda. Their eccentricity invited some serious glares. They continued. You guessed right. They had to.
That Sonwada afternoon was weird. Time was running out. The Attachment continued. Memories had to be created.

Tangents were drawn :-
1. Life on earth is short.
2. We have to die.
3. We still worry about it.
4. Funny.
5. We are neither here nor there.
6. Kyun?
7. Haso, Jeeyo, Khush raho, Muskuraon - Kya pata... Kal ho naa Ho
8. Profound.

Anyway, Am and Damn went on a cycling expedition on the Road Less Travelled. They tried to spot the famous tree at Bored-Gaya. They saw a cow somewhere in the distance. They saw a tree close to the cow. They knew they had found "The Tree".Kaachu Limbu and Sachin followed them on foot. Sachin was a monster for his age. The man and his machine (inset: Sachin with his bicycle)
Am tried to flaunt his expertise on the cycle. He was soon directed into a ditch by Sachin. Damn laughed. Obviously.Am was a massive show-off. He had a fetish for his physique. His biceps gave most women a complex. He was well-built.

Sam: He was resting at home. He was missing someone. Lost in thought, he reacted to a name uttered somewhere outside. He could hear it faintly. He knew it. It was that 'special' someone. He could now hear it right outside his home. He couldn't believe his ears. How could they miss " " too. Sam was very popular in Sonwada because he was closely related to the "special" someone. Infact, Sam had a fan following.
"Some people have all the luck," said Damn reacting to the women queing upto see Sam. "I'd prefer being unlucky", replied Am.Just by the way, that 'special' someone was - you guessed it right - *drumrolls* "Himesh Reshamiya".Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen you heard it right : HIMESH.

Scoop - Himesh happens to be Sam's first cousin. They share common tastes in music and other nose related hobbies like snorting, sneezing and nose-picking. Of course, Sam doesn't wear a cap. He is a wee-bit more image conscious.

Time flew. It happens when you're partying. holidaying, chlling with friends, on weekends, and generally when you're enjoying doing what you love. Life'd be much more shorter that way and also much more of a celebration if we only did what we truly love.

As the warm (natural warmth) evening air settled itself on Sonwada, it was time for these youngsters to pack their bags and head home to the hysteria of a bustling metropolis. Their motive was simple. To transcend the calmness of Sonwada into their relatively turbulent lives. Implementation, of course, was another ball game.

As they moved out of Sonwada, they captured their final moments on camera. The same women lined up on the verendah to bid them adieu. The same kids jumped with the same joy as they had expressed when they arrived.

And they realised that it was not momentary, fleeting, transient experiences of joy for them. It was something higher, deeper, sweeter. It was perennial. It was the pure joy of welcoming life and all its experiences with open arms and surrendering to it totally that gave them "Joy".

Sonwada felt alive as they left. And maybe, they too.

Disclaimer: All events in the above narration are definetly non-fictitious. Any resemblance to three youngsters alive or dead is purely intentional. The author is responsible for the above story. Apparently, the author of this chronicle has decided to holiday in Europe for 12 weeks or any amount of time till Sam regains composure and stability.

Snapshots of Khandala

2006-06-22T22:35:00.000+05:30

Me & Miti (Filmy)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ace Photographer (read:Me) - My personal favourite - A Silhouetted Miti

1. The Garden --------------------2. The Poolside-------------- 3. & the Home

S.Cho and I (left) - Game of Cricket

Maiden Rain (right)

Friendship.

2006-06-14T23:12:00.000+05:30

I penned this during that languid, guiltless summer vacation after the tenth grade. I just got hold of it from our batch of 2002's msn group and was thrilled to bits. The poem is ridiculously simple in its construct. Back then, i didn't pretend to be intelligent. Of course, I was glad to know that i've been a relationship optimist ever since i've made friends. Was very much one in the tenth grade too. Touchwood it's been the same till now. The poem is dedicated to all my friends. The people i've known. The people who've shaped and sculpted me to help me become the person i am today. This poem is specially dedicated to my chud-bud Vishal who is in NewYork. Also to the famous Perva and Ranga. I am nostalgic. Obviously.

The biggest name one gives to a relationship, is the wonderful name of friendship,

It starts of with a hello-hi, and it doesn't end even end after you die,
I think and think for long within, that Am I the luckiest man living,
cause i have friends lovelier than the sky, who can make me laugh and also cry,
I am proud to be a part of them, cause without them i'd just be a stem,
with no leaves, no flowers, no fruit, a lonely tree without a root,
This world as it is, a living sorrow, with tragedy and distress a part of tommorow,
And its in times like these you need, your friends comfort and his heeds,
- Cause if tomorrow something happens to me, I am sure my friend will be there to see,
What's wrong with this foolish friend o mine, who was hale and hearty till yesterday's nine,
and God whatever the matter be, just make sure he is there with me,

But then - the boding fear comes to me! What if he suddenly leaves me? :

I will be shattered, i will be ruined, i will be alive and yet marooned,
alone in an island of sorrow, waiting as if there was no tommorow
i'd hate to see such a day,but such things always come our way,
but then i know, so what if he's away,so what if i can't be joyful and gay (gay=happy)
i know he's there, thinking about me,and that my friend is the key,
to this beautiful world of friendship, where time and space cannot break a relationship,
no one can come in its beautiful way, where a friend cannot even go astray,
cuz' you have the power to hold him tight, with a hug that comes from within your heart,
even though it may just be a thought, it proves that the two can never part,

The love for a friend is immortal,and this my friend is the biggest moral,
Friends Live, Friends Die, Friendship lives forever - and ever.

Anuj Gosalia
Peru fan
Coldplay fan
Wannabe poet too

& Being Alive

2006-06-07T00:07:00.000+05:30

The chord struck seamlessly throughout the night,
The guitar, it seems, hummed a succulent delight;
In those meditative rythms I found my Joy,
The celebration, for me, of 'Being Alive'

I played the perfect shot, off my bat,
And each ball i faced was akin to a new breath;
In the meditative Stroke-play I found my Joy,
Hitting the sweet-spot of my life, I came Alive

That test I aced, I do not know how,
The fringe benefits, i guess, of being in the NOW;
In the meditative number-crunching I found my Joy,
The celebration called life, & of 'Being Alive'

Danced that night like I never did,
Ignored I comments that seemed once rancid;
I danced for myself, I found my Joy,
In those meditative movements i came Alive

Chillin' at the cafe, we made some noise,
Reflections of tireless energies and unbundled joys;
In the meditative randomness, I came Alive,
The joy of nothingness became my joy

The raindrops caress us as we kiss,
Unknown eyes see us from her coffee chalice;
And in that stilness of time, i find my Joy,
That thoughtless moment makes me 'Feel Alive'

As words run on this paper white,
Darkness gives way to the cliched light;
And in the meditative cliche i find my Joy,
The Celebration - Life - & Being Alive

It is this singular moment in time, that goes as I write,
which left unlived will go out of sight;
In these meditative silences I find my Joy Again,
Dont Live.
Come Alive, I pray, cuz tomorrow : Nature may just end the game

Anuj Gosalia

An ode to Coldplay

2006-05-29T01:33:00.000+05:30

HOW YOU SEE THE WORLD

Are you missing something?
Looking for something?
Tired of everything
Searching and struggling
Are you worried about it?
Do you wanna talk about it?
Oh You're gonna get it right some time

Theres so much to be scared of
And not much to make sense of
Are you running in a circle?
You can't be too careful
And you can't relate it
'Cos it's complicated
Oh You're gonna get it right some time
You're gonna get it right some time

It's how you see the world
How many times can you see?
You can't believe what you learn

It's how you see the world
Don't you worry yourself
Your not gonna get hurt

Oooohhhhh...

Is there something missing?
There's nobody listening
Are you scared of what you don't know?
Dont wanna end up on your own?
You need conversation
And information

Ohhhhhhhhh...

Gonna get it right sometimes
You just wanna get it right sometimes

It's how you see the world
How many times have you heard?
You can't believe a word

It's how you see the world
Don't you worry yourself
'Cos nobody can learn

Oooooh
Oooooh
Ooooooooh

That's how you see the world
That's how you see the world

EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST

When I counted up my demons
Saw there was one for every day
With the good ones on my shoulders
I drove the other ones away

So if you ever feel neglected
And if you think that all is lost
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah
Hoping everything's not lost

When you thought that it was over
You could feel it all around
And everybody's out to get you
Don't you let it drag you down

'Cos if you ever feel neglected
And if you think that all is lost
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah
Hoping everything's not lost

If you ever feel neglected
If you think that all is lost
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah
Hoping everything's not lost

Singing out
Oh, oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Everything's not lost

So come on, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Come on, yeah
And everything's not lost

Oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
And everything's not lost

Come on, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Come on, yeah

Come on, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Come on, yeah
And everything's not lost

Sing out, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Come on, yeah
And everything's not lost

Come on, yeah
Oh, oh yeah
Sing out, yeah
And everything's not lost

Thin-Slicing Success - SRK

2006-05-20T02:29:00.000+05:30

Snippets from some of his interviews:

By making it big in the movies, Shahrukh Khan proved to everyone that a small-time TV serial actor can also have his say on the silver screen. Shahrukh Khan started his acting career with serials like 'Fauji' and 'Circus', and with his hard work and immense talent has become a super star. He is a man full of energy and passion; he is very dedicated and hard working and puts in life into any role given to him.

What is acting to you?

Everything. Even if I were a corporate type, I'd be an actor. If I was a major in the army and was dying in a battlefield, my death would be as heroic as those death scenes in the movies. I was born only to act. You can take me out of the actor, but you can't take the actor out of me. Five years into our marriage, Gauri knew that I'd always be an actor. When I'm asleep at night for four hours, I miss the actor in me. When I'm taking a bath, you won't believe the acting I do.

So why is the yuppie hero talking of going easy on his acting assignments?

When you're good at something, it's time to move on. You have to spearhead new movements. That's why man went on the moon. I want others to learn from my mistakes. I want to spend some time alone and reassemble my internal mechanism. I'm a little tired with the demands made on my life. I need to rediscover the child in me. The more I get in touch with people; I'm losing my ability to be a child. I want to become childish and silly again. To grow more, I need to stop growing.

What's the reality about something as make-believe as acting?

An actor has no shelf life, stardom does. Years ago, when I was doing the TV serial Circus, the trapeze artists told me, "Ho gaya to kartab, gir gaya to haadsa." If you get it right you're king, if wrong you're dead. Similarly, in acting too, sometimes there's no time to struggle, no ifs, no time for recuperating. You have to all the time move on. Hopefully away from the sound of the applause, from the wah-wahs and the awards. It'll be time to dig into my magic bag once more.

You have to understand something about Shah Rukh. He loves his craft and loves life. He loves the jokes, the sets, and his fellow actors -the men who are gods to the audience. All he ever wanted to do was to be an actor. He likes to play, he likes to pretend, there's a certain Peter Pan element in his life. He loves taking control and letting people experience that world as he experiences it. He's like an athlete in the way he attacks work. It's always no-holds-barred. And he has boundless energy to go on for hours. He's attacked his roles with such incredible confidence that everyone's heads turned around. It's hardly surprising then that once he hit films starting with Deewaana, the list of adjectives grew: confident, cocky, quick, streetsmart, savvy, charismatic, outrageous, raw. Thus, he holds an enviable sort of popular sway simply on the basis of his potential, staying power and saleability.

Shahid: Who has been your role model?

ShahRukh: I have never had a single role model in my life I have always absorbed the good things from various personalities that gives me a wonderful choice in life and does broaden my horizons a great deal. The love in my life came from my parents who were more like my friends than anything else I always had the freedom to do anything I wanted to their faith in me gave me confidence and abilities to achieve impossible. Hard work and dedication came from my Father, he taught me that if you want something in life you have to work for it and no one gives it to you on a plate .So hard work and focus breeds success at all levels. My mother taught me to love life to the maximum and be truthful and upfront and that has taught me so much and has been my savior all through my times

Shahid: People call you a tower of energy, how do you manage to stay so energetic and full of life?

ShahRukh: I think energy comes from being creative and I feel I am very creative hence that generates enormous energy - also inner happiness and satisfaction of achievement revitalizes your inner being and makes you full of life. Again you must utilize this energy otherwise you are being ungrateful to God who has given you an ability and talent to make this world a better place

Shahid: ShahRukh you sound more like a philosopher than an Actor, Seeing you on the screen and meeting you off screen are two totally very different experiences Do you feel any different?

ShahRukh: Hahahahahhahahahahah(a laughter full of life ) I am no philosopher but what I speak is same as what is in my heart, I do think things over and create my own perspective but always have respect and room for other people's opinion

Shahid: Being at the height of your industry how do you keep yourself so friendly and approachable?

Shahrukh: That's very easy I always remember that God has given me this success through my fans and I owe it to humanity to give them what I have and I keep my feet on the ground My father once said to me regardless what you are or what you may become one day you will always be a human being. And I never forget that Don't you think that says it all?

Chronicles of Sonwada : Saturday

2006-05-17T04:22:00.000+05:30

He said, "I stayed in Mumbai for 17 years but the village is my sanctum" - His name was Rakesh, a sixty year old resident of Sonwada village. On a weekend dash to this seemingly demure village in South Gujarat - Anuj, Samarth and Dhruval come back home with flavours of a promising rural india. With sepia hues, mud-thatched homes, cow-dung strewn walls and the unmatched air of our 'Des ki Mitti', Damn, Sam and Am were more than ready for this rural adventure. Though what they came back with was another story altogether.

Presenting: The Road to Pardi-Station
Cast: Am,Sam and Damn
Director: Am
Script: Life Kapoor

SpotBoy: Sam
Producer: Mukta Crafts

Once upon a time Am, Sam and Damn decided to do something beyond the mundane. They were three curious, muttering, lost youngsters out to seek answers to the deeper questions in life. So they decided to visit the interiors of India to find answers. Plus it were to serve as an exercise on understanding the rural markets of India. Ah yes, they were B-School aspirants.
Thus they zeroed down on an idyllic village named Sonwada in sun-baked Gujarat. Travelling one-footed on a pregnant Inter-City express they reached their destination at 9.30 a.m. Outside a welcoming Vapi Station, their eyes met familiar words. They read BAR somewhere in the distance. Yes, they found the only bar in alcohol-barred Gujarat. Brijwasi Snack BAR.

After a short drop-in at Am’s father’s factory where they manufacture defense cloth for the Indian Army, the trio left for Sonwada.

Babubhai's family

At the factory they met Babubhai. Babubhai was their friend, philosopher and guide. They were scheduled to stay at his home. He was their host. Babubhai was an Unsung Hero. “One of God’s Special Men,” is what Damn thought ofhim.

Sam & Damn (left), Sam's fantasy(right)

In the meantime, Sam was aroused at the sight of a C Grade poster on their way to Killa Pardi. "And they call India a conservative country", exclaimed Sam. "Chaggda" (Chaggda = Six Seater rickshaw) rides were reminescent of Swades. Damn captured Am and Sam in notorious positions.They reached Sonwada village at 1.30

Sonwada welcomed them in the middle of the day. The unrelenting May heat met the refreshing smiles of coy women who lined up on the porch to welcome familiar strangers. Sam devoured the cold water. Am was observing subtle nuances. Damn was busy making photo-memories. Sonwada had an eccentric charm to it. The three urbane youngsters sensed it. Glasses of warm elaichi milk (unadulterated) under a canopy of trees seemed surreal. But that was Sonwada, in the first twenty minutes.

The verendah where women discuss Himesh...

Sumit, Babubhai's son, was one of the most obedient youngsters the trio had ever come across. They branded his obedience as 'sanskaar'. He was a keen guy, updated with the latest in urban technology. He respected them. They respected him for that. Humility was infact one of the biggest lessons they came back with.
"We're eventually information-equipped, knowledge-seeking, wisdom-starved illusionary all-knowers", is how Sam generalised urban youth.
Himesh Reshamiya, they learnt from Sumit, was the 'hero' of the village. They realised that Himesh had such following across the country. And that they were just a minority in an otherwise Himesh-loving nation. Damn thought of an album too - 'Himesh we ALL Hate You'.

Conversations moved onto the importance of education in Sonwada. ''Agriculture, said Babubhai, does not reap the dividends in proportion to the hardwork put in the fields. The Vapi-Surat belt is an industrial zone, he further added. Therefore, workers in factories earn comparatively higher wages. Thus agriculture was now a secondary occupation." Am inferred that the people in the village were unbelievably hard-working but not necessarily smart working.

Pre-evening was spent in the fields studying various methods of crop cultivation. From the indegenous mango cultivation method to land-fragmentation problems, Babubhai spoke at length on his core-competency. It was evident that their sweat was not being adequately compensated. Maybe, it's the post-liberalisation effect or the Modi Government policies but agriculture, according to him, has taken a back-seat in an increasingly industrial Gujarat.

Kaachu Limboo, Sachin & Hritik

The evening was dedicated to cricket. The kids of the village came together in a fierce under-arm battle. Am cheated as always. Sam got annoyed with his performance. "It's just a game Sam, but you're still a loser", sneered Damn with his infectious grin. The kids symbolized the unity in the village. The women cheered their favourite baccha, laughed at the trio's madness. Nice boys they were. Rustic energy surrounded Sonwada in the evening.

As the sun-set on yet another contented day at Sonwada, Am shared his thoughts on the Priciple of Graduation :

"You know what Sam, natural growth is a gradual process. Something beyond the control of mankind. The seeds grow into fruit-bearing trees because of Nature or Nurture", shedding light on the Nature v/s Nurture principle of Self-Growth. But moreover, Nature is beyond the concept of Instant-Gratification. It adheres to the Principle of Graduation in all its forms - be it the tides, the rotation of the earth, growth of trees. Destruction is instant. Growth... ummm... maybe not."

Candle-light baths took romance to the next level. Sporadic cuts in electricity could get uncomfortable in snake-infested Sonwada, especially at night.

"Am said, I shat like God. Damn said, I sat on the world and shat. Sam said, I Never Shat". Sam Won. Excerpts from their Impromptu copywriting competiton.

Dinner was divine. Babubhai's daughter Heena could give Tarla Dalal a run for her money. At 18, she was a fantastic cook. They had soft rice-flour roti's, aloo-mutter sabzi, wheat-flour paranthas, tuver ki sabzi with mouth-watering gravy and steaming rice. The finger-licking meal was followed by another round of steaming hot elaichi milk with layers of cream.

"They symbolize 'Atithi Devo Bhava'," said Sam as their night-time conversations veered towards the Babubhai parivar. "I totally agree", replied Damn acknowledgeing the selfless hospitality of Babubhai and his gang of angels.

As the warm Sonwada air entered their home (that's what they called it by now) - they slept. They Slept. Let them. Good night.

See you'll on Sunday...

Boulevard of Fantasies : Part 5

2006-05-11T01:06:00.000+05:30

You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Outside the amber-lit Churchgate Station, she was seen guzzling pineapple milk at the homely Aarey booth. Sarah belonged to the ‘Aarey or Nothing’ clan. There were causes she felt strongly for. Loyalty towards the Energee brand was amongst them. She felt the yellow lacteal river caress her oesophagus on its way down. I said “Good Lord! She truly lives…”

I saw the unmistakable jaunt in her every step. And she found beauty in monotony. But then for Sarah, monotonous was merely a word on page 410 of the Oxford Dictionary. She lightened as her mind enlightened. (monotonous: lacking in variety, tedious through sameness)

Insignificant Bobu, in the meantime, popped a question?

Sarah Di – How does the sun affect weight? -> Sarah’s repartee – It makes the daylight. Cackles of laughter drew obnoxious scowls. "Mumbai loves to evade innocence", I thought to myself. Alas. For the city sought bliss in transient indulgences. Laughter was above deciduous happiness.

Amidst orange echoes at CST, they hooligoned their way onto the 7.47 Andheri Slow. Familiar perspiration greeted their skin and nose. She fumbled in her I-Pod stuffed pocket to find her saviour. The kerchief came out in full glory, meeting her skin with the strokes of an artist. My green eyes saw her through the chequered iron window of that rusty locomotive.

My eyes remain transfixed as the train repels me towards its destination.

I pray to find the rewind button to life. I pray to find powers to still time. I pray. I sink into another seeming bench. I finger my sweaty hair. I make that moment seem magnanimous. I am helplessly restless. Coldplay hums in moments of despair. Calming the rush of blood to my heart, I listen to them. They Fix me.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you leave something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

The fantasies of Sarah Dias float in my heart-broken mind. I imagine her making conversation with loud Gujarati women about dhoklas, theplas and K-serials. I imagine Bobu and his mindless humour of – "Why did the turkey cross the road?" And the “To prove he wasn’t chicken” reply by Sad Sarah.I Imagine deafening laughter drowning the harmony of the train. As I imagine, I try to smile at their innocence. I smile. And then there is light.

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven - Led Zeppelin for Sarah Dias

I am enlightened. I am happy because I’ve consciously decided to be. And I relive the ancient Vedic rule :
“You are what your deep driving desire is; as is your desire, so is your will; as is your will, so is your deed; as is your deed, so is your habit; as is your habit, so is your destiny."

Sarah, in the meantime, was glued in the present. As Always. Living a lifetime in every heartbeat, she imbibed snapshots of suburban Mumbai. She saw home from a distance. Her face resembled the male specie of the Neolithic Age, home after a long day of food gathering.

After a warm water bath and listening to some “we’ve been on the run, livin’ in the sun, lookin’ out for number one”, she settled down for a sumptuous meal of fish&chips, leafy veggies and salad. The mealtime conversations were a rigmarole of humour, gossip and ideas. The Dias parivar was an emblem of the clichéd “Live Life to the Fullest”.

In a victorious corner of the swarming city i affirm :

And so I have to say before you go
That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

As she settled in her bed, I settled in mine. We were sleeping together.A corny way to express a horny fetish. I belonged to the testosterone driven male specie. Sarah was oblivious. P.G. Woodehouse turned her on at bedtime. As I awakened the hedonist within… She switched off the lights… Sigh!

My soul within her I-Pod sung to her:
"And after all, you're ma wonderwall"

From the Boulevard of Fantasies, she came alive,
In the realms of my fantasies she will survive;
I pray to thee: Do not let her die,
And as the night fades in, may her light come by
To Us

In loving memory of Sarah Morrison Dias (2006-2006). Immortal in the hearts of men who love.

May her soul rest in peace. May sanity prevail.Amen.

Boulevard of Fantasies : Part 4

2006-05-02T04:34:00.000+05:30

Bobu Didi, tell me.. why do i follow my heart sometimes and sometimes what my brain says?

Sarah: What? (In disbelief at the words that fell on her ears. Was that the after-effect of PD class? She's not buying that for sure)

Bobu: Hahaha. I mean, like Didu i really enjoy drawing abstract things in my elementary drawing class but it's almost impossible to make that my career no? I mean imagine drawing and photography melange' as a career compared to engineering, MBA and architecture.

Sarah to herself: Is it that bad? (I still don't know what to do with my life.. I find that to be the most exciting part!)She chuckled silently.

I mean, itni jaldi, how do they decide Didi.. I am in the 8th grade and they have decided what they want to do. Then, what do i do? Follow my brain which tells me to do engineering and MBA or should i paint the town red?, laughed Bobu

His intellect and curiousity frustrated me. Nauseated that i was, Questioning-Thinking-Reasoning, it was the last thing on my mind. But it was Sarah’s turn to answer. I waited. She answered

Sarah: See Bobu – There are a lot of people in the world living a lot of lives. Living lives beyond their own understanding of it. Living in a manner that they’ve been conditioned to live in. And they spend their entire lives living that way. The kinds who say – My Daddy told me this when I was a kid, so this is what it is. “No challenging the ideologies” Syndrome is what these people suffer from.

Bobu: But that’s how ethics, culture, heritage and our history comes to us no Didi. Our ancestors pass these to us which preserve our past no?

Sarah: Very true. But history isn’t absolute. Nothing is. Maybe 3 angles of a triangle = 180 degrees is. Beyond that, I’ll only depend on my ability to question, think and reason!

In the existentialist corner of the Marine Drive Boulevard, I had my own set of questions...

Question : I stick my finger into existence – it smells of nothing.
Where am I? What is this thing called the world?
Who is it who has lured me into the thing, and now leaves me here?
Who am I? How did I come into the world? Why was I not consulted?

Sarah: Bobu, I don’t know how to correctly respond to your question of Heart v/s Mind. A Career Guidance Psychologist could help you with Aptitude tests, Psychometric Analysis – the works.

Though she wondered: How can they decide for a person who’s spent a minimum of 14-15 years with himself/herself by spending 20 minutes with him/her.

Bobu: But Didi, what would you do? Heart or Brain

Sarah: Bryan, Do you really want to listen to all of this? I’ll just go on with my theory of ‘The Sarah Life’… you’ll get bored. Trust Me.

Bobu: Shut up Dids. Shoot. I love it. It’s better than my good for nothing Personality Development Class with Himesh Reshamiya lovers.

Phattak! – He got one on his back for abusing Him. Himesh. - Apologies for the exaggeration

And there I was – listening to Child Prodigy and Her – discussing things which I thought would cause greying of my grey cells. For them it was …. ummm.. Life. Period.

Sarah hummed -

I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

Sarah answered –

Bobu, I’ve only known one way to live. When I was chottu , I’d love to pen thoughts, ideas, expressions and anything that I could observe and form a personal interpretation.
And that was my omen to a creative career. That’s about it. I know nothing beyond.

For her, the sky was never blue because her mind’s eye saw more.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

You know Bryan, I’ve always believed in opting the Road Less Travelled. That road may not necessarily be rebellious or anti-culture,society. The Road Less Travelled implies a road that is your own. Arising out of choices that are personal to you. Because few people tread a road that defines what they believe in/stand for, I call it The Road Less Travelled. And that is the job of the heart. The heart is true to you. Infact, the dilemmas in our lives are caused by the brain playing truant. The brain’s job is to maximize your heart’s decision. Nothing else. For example – YOU WISH TO MAKE AN ABSTRACT PAINTING is what your heart will tell you. The brain will tell you how, by using memory, observation and by processing information, you can make that design the best in the world. The Heart looks at the Bigger Picture. Let the brain offer options to you and let your heart decide.

The Men who attained Immortality never aspired to be immortal, she further tells Bobu. They were the men who were so consumed by their passion and work that Immortality came as a pleasant aftermath.

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work
And all work is empty, save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aha! – So Sista? Is there God, asks Mr.Bobu aka psyched-out teenager aka pest aka saviour

The gunpowder catches fire in an instant, while much time is needed to set fire to the coal, I told my charcoaled self. “Failed spirits shall rise” – Sarah are you listening?

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
and I'm the only one and I walk alone

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

BROKEN DREAM

Sarah: Is there God?

She thinks. But not for long. Because she knows. She knows…

Sarah: I could give you clichéd answers like God is everywhere, omnipresent (matlab – everywhere again) the usual… but to be honest Bobu I do not have a different answer. The more the things I see God in – the more I enjoy life. I see God when I wake up to find myself breathing normal, to find my five-senses intact, and to find myself alive. I see God in water, in the toothbrush against my teeth, in the toothpaste, in Mommy, in Daddy. I see God in you, Bobu, she grinned. He is everywhere and yet nowhere. Bobu, men have spent lives searching, looking for him. They meditate, they pray, they offer sacrifice. History and our present is testimony. Alas! He is here. In the tides of the Arabian Sea, in the humid May air, in that beggar’s sigh, in that rich man’s arrogance – he is in all forms, in all his eccentricities. He is in our moods, our passions, our joys and sorrows. He is in objects- inanimate. He is in lives unfulfilled. He is in the complete and the incomplete. You need to call him, acknowledge him and Thank him. When? Subconsciously, at every moment of your life. And yes, the thankyou should come, like all other things, from the bottom of your heart.

The Sigh of the Beggar - Sarah's God

Bobu: Whoa Didi! That was killuh!... I mean you did sound 93 years, 7 months and 18 days. Unbelievable. You’re truly my elder-older … hehe .. sister-Sarah Dids… hahaha

Bobu was a ruthless dog. Bitch. This girl just answered the most complex question that has ever tormented this planet with the ease of a Socrates, Jesus or The Buddha.. but Mr. Bobu aka dog aka bitch has to spoil the show… Well he may be some child prodigy for all I care, but how could he steam-roll her profound thoughts so effortlessly?

Was I possessive? Yeah, a lil’. Why? ….Uhmmm… No idea…But that woman was unflustered. Such was she.

Sarah: See I bored you to death Bobu with “The Sarah Life”… but that’s me! Your funny ole sistuh!

Bobu: Didi .. You know what.. I loved every bit of it.. And you know what – I’m going to flaunt these fundas at my Personality Development Class tomorrow. They’l be shocked to see how deep my thinking is!

Sarah: Idiot! Remember – “Your own understanding”. You are behaving like our Education System. Read.Remember.Reproduce.Remove-Read New.Remove Old Completely.Remember New.Reproduce New. Remove New-Repeat Process till Graduation to Succeed.

Bobu: Oh Yeah! Shucks… ;)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That sultry summer evening at Marine Drive (yes, dusk to evening) came to an end. And so did the other side of Sarah Dias. What followed as they walked past the iron-girdles outside Churchgate Station was Sarah’s journey home with a tired Bryan.
I followed them discreetly. I wanted more of her. I was addicted to her, my nicotine. Could perfect women exist? 36-24-36 yeah … but I was beyond aesthetic perfection. Something I never experienced. She was a rare blend. Of Beauty and Brains – Yes. But she was way beyond Beauty Contest taglines…

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Churchgate Station

P.S. – To be continued… alas! the last in my series… I will move back to prose as a medium to convey Boulevard Part 5. The language used in 4 has been designed to keep Bobu’s age and intellect (high IQ dude) in mind. So it’s a blend of simple sentences conveying complex meaning albeit without the heavy vocabulary. (Yeah – I use the Thesaurus liberally;) Awaiting feedback. From the bottom of your heart:)

On Meaning...

2006-04-28T17:56:00.000+05:30

Meaning is not something that you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your own life. You build it out of your own past, out of your own affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed onto you, out of your own talents and understanding, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are all there. You are the only one who can put them together in the pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success and failure is of less account.

- Ways of Winners' PROGRAMME MANUAL

Cannot write the CAT - 50% Eligibilty. I secured 48%. Fix Me

2006-04-26T11:54:00.000+05:30

All of us have heard of e'm. Life changing events. Events that redefine the purpose of life. Situations or circumstances that make ordinary lives extra-ordinary. It could be the death of a parent, a near-death experience, physical/emotional abuse or a 48% in two years of degree college.

48% in degree college? Life changing? Why?

Ever since i was a kid, i was never exceptionally bright. I never felt the need to be. Mediocrity worked for me and at home. My primary school placed me in the 15th-20th rank out of class of 40 students. I was contented. Nor was i mature enough to push my own self to achieve higher scores. In my 5th grade i scored my lowest percentage - 62% if i can remember correctly. That is when my parents felt the need for me to attend tuitions and improve my scores to a certain level of respectabilty.
Gillu Miss was the lady. A mentor. A life-trainer. Attending her class at her Bajaj Road, railway track facing home was a hell lot of fun. Probably because i was the brightest of the lot. "Andher nagri mein kaana raja kinda thing". I loved the adulation and respect that i got from her. She expected a lot out of me. I delivered 9/10 times. It was the sheer ego-boost to get the highest in her tests that made me study. Of course, not to undermine the fact, that her tuition class was a whole lot of fun. Academic pursuit was infact a byproduct of the entire experience with Gillu Miss. And yes i scored an 83.3 % in my 6th grade, securing a 7th rank in a class that was considerably industrious and intelligent. I continued with her till the 8th grade and did well for all the 3 years.

Now, this is no memoir of my days with Gillu Miss. I am trying to derive lessons from the past, from memories of success. Why? Because i need it. More than ever before. I want your experiences too. What made you successful in your days and what makes you now.

Moving on, my tenure with Gillu Miss ended. I moved into 9th grade. A different class. New subjects and new friends. This is the time when i got close to Vishal and Sharan. 9th went by smoothly. I din't do exceptionally well though. But i never cared anyway. It was always a case of wanting. Aspiring. Not putting effort remotely close to the want. Not Achieveing. Becoming contented with mediocrity.

Then came 10th grade. The year. The only success. 10th was a funny year. I was disciplined. Yet not. I studied. Yet not. Of course, the year was hyped as the most important in a student's life. First Board Exam, Tough, Competitive, Decisive... so many adjectives for one god damn exam. Exams never perturbed me. I would chill and go for my exams. No frantic - shit shit shit last revision, last answer, i haven't completed so much... nothing. Jitna hua utna hua types. My 10th grade, like all other fellow cooperites, was packed with tuitions. But more importantly - friends. The year was mad. Insane. We partied, studied, chatted and enjoyed the small pleasures in life. We enjoyed the year and more importantly lived the year without giving two hoots for the marks. Did we not want to do well? No - we surely did. Infact we had our goals too. Anuj-90% (desire), Sharan-90+% (desire), Vishal- Didn't quantify but wanted to do well. That was that. And in the process of the year we chilled, had fun, flirted (yeah i remember having a crush on Manasvi in the latter part of the year). The most important lesson though was - Fun

I secured an 86% - I was contented because i never deserved a 90%

College - N.M. Whoa...

I was ranked 40th on that list of 1100 students who had applied. I was happy.
Then started the downfall. Friends were scattered. I was too attached to them to make new close friends who i could study with the way i studied with them. College changed my outlook towards academics completely. We started competing to come out of class faster than the other during an exam. Percentages, grades - they were irrelevant. It was F.Y.J.C mann. Who the fuck cares!

12th grade came in. Supposedly important. At this point of time, i found a new love - Extracurrics. I am a weird guy. When i am into something, i give it so much passion, time and attachment that i lose rationality. And to think of it - i am an aspiring management student. The concept of balance, time management and logic fails me when i am doing things that i love.

Example - I've a meeting in the next 40 minutes and i am still writing this.I know i will not make it on time but it's so tough to let go. And that, post - 12th standard, was my ultimate nemesis. The Law of Detachment has eluded me. It is easy to study for an exam - like not do anything else and score well. I am sure to succeed if i did that. But that was not challenging. 10th, in hindsight, rocked because that was all that i had to study for. The challenge was to do things beyond that average college student profile and succeed at it too. I never did. Playing with multiple variables, i lost out somewhere or the other. If i had to list down my extra-currics post 11th grade, it sure is an envious profile. Umang, Rotaract, Shiamak Davar, Summer Camps, Advertising Diplomas, Tuition-Giving - the works... Yeah i was on my way to become the next super-achiever, the stud of N.M. College. Alas it never happened. I failed. Everytime i tried multi-tasking. I crashed. A lot of reasons - i got my strategies wrong, i never detached (the switch on - switch off) effect, i never understood the importance of the body and health to support super-achieving.
Health, Stress, Attachment, Procrastination - It all started weighing on me.
Year after year, i tried new styles, made random promises - they all failed.

And to go see - it all starts from the beginning. As a kid, discipline was never instilled or was given priority. Call it 'bad parenting', my inability to realise its importance for so long, indifference. But it eventually boils down to three things if and ever you want to super-achieve.

And yes no super-achiever will be able to tell you this. Ask a failed super-achiever. Ask me?

1) The Law of Discipline : The human body is the laziest thing i've ever seen. And my body is worse than a sloth sleeping. To train the body i.e to be energetic (from the time you wake up till u go to bed) is the ultimate challenge. Energy and Focus are the key. Focus will only come if you have the energy. Train the body. Eat right. Sleep Early. Wake up Early. This is not my advice to any of you who've read so far but to me. It is the lessons i've learnt over the past four years. And i've crashed so many times. Infact, i am wondering what took so long to understand these reasons.

2) The Law of Detachment : Attachment is the worst enemy. It plagues and entraps your mind to such a large extent that you're trapped in the past or anxious over the future. Attachment is by far the easiest and the simplest to achieve. Example - I post a message on the blog. Ideal condition to super-achieve would be to detach. Forget about it totally and get to the next task at hand. But.. if i am anxious or thinking subconsciously about the comments expected. What will Peru write, what will Varun have to say to it.. I am in trouble. The idea is to come back to the blog with a transparent mind after a couple of days and read the comments. That way you can keep things really simple.

The irony is that super-achieving is very very simple. But it's the simplicity that is the toughest to achieve.

3) The Law of Love : Super-Achiever's are ideally supposed to be super-busy. No time to chill, to care, to speak nice words and love people. I mean after all, they're playing the guitar, running an NGO, studying, doing workshops, reading, writing - phew! ... How do you manage?

Example - A major chunk of my F.Y and S.Y.Bcom was spent with myself. Yes, i was this extrovert, seemingly charming extra-currics enthusiast but andar se i was lonely. Why? Because i expected attention. I wanted attention. I wanted love. I wanted love and attention because i thought i was cool. I thought i was really nice. But that was illusionary...I was consumed by an ego that refused to move beyond prejudices, wantings and personal interests. Super-Achieving can lead you to make some personal-interests driven decisions. Thin line this.

The truth is "Give as much as you can" cuz what you will get will be exponential and multi-fold. So for me - when i can flirt with a certain energy and charm, i know that things are right for me. My body releases endorphins that make me happy and yeah by giving attention to the other person i ensure her happiness to.

Tracing back to 10th grade - Love worked for me beyond anything else. I cared for people, friends, people i disliked, my parents. Love gives you energy and as irrational and emotion driven as it may seem - love gives you the ability to super-achieve.

All Super-Achievers that i've known are high energy, love-giving, failure-learning people

What made me write such a long post?

Emotion - The Low of your most cherished dream crashing. Of me crashing to the lowest trough. A moment in my life that will change me forever. I'm sure for the good. I dunno if i'll make it big in life. I dunno if i'll super-achieve ever. I dunno if i'll make it to the IIM's. I dunno anything.

All i know is that i've lived my life all over again on this blog so that you realise that every moment of your life makes a difference to your future. Every thankyou that you will say to your friend will make you happy more than him. Every good word that you will tell your parents will make them cherish their memories with you. If you've failed before, come meet me. We will raise a toast to Failure. Failure teaches so much more than success ever can. To all those successful people who've read until here - Try Failing. It will make you live every moment as if it were a lifetime. It will give you a perspective to life that you can only imagine.

And to all my Failed friends. Don't worry. We'll write success stories that mortal men can only dream of. We will live a life that will re-define history. I promise to do so. I assure to do so.

I'm living as if today were the last day of my life! Are you?

Heartfelt,
Failed,
But not for Life,
Anuj Gosalia

Boulevard of Fantasies : Part 3

2006-04-23T18:59:00.000+05:30

Hold my head inside your hands
I need someone who understands
I need someone, someone who hears
For you I’ve waited all these years

I lay still. Seated on the Marine Drive bench, my calm posterior eclipsed a turbulent within. I was a prisoner of my own history and the history to-be. Like all other mortal men but Her. And much it grieved my heart to think what man had made of man. The back of my bench read :In memory of Rustomji Pastakia (1898-1973). Reminescence of an era when people outnumbered vehicles. Of an era when life was lived. Saline fragrances from the Arabian Sea nauseated me. Some children were playing on the waterfront.Throwing pebbles.And like them, I wanted to throw a pebble into the sea. But when i picked up the pebble, i saw something which disgusted me. I was confronted by the stone's bear existence and was overwhelmed by a feeling of nausea. Day after day, i lived with a feeling of nausea, feelings of wontings and mounting anxiety. The nausea was becoming constant.It even comes over me in the local cafe, once a place of refuge, well lighted and full of people. But by now, the nausea is not inside me - I am the one who is within it.

"The world of existence, of matters of fact have no connection with the worlds of words, reason, mathematics and logic. Existence is not rational. There is no reason that things are as they are and not otherwise. There is no rational explanation as to why there is any world at all, rather than nothing" - Jean Paul Sartre.

The Queen's Necklace with its adorning billboards and bling bling cqars lay behind me. It was some thrity past six on that early May evening. Time was irrelevant. I was staring at designless people." Aah! A consortium of failures", i said to myself. But Marine Drive, to my mind, had an unrelenting sanguiness to it : a support system of men and women who had fought, lost and had shown wantings to survive. Of men and women silently praying, hiding their faces from the scrutiny of demeaning eyes in victorious cars that speed by.

"A king that is conquered must see strange looks, So bitter a thing is the heart of man"

For her I waited. And there she was.

For you I’d wait till kingdom come
Until my day, my day is done
And say you'll come and set me free
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me

What seemed like an amorous stare was infact her meditation...

Hi Didi! shouted Bobu, sorry Bryan as he tugged at Sarah's ebony coloured hair. Didi you look mad and old standing and staring at the sun like that. Sarah smiled. Sarah laughed. She was old. Eighteen years old. So Bobu, how was your Personality Development class today?, in a tone which wondered how things like Personaluty Development could be taught.

It was so un-cool today. They made us do barrier-breaking. But Why? I don't want to sing, then why should I!.. What the hell... It was so embarassing didi. I had to sing 'Tera Tera Tera Suroor' in front of those forty idiots who clapped after I was done. how fake! Anyway, i was better than the original, chuckled Bobu!

Sarah hit him. She was a part of the Reshamiya Fan Club and a proud one at that.

Bobu was one headstrong dude. At fourteen - he spoke his mind. He was a curious muttering teenager who asked questions to which my mother seeks answers. Sarah had answers though. Answers of her own.

Out of the blue cam Bobu's first question. I evesdropped onto their conversation. This girl with a cream complexion, hazel brown eyes, suave skin and black hair answered. As if she knew it all. As if she was God. God was She.

In your tears and in your blood
In your fire and in your flood
I hear you laugh, I heard you sing
I wouldn’t change a single thing

And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummers begin to drum
I don’t know which way I’m going
I don’t know what I’ve become

P.S - To be continued...
Btw, Bobu's first question is - " Didi why do we, at times, follow our heart and not our head?

Dedicated to : The Sanctuary

2006-04-22T01:28:00.000+05:30

The Pledge

• Novus Ordo Seclorum – New secular order
• Capre diem – Seize the moment
• Amor platonicus – Platonic love
• Meliora Cogito – Strive for the Best
• Ad Libitum Ad Libituras – As freely as desired
• Per Adura Ad Astra – Through the struggle to the stars
• Cogito, Facio Fio – Think it, do it, become it
• Multi Famam, conscientam panic verentur – Many fear their reputation, few their conscience
• Uvan Uvan Vivendo varia fit – Diverse grapes, through time, grow together
• Amat Victoria Curam – Victory is for those who take the pains
• Bis Vincit qui se Vincit in Victoria – He conquers who in the hour conquers himself

The beginning…

A call, an echo, a sound deep, from far away, yet so close….yes this is the call from within you; rise to that sound, awaken, meet it with all thy valor. Arise; meet the call of “The Sanctuary”. Amidst distraction and noise we find ourselves each day, trapped by rules and regulations (the reason of their existence-unknown to us); never have we been able to explore, not known the limitless boundaries which we can achieve. Here is your chance to explore these hidden depths, explore the unexplored…outside and within. This is only the beginning…the beginning of our Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary is an organization, not of want-to-be’s or wannabes but the need-to-be’s.. Yes, this is for the ones, who deep within want to make a difference in the world - starting from themselves, for those who know that little contributions have a larger role to play in life, for the students of (for) life. This is the sanctum… this is where every stone and stain is home… this is…. The Sanctuary….

The very purpose of our existence is for a higher purpose, and to find this larger purpose we have The Sanctuary. From adventure to indoors, from mountaineering to GD’s, from JAM’s to core competencies, from studies to sport, from literature to math, from Socrates to Freud, all from The Sanctuary to you….. Welcome aboard this wondrous vessel. Welcome and come steer it along with us.

Boulevard of Fantasies : Part 2

2006-04-16T01:20:00.000+05:30

And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummer begins to drum
I don’t know which way I’m going
I don’t know which way I’ve come

Now, St.Xavier College has an enthralling, almost renaissanic history attached to it. Named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th Century who travelled to India, St. Xavier's College is is not a mere building - all concrete and iron, stone and bricks and mortar. It is much more than a material and physical reality.St. Xavier's precincts reign with the serene spirit and dynamic industry of men and women, filled with the ardent desire to give India loyal, devoted and useful citizens.

She jaunted her way into the arched entrance of St. Xavier. Sarah Dias was one of those girls who cracked a rapport with the most uncanny people. Her list of favourites included - mirthful bus conductors, rickshawalla's interessant and colgate-sponsored watchmen. Or maybe it was the 'Sarah' effect. she made people smile. Random people.

'Wassa!' shouted Rehan from the Quad (basket-ball court for the ignorant multitude).Rehan was a nut. A wannabe Xavierite who was lost in an identity-crisis. He tried to runaway from himself. Like most of us. 'Hey Seru! Look i got mah eer pierced again... t'was fuckin' painful tha gunshat ya', yapped Rehan in his authentically fake accent. He couldn't, for Pete's sake, fathom the fact that he had an innate affinity towards Bollywood and item numbers. Being a Xavierite and hailing from snooty South Bombay, he'd have to do a Jonathan Livingston Seagull act to break free. Someday.

'What's it on like Ashaita?' - Heard Love Letter's on at NCPA. You wanna check it out. It's by Rahul da Cunha. I'm sure u're at it. Rehan! You'll come, English play but? , giggled Sarah

The lady had an outlandish sense of humour. A blend of crass, subtle, irritating and endearing. Sarcasm came to her as naturally as it comes to most breeds of the female specie. But she resisted vitriolic warfare.
'Sarcasm hurts bhai' - That was Sarah philosophy. I hope she meant it:)

'Arghhh... Philosophy Class', exclaimed Kevin.

Pan Centre
Focus - Kevin... Kevin D'souza
Kevin, the man, was a quintessential Xavierite. Long hair - unkempt, Hair band - coloured, low waist jeans - Levi's, Vests - body hugging plus a sluggish demeanour, guitar, Marlboro, guitar, Marlboro.. not to forget - generous servings of Jive, women, assumed intelligence, charm, wit, attitude.. aah attitude - loads of it!

I saw these four at the Quad... basking in the summer sun. Living Life. Living moments. Living the moment. Kevin charmed. Sarah warmed. Ashaita couldn't care less. Rehan charmed too - unknowingly.

St.Xavier's was indeed the melting point of Mumbai. Suburban hives met towny lives.

At the Woods - Ideas converged. Innocent Dreams received incessant support.Innocent support.Innocent.Support...

'These guys live in a fool's paradise', i told myself. They sneered at me. Not really. They would have.
Were they afraid to take on the world? Or were they building a fellowhip for themselves. I pondered towards futility.
Why do they compell me to choose friendship, love and simple living over materialistic pleasures? Time will tell.

Sarah looked at me. She smiled. (Smile - a facial expression characterized by an upward curving of the corners of the mouth and indicating pleasure, amusement, or derision). " There are somethings that money can't buy... for everything else, there's MasterCard", I told (yeah, that's what i actually told) myself. A Poor Joke to capture another priceless moment.

I see, Sarah is a popular girl. I mean kitne log know her yaar. Read : She was seen hugging people as if it were entrance fee to the canteen. Over the coffee at woods, she spoke, expressed, joked, laughed, lived.

But then, that was she - unbashed, chilled, jovial, spunky, eccentric, in love... perpetually... with life...
...Sarah!

Still my heart and hold my tongue
I feel my time
My time has come
Let me in
Unlock the door
I never felt this way before

P.S. - To be continued...

Boulevard of Fantasies : Part 1

2006-04-11T19:25:00.000+05:30

What seemed like an amorous stare was infact her meditation...
Gazing at the migrating sun was a religion sworn in out of choice. A way of acknowledging the light.

She was there, like every other day, sauntering on the oft-trodden Marine Drive pathway. Thoughts, like automobiles post liberalisation, raced through her head. "How did my day shape up?", she questioned her seeking mind. Pat came the reply - A day of meaning and purpose, as always, my girl. Alas.. For the multitude of timid souls who see not victory or defeat.
The whiff of platonic roadside coffee - of aroma's beyond tainted Barista beans and illusionary cafe days, moved her to the day's morning. Of days where moments lived lifetimes...

"And all the roads we have to walk along are winding,
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding " - preached Oasis out of her poor lil' rich phone. Passionate dreams within dreamy eyes greeted another May morning. Good morning 'Sarah'! - she told herself as she sprung out of her bed. Sleep was but an excuse to nurture her dreams. Her accelerated demeanour was characterized by an unhurried calmness within, as paradoxical as it may seem. There was once an untrained mind. She trained the intrained. It needed no training. Mornings were spent with herself.Especially while bathing.Water interacted with milky skin in a form so unlike the adulterated convergence of milk and water at our local doodhwaala's. Lame metaphor to an otherwise priceless moment. Mortal men envy the two hydrogen and one oxygen atom on her skin alabaster. She wore no make up. She frowned at the thought of it. God Bless her. The black eye-liner seduces her into application. "Black Envy" screamt girls when her eyes met theirs.

Of simple things she lived. An ipod, a shoulder bag, low-waist Diesel jeans and a white(read:plain) top. She was born, as if through an error of destiny, into a faimily unfazed by inflationary tendencies in the economy.Her infectious grin crinkled the white on the her face as she bid her good ole' family adieu. She was out. Another day. Another adventure. Life. "Have a good day guys", with an earnest heart was her sign-off.

I see her making a beeline for Andheri Station. A station famous for its pungent odour, Mc'donalds, vada-pavs, harmonious noise and of men who sweat it out. literally. In the meantime, her ipod shuffles between Green Day, Himesh Reshamiya and Orange County. She hurries, you see, for her 8.48 local. She is unperturbed by the daily Mumbai frenzy. Or maybe she is. I don't know. Maybe she dreams of change, of revolution. Maybe she identifies with Sonia of Rang De Basanti, maybe she doesn't. Maybe she will die for a cause, maybe she will live for it...

I like the way she embraces unspoken words, unknown people and unexpressed love. I like her eccentricity. 'Sarah' lives in a world of unrewarding love. She practices a different Math. Perspiration off laborious women rub against her flawless skin as she is propelled towards her St. Xavier Landmark. She doesn't mind. It keeps her grounded. May the Lord be with her...

"Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me..."

P.S - To be continued...

It's Not About the Party...

2006-04-09T01:43:00.000+05:30

Have you danced without a care for the world? Dance to life...

Have you seen life in its purest form? Live it...

Have you seen life as it needs to be seen? Not from selfish eyes of your own...

Have you felt lucky? Feel the luck - To be Alive...

Have you become yourself? Return to Innocence...

Have you lived the moment like they do? Breathe the moment...

Have you become a kid? Kid Around...

It's not just a party, it's meditation. It's not just a party, it's a gift from God. This Monday, walk in to create & celebrate magic with God's special gifts. They are not the underpriviledged children. We Are. Unwind.Chill.Breathe.Celebrate.Live... God is in the child. See the phrase come true at the party of a lifetime

See the "God of Small Things" groove into a state of Zen,
And in the end, learn that life's too simple to be complicated.

Smile.Laugh.Dance....your way to life's biggest lessons, cuz it ain't just another party - It's the SVP Party

Venue - SVP Learning Centre opp. Alfa
Time - 6.00 p.m. onwards
Date - 10th April, 2006

P.S. - All are Invited. All.

Serve.Learn.Grow
Team RCNM

Inspired...

2006-04-03T21:09:00.000+05:30

Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you're alive, it isn't.
Richard Bach

"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good."

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
Seneca

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

My Favourite

It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again;
who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
DARING GREATLY
so that his place shall never be
with those timid souls
who know neither victory or defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves 'who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?'

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Marianne Williamson

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain

“Come to the edge.”
“We can't. We're afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can't. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire, 1880-1918

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.
The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.

Ayn Rand

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
Jack London

Meditate.
Live purely. Be quiet.
Do your work with mastery.
Like the moon, come out
from behind the clouds!
Shine
Buddha

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it
and whispers, 'Grow, grow.'
The Talmud

"If you cannot be a poet, be the poem."
David Carradine

"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as if everything is."
Albert Einstein

All the Best - This one's dedicated to someone who i owe a lifetime ;)
I will give nothing but my best cuz mediocrity is irrelevant

Parting Shot - "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing" - Hellen Keller

The 7 Laws of Failure

2006-03-28T21:32:00.000+05:30

To Mr. Anuj Gosalia,

The mind Mr.Gosalia loves to take control and plague your system. You need to slow it down. Anuj, you've mastered the art of failure by now. You've mastered the art of procrastination, instant-gratification, big-talk, false promises and the works. You could probably write a book on how to Fail, Repeatedly .. yeah?

So, on your behalf, i present to you, The 7 Laws of Failure :

1.The Excusez Moi Syndrome - The mind loves to make you feel comfortable. Loves to find solutions to your dilema in the most-innovative ways. It'll tell you that even if you watch a movie (Read : Being Cyrus) before the exam, you'll crack it.. Why you'll have the entire night to study. It will also provide relief in the form of Scientific Research - The human mind functions at its best when it has to meet a deadline : The Flight or Fight Mechanism

2.Instant-Gratification - Whoa! I've mastered this one: Just one more page of the new book, one more song. In the middle of a study-session: i need to check my mail urgently. I have to have that ToblerOne in the refrigerator- It'll help me concentrate.
Mind tells you: Get done with your desire so that you are not distracted. But hey!... that desire itself was a distraction, an excuse to not concentrate, wasn't it?;)

3. The Illusionary Study Approach - Mom, i can study well on the bed you know. It's just a myth that you can't concentrate lying 180* flat on a soft,cozy bed with A/C and a light pillow under your head. I mean.. remember they said 'Study in a comfortable position;)'. The power of music also comes into the picture here... yes (Coldplay blasting, RBD anthems & JAL themselves). How can you not possibly concentrate. Now research says ' Soft alpha music [whatever that is, I guess on the lines of Karunesh, Yanni, Kenny G] promotes quantitative ability and mathematical problem-solving. But RDB, Coldplay? You need to be reeely involved in your math, accounts (some guys manage theory as well - And yes they do score well:for the record) or you need to be doing a subject of your interest to multi-task. Even then, i'd like a word or two on efficiency!

4.The Hoax Reality-Check - We love lying to ourselves don't we? Ask me? Comforting myself has become my forte. I mean why underestimate the time to be take per chapter. If a particular chapter will take 4 hours, admit it! Why pretend to finish or factor in only two hours when you cannot complete it efficiently in that given time. Yes, it happens vice-versa also ... wherein you factor 6 hours and end up doing 15 pages of a 60 page chapter - Lol

5.World's Most Innovative Concentration building techniques - Mankind thrives on creativity & innovation. Monotony is something which i detest. Therefore when mind-monkey happens (restless, unending self-talk on everything on this planet = mind-monkey) i come up with ideas such as The Enigma Meditation, Deep-Breathing, walk on the beach. The idead are all good but no sustainabilty. One fine day when you start meditating, you do not reach Optimimum Performance state. It is a result of relentless, unflinching, gruelling and yes.. monotonous practice. Something which i fail to realize and understand. Concentration is really very simple & very natural. I am writing this in a state of acute focus and concentration. It's just a matter of transcending boundaries and applying it to all walks of life.

6.The Compromise on Goal Behaviour- Now i'm sure, i have company here... How often have I started preparing for an exam with uber enthusiasm, adrenaline rushes, pep-talks... yes, i can do it. I can beat the best. If he can, why can't I - the usual
7 days, 13 hours and 47 minutes into prep-mode and it all goes bust. Deflates, crashes - i have a million synonyms.Yes, i mean how can you possibly prepare a month is advance? It just doesn't digest mahn .... To someone who's been bought up on a steady diet of last minute cramming, late-night rushes and 'I thrive under pressure'and such illusionary behavioural patterns, ideas such as these seem surreal. Hence, the enthu comes down crashing and then after a week a new time table emerges with compromised goals and fake self-beliefs... And this over a period of few years (19, in my case) becomes a habit until one day (like today) you tell yourself that ' Hey this is not what i was destined to beomce, this is not the standard that i set for myself' & emerge triumphant! :)

7. The Final Law - Failure comes to those who don't say 'NO'. Failure comes to those
swear by 'Impromptu Living' w/o keeping its drawbacks in the mind. Failure comes to those who believe that there's a shortcut to the top - Unfortuantely there isn't. Failure comes to those who cannot take the grind. Failure comes to the Indisciplined. Failure comes if short-term pleasures dilute your long-term goals. Failure comes everytime you choose an alternative to your original goal & Failure finally comes if you fall into any of the aforesaid traps of failure.

Some very fascinating quotes that i came across :

Hritik Roshan in Rendevouz with SG - "It's not about how many peaks you climb. It's about that God Damn ride." It's all about the journey :)))

Abhishek Thakore & the Harvard Success Model - Eventually, your success will be determined by your 'Want' - your 'Need'.How badly do you want It? How prepared are you to 'Grit' it out to succeed?

You may ask, why the 7 laws to Failure? Well, i wish i could write on the 7 laws of Success but you see - I am not too good at writing fiction:)

But yes, I promise thay someday I will. Someday, i will live the Success and then maybe share a tip or two;)

All the Best Mr.Gosalia,
Live It Up,
Me

The " I "

2006-03-25T16:40:00.000+05:30

Enlightenment is a functional disassociation of identity. The human brain is a biologically created thinking machine that has evolved for both personal self-preservation and the survival of the species. The ego, which is a selfish motivating force, is needed to protect our colony of living cells (the physical body) from danger and to keep our cells replenished with food and water. If you did not have an ego you would not be able to think, speak, or find food, shelter, and clothing. The ego function is so vital for survival that the human brain evolved with two potential ego mechanisms, one a centralized ego and the second a larger and more diffuse backup system utilizing less central portions of the brain.

If the body and brain becomes physically ill with high fever and the centralized ego center is damaged, the backup ego mechanism may temporarily take over its function. This is ego displacement without enlightenment. The backup self-maintenance system keeps sleep walkers out of danger and helps enlightened human animals find food and the basics of life, so they do not physically die as a result of their own deep meditation.

Enlightened humans do not feel their more diffuse ego and thus they feel as free as space itself. In actuality ego is still present and working, just as our autonomic nervous system keeps on working whether we are aware of its function or not. You do not have to consciously tell your heart to beat 70 times a minute because it will keep on beating regardless of your awareness. The brain function that controls heart rate is automatic (autonomic) and does not need our consciousness to make it work.

Some enlightened human animals have become fooled by the phenomena of ego displacement and thought they no longer had any personal selfishness that could cause trouble. Meher Baba (see picture) spent much of his life bragging about how great he was, yet at his center he felt perfectly egoless. He once even proclaimed that "No one loves me as much as I deserve to be loved." In truth Meher Baba was very egocentric and should have realized that even enlightenment is no excuse for bragging.

The same fundamental misjudgment plagued Acharya Rajneesh. He became fooled into thinking that he was above arrogance and greed, but that was simply not the case. The ego is an integral part of the structure of the human brain. It is not simply psychological, but neurological and hard wired into our neural pathways (see the scientific study of 'self''). The self-survival, self-defense mechanism we call 'ego' cannot be destroyed unless the physical body dies.

Even enlightened humans have to mind their manners and realize that the Atman is the wondrous phenomena they should promote, not their own fallible and temporary personalities. Ramana Maharshi had the right approach in this regard, and that is one reason he is still beloved by all. Ramana Maharshi promoted the Atman, the universal cosmic consciousness, but never his own mortal body and mind.

The God of Small Things

2006-03-14T11:17:00.000+05:30

Expressions.Life.More...Captured

To Mommy Dearest!

2006-03-11T13:00:00.000+05:30

It’s been long since I wrote something original … guess i’m too lazy to exercise those good ole’ grey cells, happily cocooned around the white matter .. arrey it's exam time re...
Anyway, I was browsing through some of my old files and I came across this essay that I wrote for my mother in one of those term-exams .. Got reminded of those fab, fab, no words .. school days. I’ll post on school some other day.. but yeah .. I felt really good reading it .. So i thought : Why not immortalize it on my blog eh?

Here it goes…
I wrote this when I was in the 9th grade… I guess ( Pardon the vocab and grammar. Not that there's been any significant improvement … but yeah whatever!)

The Essay topic : Explain how your mother has influenced you life?

‘God could be not everywhere so he made mother’
These lines truly portray the affection, the love and the goodness of the incarnation of God, the Mother. Our mother plays such a pivotal role in our life. From our childhood till we are well settled, it is her advice, thoughts and decisions that play an influencing role in our life. She is there with us at all times, to share our sadness and double our happiness.
Someone truly said, ‘Mother you are God on Earth’

As a child, I considered my mother to be my strongest support. Her warmth and love is truly uncomaparable. My mother’s warm hug after I returned from school gave me the feeling of immense joy and pleasure. Now at the age of fifteen I recollect the way in which she tirelessly listened to my endless conversations. She would show me the ‘Right’ each time I went wrong. My mother’s inspirational words would help whenever I was in a gloomy mood.

I remember how my poor performance in the eighth grade terminal examination had depressed me to such an extent that I lay sobbing for two to three days. It was at that time, when my mother told me that ‘Failure is nothing but a stepping stone to success’. She told me that crying over spilt milk was futile and she inspired me to study hard. I fared with flying colours in my annual examination.

I love my mother for the way she has directed my life in the right path. She imparts her own experiences to me and she tells me not to spend money uselessly as it is extremely tough to earn money.

I recollect those terrible days when my father’s business was not at its best and we had a meagre income. It was in those days that she supported my father by saying that ‘ Life is full of ups and downs’ Her good counsel gave my father the courage to fight out the storm and walk through the hardships

Now, in my youth she advises me to stay away from bad company and rowdy boys. Her softness and gentleness accompanied by the command in her voice gives her an enduring personality. She truly deserves the reverence and respect of everyone.

My mother, for me, is the ideal mother. Beautiful, sensitive and affectionate, she is a thorough all-rounder, a paragon of all virtues. Moreover, she is a fabulous cook too. She has influenced me in every possible way. Her life experiences coupled with the hardships faced gives me the inspiration to work hard and be disciplined throughout my life and at best be a good son.

Thus I conclude by saying that life without a mother’s love is an incomplete life, infact no life at all.
“ How I wish mothers were immortal...”

Lights will guide me Home

2006-03-05T07:50:00.000+05:30

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
....Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
when you love some one but it goes to waste
could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Maverick v/s Method - Heartfelt

2006-02-26T05:12:00.000+05:30

This happens to be one of the most powerful cover stories that i've read in recent times. Can't help but share it with you'll

The Heart of the Matter

Rahul Bhattacharya reflects on the most fascinating Indian cricketer of our time

Love him or hate him, you just can't ignore Sourav Ganguly

At some stage, hard to say when, Sourav Ganguly no longer remained a cricketer and turned into a folk hero and a folk villain. Averages and the rest came into it but with Ganguly things became a matter of convictions of the soul. Anything he did or did not do could provoke an outcry. Everything that was done to him or not done to him could provoke an outcry. Ganguly issues took the form of movements. In many ways he is the cricketer-phenomenon in India's modern pop culture.

A year of sustained chaos, encompassing several riots, numerous u-turns and countless epitaphs, has now led to a predicament of superb absurdity. In a recent column the satirist Jug Suraiya was badgered by his partner to attend yet another festive-season party. "You'll meet lots of interesting people," he protests. "I'll end up as always like a spare Sourav; present and accounted for, but no one quite knows what's to be done with him." Indeed, no one quite knows.

The Ganguly situation is impossible. No answer is a solution, not even the one of respectfully putting him out to pasture, because he isn't going, and if he isn't going he is almost certain to be back. No, the situation must resolve itself and the rest is commentary. The fashion is to be exasperated, if not disgusted, by the whole affair. Personally I'm not tired of it. Not in the least. I'd be lying if I say I'm not fascinated: as human dramas go, there's too much in it.

And the situation could not be what it is were Ganguly not what he is. On braving my surname and referring to Ganguly as the most fascinating Indian cricketer of his generation in a recent article, I was ticked off by a reader: "I am sure no person, living or dead, on earth outside people of Bengali origin thinks that Ganguly comes anywhere close to being one of the most fascinating cricketers, let alone being `the most'." Another put it more succinctly: "A f***ing Bong standing up for another f***ing Bong."

Never mind the enlightened. The reactions Ganguly evokes comprise a phenomenon broader than Bengali parochialism. Cricinfo.com's diarist Siddhartha Vaidyanathan reported from Pakistan that the first thing locals asked him after the khatirdaari was about Ganguly. They were unhappy with the treatment meted out to him. They related to his naked passion. In one way or another Ganguly speaks to watchers. At once he compels you to assume both the best and worst about him; at once he can prove you both right and wrong. In short, he makes you feel. I have not spent quite so much time discussing, debating, any other cricketer. What is it about him?

I suppose Ganguly came to symbolise individualism and rebellion. Individualism in that he was given to flouting norms, yes, but also in the way he could not be bothered about members fitting into or giving energy to the group. To him match-winning talent was match-winning talent and that was that. Type was important: the brasher the better. In his book Aakash Chopra and Mohammad Kaif were meant for walk-on parts and Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh for glory. This could not be scoffed at because, as much as the attitude may have bred hubris, at the time the team was being built there exuded from it a rawness of belief that was both effective and appealing.

A journalist recalls being phoned by Ganguly to watch a youngster in a first-class game that was being televised. "Aap is ladke ko dekho. Badaa khilaadi hoga yeh. Mujhe khilaana hai. (Watch this boy. He is going to be a big player. I want to pick him right away.)" A few months on, Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed 148 against Pakistan from No. 3. One player put it this way: "If you capture Dadi's imagination, he will do anything for you." And vice-versa, for once he'd captured Dadi's imagination the player too would do for anything for Dadi. Yuvraj on his first comeback to the team was quoted saying: "I'm ready to die for such a captain." Harbhajan's unstinting support can in some way be understood in light of the fact that, feeling defeated by disciplinary issues, the chucking saga, an ordinary international track record, and economic pressure at home, he was contemplating moving to the US to drive trucks for a living at the time Ganguly fought for his selection.

Generally Ganguly fostered angry or reckless young men. To him "good behaviour", a broad term espoused by the present team management, belonged in school and probably not even there. He himself had been summoned to the match referee no less than 12 times in the last decade. His approach was bound to precipitate what could possibly be termed a cultural conflict in the world of modern sport. For Ganguly, like for Arjuna Ranatunga, competitiveness involved brinksmanship rather than training. As far as they were concerned Australia were not to be aspired to. They were simply to be toppled. England were not to be appeased. Victory lay precisely in their disapproval. In other words, Ganguly and Ranatunga wanted to do things their way. Both carried a resonance of the anti-colonial rather than that of the savvy global sports professional of the age (in Pakistan, Ganguly blithely sported an oversized beanie bearing a logo of the wrong corporate). If it was limiting it was also inspiring. And it invited, from Western observers especially, a ludicrous mix of suspicion, ridicule and condemnation. Much more easy to be gracious about well-mannered fellows who toe the line.

So far so good. Ganguly quenched the thirst for individualism, which is an essential allure of sport; he had an effect on young players and followers similar to that of a rock concert, and all the while kept a successful team together thanks also to a wonderful set of seniors and a fine coach.

And yet, after a point every day for him became a day of decay: the uncorrected technical errors, the sinking fitness levels, the sagging fielding, the jaded tactics, the lowering of standards for himself and by extension for the entire side - not least the gifted youngsters over whom he had so much influence. Finally, his almost politician-like desperation to hold on to power manifested itself in an insecurity - or was it the other way round? - that tore away at the very fabric of the team.

The deterioration looked all the more stark because of the contrast with that most outstanding of cricketers, and Ganguly's exact contemporary and heir, Rahul Dravid. Simply, Dravid built himself on stronger foundations. Ganguly batted pretty as a butterfly but, distracted, found himself blown away by the winds of high pace. Dravid opened up once his base was sufficiently secure. When it came down to it, Dravid had the rigour to last. Likewise, where Ganguly the leader powered on bare-chested with the belief that with flair on his side nothing was impossible, Dravid appreciates that any group must have the safety net of work ethic, discipline, punctuality, enthusiasm - the finer things. Dravid's brand of risk-taking is more cerebral. With Ganguly there was always the element of danger, of losing it all. Ganguly was not about systems and processes. Ganguly was about whims and instincts. This was the thrill, and a great thrill. But I suppose when you're losing, the thrill is gone.

***

Personally, commenting on the Ganguly situation has been challenging because it involves a tussle between the heart, which wants the individual, the rebel, to beat the odds and win, and the mind, which cannot help but log the slow, sad decline. Then the watcher and the journalist in you battle and they can be, but are not in every instance, the same.

Besides, this was a situation like no other. The more I dwelled on the issue the more I stopped dwelling on the rights and wrongs (there were so many that there weren't any) and the merits of the case (which became too tiresome). They didn't matter so much either. Simply, I just wanted to see how it would unfold on a human level.

I suppose in effect I was choosing the simple intimacy of the watcher to the powerful insider-ness of the journalist. I couldn't see why a nebulous "what's best for the team" should become a pamphleteering cause with me - that was merely a parameter to be considered while trying to pass honest judgement on the actions of the men responsible. Beyond that it was neither my duty nor my inclination and I felt foolish for harbouring any guilt in this respect. At a deeply personal level it did not matter a great deal to me whether India became the next Australia or not. Cricket was at once a massive joke and the most significant human theatre and all the joy ultimately came from the universal stuff and would be fulfilling regardless. And banging on either way missed the most crucial point of sport - that we really don't know what's going to come.

It was with this sense of freedom that a colleague and I jumped on to a spontaneous train to Rajkot on the eve of a Duleep Trophy fixture in which Ganguly would need to prove his form and fitness. It felt like something special might happen, and it did. On a municipal ground, in an environment so anti-climactic that it was melodramatic, the soon-to-be-deposed Indian Test captain hit a rousing century. It was lovely to watch, not so much because of his strokes, some of which were indeed vintage, but because of all the other layers to it.

That evening I met Ganguly at his hotel. I was apprehensive. I had written critical articles about him over the past few months and these things have a way of getting around, often in exaggerated form. I had nothing specific to ask him. I only wanted to try and gauge what he might be thinking, how he might be reacting to the uniqueness of his dilemma.

There was an air of complete serenity about him, heightened because he was initially sitting on a swing in an open courtyard. He looked the perfect bhadralok: crisp white kurta pyjama, hair neatly parted, thin-rimmed spectacles.

It was an easy, enjoyable, and in some ways warm, conversation. Broadly, three things were striking. One was that retirement was very far from his mind; how others might like to remember him seemed to be their own business. Another was his sense of hurt about allegations of "divide and rule". But the most remarkable was his aura of calm. His family members would later tell The Hindustan Times that he has always been so, that he had never ever lost his cool off the cricket field, that nothing ever fazes him. He himself would say that he believed in destiny and expected to be playing the World Cup of 2007. In that short little meeting I could appreciate more properly than ever before the temperament of a man who at any moment of time has more knives at his back and more garlands at his face than a cabinet of ministers.

A week on, Ganguly was dropped from the one-day squad altogether. Then stripped of Test captaincy, then deemed a Test allrounder, then... you know the story.

The most revealing moment came in the response to his being dropped after the Delhi Test against Sri Lanka. He could have retired right then a saint, all sins forgotten. The man who a few months ago was among the most reviled in the land now had the undiluted support of the nation. It was extraordinary that he would pass up the opportunity and choose instead to put himself and the team under so much pressure and run the risk even of humiliation - were he to return and flop. As ever he left you grappling with mixed feelings: to admire his self-belief or to dismiss him as delusional? What to make of such a man?

And so there he was in Lahore in India's first Test of the new year. He probably should not have been playing at all. Despite the denials to the contrary, it is learnt that his inclusion in the touring party had more to do with the wishes of authorities other than the selectors and the team management.

Late on the second afternoon: Pakistan 668 for 6, India wilting. Ganguly had just made an impressive dive at the boundary. Now a high ball swirled above his head. An initial misjudgement, frantic back-tracking, a final, flailing leap, a one-handed catch both spectacular and comic, a slow-motion backward roll on hitting the ground, and off like a bomb upon regaining poise, injecting humour and spirit into a weary side. It felt like he was one of the boys again. Even Greg Chappell smiled. It was by a distance the most contagious moment of the game. He did not bat a single ball and humbly carried drinks in the next Test.

He was back again for the final match. He made 34, 37, and two errors which were each to be - as luck would have it, and since this story has a strain of tragedy running through it - his only error of each innings. Both times the team required a big score and in the final analysis these were a pair of letdowns. Still it was not an illusion: he indeed batted beautifully, more fluently than any other Indian in the match and as fluently as he had ever done in his career. Few could have expected it. Among those few was Ganguly.

Two days later he flew back home as Dravid turned his mind to the upcoming one-dayers and, some part of it no doubt, to the batting order for the next Test series. And that's where the Sourav Ganguly saga rested at the last opportunity to update.

Talent Management eh?

2006-02-26T05:08:00.000+05:30

I was googling on Talent Management as a management concept and came across this highly interesting read by an HR Professional...

On Leadership: Want leaders? Look for talent management

By Albert A. Vicere

For years, experts have been pointing to a crisis in leadership. But this isn't a crisis of accountability; it's a crisis of availability. We're running short of leaders.

Consider this: A Business Wire survey found that 20 percent of the senior executives in Fortune 500 companies were qualified to retire in 2003. A survey of large companies conducted by RHR associates found that half the respondents expected to lose more than half of their current senior management team by 2010. And a recent study by Executive Development Associates found that 70 percent of the responding companies cited a lack of leadership bench strength as a major corporate challenge.

Companies finally have begun to address the issue, acknowledging leadership talent shortages and making leadership development a top priority. But most express concern that the leadership talent gap is one of corporate America's biggest challenges.

Certainly, demographics are at the heart of the challenge -- baby boomers are retiring in droves, and they need to be replaced. But new employee expectations and the complexity of global leadership make that challenge enormously complex.

What companies need is a focused, intensive set of processes to expand and develop their pool of leadership talent. And they need to get those processes in place now if they have any hope of filling their leadership talent gap.

What's needed, according to Eileen Antonucci, executive vice president for Executive Talent Management Systems at EDA, are integrated approaches to talent management and leadership development. She notes that at the best companies, "talent is viewed as a key strategic resource for achieving business objectives and is never taken for granted."

Antonucci went on to note that high performing companies have well-developed talent management systems "driven by a deep and detailed understanding of the organization's business goals and the talent needed to get there."

Human resources guru Dave Ulrich has written extensively on what it takes to build what he calls organizational capability, the ability to develop business strategies and execute them. He contends that the essence of organizational capability is a tight link between business objectives and organizational processes for selecting, developing, appraising and rewarding people. In short, they need talent management systems.

Antonucci couldn't agree more, saying: "Talent management systems do not leave key factors to chance. The organization carefully develops a distinct 'employer brand' to attract talent, thinks through how work is organized and its impact on issues such as employee satisfaction and retention. A talent management system is part of the fabric of the organization."

But effective talent management requires a perspective that goes both ways. Said Antonucci: "Organizations need to know what kinds of talent they need to achieve their goals. For example, what are the knowledge and skills employees need based on our business outcomes? But they also need to know the needs and expectations of their employees. What will engage and motivate employees? What will attract them to our organization? What will keep them here?"

What are the characteristics of a good talent management system? Antonucci outlined three simple traits. First, there is ownership and involvement across the whole company, not just with the human resource management department. Second, business objectives permeate every aspect of the system from employer branding to appraisal through development. Third, the system is measured in real business terms and results are acted upon.

And the measures of an effective talent management system? It comes down to whether a company has the talent needed to execute its business strategy. And the signs of a faltering system are readily apparent: failing to meet business targets or objectives; shortages of key talent; talent management a low corporate priority; employee morale and satisfaction on the wane; problems recruiting employees; problems retaining employees; a tarnished employment brand.

With the steady departure of baby boomers from leadership ranks and the demand for talent more intense than ever, companies should heed the siren of talent management. The crisis of leadership availability is no longer looming on the horizon. It's here. Talent management processes are crucial to meeting the challenge.

Unmaad

2006-02-09T23:07:00.000+05:30

Intoxication ... High on Life ... Trance ... Adrenaline Rush ... Unmaaad

The concept of relentless energy has intruiged me ever since i was in school.
In school i used to flaunt about my ability to stay up late hours and then attend school .. go through the entire draining day at schoool .. attend class... come back and do the same shit all over again ... i really dunno wht made me tick ... Was

it my state of mind .... my friends .. my network .... my thoughtss.... it was so amazing ... the entire idea about sloggin trough 10th Std. ... it's often said that the journey is as important as the destination ... Subconsciouslly i ensured that the journey was very,very beautiful ...

As years passsed by ( 4 to be precise ) ... i've never been able to get access that state successfully ...it's been compulsive ... it's been forced upon by circumstances ...

At IIM B it was different .. it was magic .. it was a state that i could not express in words ... maybe Unmaad.

What is it that makes students go on relentlessy ... unliminted energy ...robotic n yet creative .. monotonous n'd yet not so

...
they're the future of India ... some of the best managers to-be.. India's corporate giants ....
I aspire to be amongst them...

Will i make it ? I dunno ... But i have questions ... & i want answers ... I badly do ... Even though i know that they all lie within me ... i need reassurance ... i need faith .. in myself and in the Universe !

What is their make up?
What is their strength?
What is it about them that's so surreal .. why can't we cut them down to size and make them more human ?

What is the secret of their success?
Am i not passionate enough? Am i not inspired enough ?

If i am, then why don't i translate my inspiration into action? into action that makes me go on forever ...
Do we always need a support system of friends to make us go on tirelessly .... to inspire us ?

When will i awaken the giant within ?

When i will i tell my self .... Anuj, give two hoots about what people around you think of you, or what people around you are

planning to do with their lives ?

When will i stop living in the illusion that i'm productive and growing ... When will i be able to tell myself that ... when

the world sleeps, the men who intend to make it big in life toil...

When will I rise to the biggest challenge of my life ... When will i give up mediocrity ?

When will i Practice what i Preach ?

When will i do what most Supposedly Successful people don't do ?

When will i be able to reach a stage when i accept people close to me ... without giving a fuck for what other people have to

say about them ?

When will i learn to trust ? Trust new people, old enemies, the universe ... ?

When will i find the ability to transalte my thoughts, dreams, and visions into action ?

When will i reach a stage when thoughts, negativity and prejudice are not a part of me?

When will i achieve the flow ?

When will my mind and body align to become the most powerful force in this universe ?

When will i be able to say that losses, heart-breaks, materialistic pleasures and the works are bullshit

When will i be able to reach a stage when i lose all my wealth and say that ... whoa! this is life tooo ...

When will i believe that i'm comforably numb in my comfortably dumb world ...

What is that formulae for inspired action ?

when will i attain salvation ?

When will i attain Unmaad ?

Music...Songs...Anthems...Rang De Basanti

2006-01-31T21:32:00.000+05:30

Rang De Basanti : Title track

Note : Kudos to the stunning cinematography ... the visuals of the song are as energetic as the song itself ... Finally an anthem that makes you dance ....

ding ding ding ding ding ding ding
ding ding ding ding ding
thodisi dhuul meri dharti ki mere watan ki - 2
thodisi Khushbuu baurai se mast pavan ki
thodisi dhondhane waali dhak-dhak dhak-dhak dhak-dhak saansein
jin mein ho junoon junoon voh boonde laal lahuu ki
yeh sab tuu mila mila le phir rang tuu khila khila le - 2
aur mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara
mohe tuu rang de basanti
mohe mohe tuu rang de basanti - 9
oh mohe rang de basanti basanti rang de basanti - 2
(ding ding ding ding ding ding ding
ding ding ding ding ding) - 2

sapnen rang de, apne rang de
khushiyaan rang de, gam bhi rang de
naslen rang de, faslein rang de
rang de dhadkan, rang de sargam
aur mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara
mohe tuu rang de basanti
thodisi dhuul meri dharti ki mere watan ki - 2
thodisi Khushbuu baurai se mast pavan ki
thodisi dhondhane waali dhak-dhak dhak-dhak dhak-dhak saansein
jin mein ho junoon junoon voh boonde laal lahuu ki
yeh sab tuu mila mila le phir rang tuu khila khila le - 2
aur mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara
mohe tuu rang de basanti

dheemi aanch pe tuu zara ishq chadha
thode jharne laa, thodi nadi mila
thode saagar aa, thodi gaagar laa
thoda chhidak chhidak, thoda hila hila
phir ek rang tu khila khila
mohe mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara
mohe tuu rang de basanti

basti rang de, hasti rang de
hans hans rang de, nas nas rang de
bachpan rang de, joban rang de
ab der na kar sachmuch rang de
rang rez mere sab kuchh rang de
mohe mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara
mohe tuu rang de basanti
thodisi dhuul meri dharti ki mere vatan ki - 2
thodisi KHushbuu baurai se mast pavan ki
thodisi dhondne waali dhak-dhak dhak-dhak dhak-dhak saansein
jin mein ho junoon junoon voh boonde laal lahuu ki
yeh sab tuu mila mila le phir rang tuu khila khila le - 2
mohe mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara
mohe mohe tuu rang de basanti - 9
mohe rang de basanti basanti rang de basanti - 4
rang de rang de rang de basanti
(ding ding ding ding ding ding ding
ding ding ding ding ding) - 3
mohe rang de basanti basanti rang de basanti basanti
mohe rang de basanti rang de basanti rang de basanti yaara

Luka Chuppi : A Mother's call to her son ...

Note : The genius of Rehman ... goddess Lata Mangeshkar ... can't get better than this ... It's so beautiful that my words do injustice to the melody of this haunting track ... A generation awakens!
I love the ' Kya bataoon maa' ... phenomenal

Lata

Luka Chuppi bahut huyi saamne aa ja naa
Kahan kahan dhoondha tujhe
thak gayi hai ab teri maa

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (2)

A. R. Rahman

Kya bataoon maa kahan hoon main
Yahan udney ko mere khula aasmaan hai
Tere kisson jaisa bhola salona
jahan hain yahan sapno vala
Meri patang ho befikar udd rahi hai maa
Dor koi loote nahin beech se kaate na

Lata

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na

Lata

Teri raah takey aankhiyaan
jaane kaisa kaisa hoye jiyaa (2)

Dhire dhire aangan utre andhera, mera deep kahan
Dhalke suraj kare ishara chanda tu hai kahan
Mere chanda tu hai kahan
Luka Chuppi bahut huyi saamne aa ja naa
Kahan kahan dhoondha tujhe thak gayi hai ab teri maa

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (2)

A. R. Rahman

kaise tujhko dikhaun yahaan hai kya
Maine jharne se paani maa tod ke piya hai
Guchcha guchcha kai khwabon ka uchal ke chuwa hai
Chaaya liya bhali dhoop yahaan hai
Naya naya sa hai roop yahan
Yahaan sab kuch hai maa phir bhi
lage bin tere mujhko akela

Lata

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (3)

Robaroo : Aye Saala .. I'm speechless

Note : Wake up to this song and feel the difference in the way in which your day progresses ... it's placement in the movie is mind-blowing to say the least ... it's got everything that'll make you follow your heart with a vengeance ... Live the song ... it's an experience .. it's God

aye saala
abhi abhi huaa yaqeen ki aag hai mujh mein kahi
hui subaah main chal gaya
suraj ko main nigal gaya
ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2

jo gumshuda-sa khwaab tha
voh mil gaya voh khil gaya
uulon hathaa pighal gaya
kichhaa kichhaa machal gaya
sitaar mein badal gaya
ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2

(dhuaan chhataa khula gagan mera
nayi dagar naya safar mera
jo ban sake tu hamsafar mera
nazar mila zara) - 2

aandhiyon se jaghad rahi hai lau meri
ab mashaalon si bhad rahi hai lau meri
naamo nishaan rahe na rahe
ye kaaravaan rahe na rahe
ujaale mein pee gaya
roshan huaa jee gaya
kyon sehte rahe
ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2
dhuaan chhataa khula gagan mera
nayi dagar naya safar mera
jo ban sake tu hamsafar mera
nazar mila zara
ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2
aye saala - 4

Khoon Chala : Teesre kism ke Log

Note: It's so intense.. it's got so much meaning ... it grows .. it grows on to you like crazy!

kuchh kar guzarne ko khoon chala khoon chala
aankhon ke sheeshe mein utarne ko khoon chala
badan se tapak kar, zameen se lipatkar
galiyon se raston se ubharkar, umadkar
naye rang bhar ne ko khoon chala khoon chala

khuli-si chhoT lekar, baRi-si tich lekar ahista ahista
sawaalon ki ungli, jawaabon ki mutthi
sang lekar Khoon chala
kuchh kar guzarne ko khoon chala khoon chala

kuchh kar guzarne ko khoon chala khoon chala
aankhon ke sheeshe mein utarne ko khoon chala
badan se tapak kar, zameen se lipatkar
galiyon se raston se ubharkar, umadkar
naye rang bhar ne ko khoon chala khoon chala

khoon chala - 8

Paatshala ( Be a Rebel )

Note : Check the lyrics mann ... They're kick-ass!

"Say hoi ho oh hoi ho (x2)

Loose Control

Be A Rebel

Verse 1:
To the mahal of the Taj
To the Minar of Qutub
To the Kumari of Kanya (Say hoi oh hoi)
To the Panjim of Goa (Say hoi oh hoi)
To the Kaancheepuram
Zindabad Zindagood
All have something to say (Say hoi oh hoi)
They all have something to say
They all have something to say

Follow me Follow me Follow me now!

Apni tho paatshala, masti ki paatshala
Be A Rebel

Chorus:
Naa koi padne waala, Naa koi seekne wala
Naa koi padne waala, Naa koi seekne wala
Apni tho paatshala, masti ki paatshala
Apni tho paatshala, masti ki paatshala
Loose Control

Verse 2:
India and Pakistan
Bangladesh all in the soul
Khajuraho to Coimbatore
Say hoi oh hoi
(Say hoi hoh hoi)

>From the Gateway of India
Upto the Himalayas
Across the Ganga Yamuna
Say hoi oh hoi
(Say hoi hoh hoi)

To Shirdi to the Red Fort
Rourkela Yeah u know
From Ajmer to Orissa
Say hoi oh hoi
(Say hoi hoh hoi)

Loose Control

Chorus (x1)

Be A Rebel

Verse 3:
Amar Akbar Antony
Ram Rahim Abdullah
Searching for a bright star
Say hoi oh hoi
(Say hoi hoh hoi)

To the corners of the Earth
What is our (search??) worth?
What is our destiny?
Say hoi oh hoi
(Say hoi hoh hoi)

Imagine we go back in time
Free your soul, Free your mind
Take a look what do you find?
Say hoi oh hoi
(Say hoi hoh hoi)

Loose Control
One more time!!
Loose.. Loose..
Loose Control
Haha (x3)!!

Be A Rebel

Khalbali : The Restless Energy before the Storm !

Note : The visuals are breath-taking ... technical finesse ... masterpiece

khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali
khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali

khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali
khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali
khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali
(shola shola balkhaye
dariya dariya lehraye
zarra zarra tharraye
hai khalbali) - 2
khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali

khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali
khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali

hone hone de nasha khone khone ko hai kya - 2
ek saans mein pee ja zara zindagi chadha
hai yeh toh ek jashan tu thirakne de kadam
abhi saanson mein hai dam abhi chalne de sitam

aankhon mein hai khalbali
dhadkanon mein khalbali
mausamo mein khalbali
hai khalbali

kaisi yeh tabdili hai
sheeshi botal pee li hai
raat neeli neeli hai
hai khalbali
(ham lapatke saaye hai
ham sulagne aaye hai
ghar bata ke aaye hai
hai khalbali) - 2

khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali
khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali
khalbali hai khalbali - 3 hai khalbali

Lalkaar - Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna Ab Hamare Dil Mein Hai

Note : The locale, the words, the aura, the spirit ... the sepia-hues, the candles, Aamir...

Hindi Lyrics:
hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar
aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar
khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se
sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se
haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se
sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se
aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe qafan
chaahatein liin bhar liye lo bhar chale hain ye qadam
zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inquilaab
hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aa
duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai
sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai - 2

The Magic of Teamwork ... A Tribute to RCNM

2006-01-20T02:27:00.000+05:30

The O.R.O and Lessons on Teamwork

"The answers to some of the most complex challenges in life are often the simplest"

The study of Team dynamics has been an offshoot in my Leadership Career... My tenure at RCNM was a roller-coaster ride ... so many highs .. so many lows ... the exultation of victory ... the heart-breaking failures ...

Now, leading such a passive life makes me uncomfortable ... and yet as i slowly tune myself out of presidential powers ... i find Zen ..

As a part of our annual excursion called the O.R.O - Official Rotaract Outing (a result of creative malfunction), We, the members of RCNM trekked our way up the Karnala Fort. In a matter of twelve hours, I experienced what i probably did not
during my eight month long tenure as the President of RCNM ... I, or should i say 'WE', experienced the magic of Collective Victory ... Collective Joy ... Collective Celebration ... Collective Evolution ... and in retrospection : t'was so god damn simple...

Presenting to you ... The TEAM .... Team O.R.O. ... Team RCNM

How it all began ?

O.R.O : The build up ... 14 hours prior to the O.R.O. ... destination decided : Trek to Karnala Fort, 10 kms off Panvel, Maharashtra

The Mess. Board : Interesting Propostion for like-minded people to come together ... Team is mentally prepared to have fun and enjoy

The energy in the mornin': sleepy yet restless ... ice-breaker required to eradicate the slumber...

The longish train journey serves as a mini ice-breaker... Humour, abuses, and talkin' about random people beyond the team is an effective tool ... A good lesson was the power of observation : Stinky armpits, ear-hair dude ( whoa! he was some guy! ) ... general tk. abt new year's ... Gyaan : Finding common ground in an uncommon arena

The rickshaw ride - ice-breaker for rickshaw groups ... the vada-pav, cricket bat (a sense of comfort) ... pratik rickshwalla, prerna's wisecracks ... my fascination with gross humour... The Marwari Philosophy Gyaan : Warming up and sensing the wavelength of the team members is very important) .... it happenned to all rick' groups .... the water fights in the other two ricks .. the smaller team was formed .. bonding happened ... funn happened ... the journey began ..

Guys' and the peeing episode ... common comfort ground .. easily identifiable..
My tryst with Mother Nature's Lap : Fertilizer .... doin' sumthin outrageous ... induces a level of crazy comfort ... induces risk-taking if the leader does sumthin crazy (hehe!)

The trek began ... The famous bird sanctuary with soooooooooooooo many birds ... wannabe ducks ...wannabe birds .... team laughing at the pure stupidity of the sanctuary .... Oh it was soooo BIG : Wannabe Bird sanctuary ... The lingo happened ... one more common ground ...

The base was set ... a set of small rick' teams getting together to form the big ORO team ... ice-breaking 2 on the way up ...

The initial stages of the trek when wannabe trekker Nilaang rushed ahead with heart-throb Kahaan ... Shanelle giving up repeatedly ... The beginning is always difficult ...someone has to egg you on ... We give up so many things purely bcuz'the
start seems difficult ...That's where a team is bigger than an individual .... Team is responsible for individual success ... You need the backing cuz u cannot last long by yourself ..

Music and teamwork : Songs and crazy ones unique to a team are often most inspiring : jaadu teri nazar (aarti style), laila o laila, hooo ha hooo ha, he laal laiyo-haiyo haiyo .. they form a sense of connect for the entire team ... songs tht have energy and are yet stupidly unique ..

The halt ..biscuits shared ... distance analyzed ... some juice and water ... everyone halted for the team .. including trekker nilaang and heart-throb kahaan ... team chills..

Respect for individual stamina's and energy levels ...

The journey continues till we reach View-point ...
Pratik Bubna checks his hair out ... humour, leg-pulling happened, but only once the team was relatively comfy with each other .... Had is happened before ... rifts wud've been created .. This is a very sensitive situation .. can create that uncanny
discomfort and which overlooked can be catastrophic ...

Trust Begins :

Nilaang discloses half-monty episode to me ... I laugh ... more importantly ... i understand .. i find solutions ... i go beyond myself ... i look at team selflessly .. everyone does ... the magic of trust begins ...

We race ahead .. wait ...collective victory ... people fool us with time to goal analysis ..
some get irritated ... the motivated empathize ... Thakk kar baith gaye kya bhai manzil door nahin hai...

The flat terrain : The goal in sight .. some run cuz its so close ... some say : itna aur

The positive outruns the negative ... the weak get renewed vigour .. the strong continue ...

The Peak : It's often said that the toughest part in a journey is the final climb to the top... As i write this i realize it .... i wish i had a team to egg me on ... but wht the heck .. u've got to be your own team in life ... outrun the negative
... kill the final fontier ... Win ... Celebrate .. Whoa !

The process is called future pacing ... visualize success .. A lot of members did it ... Apoorva for one, hell bent to win it for the team.
She helped me change my mind. I was about to succumb to mediocrity at the plateau before the peak...

The Crisis : Tanvi dizzy ... the studs at a higher level ... rest of the gang down ... Studs waiting ... get to know abt the crisis ... immediate reaction ... Apoorva ... biscuits ..My stunt ... all for the team ... the offered help by Poo and A-Poo ( though in vain ) ...all for the team ... I go down ... they scream .. sharing the team's fall ... ( could've been human emotion ... who cares? ) ... t'was all for the team ...

Meeting on the plateau .. Plans reassesed ...

Gyaan : Reflect on Past Action at periodic intervals

Reflection : All cool .. Nilaang to wait down with the bags .. Team continues .. ( Nilaang- you're one heck ova dude mann .. way to go bro - torn track pant et all ... he was the studd )

VICTORY : We reach the Top !

Inspire Nilaang to come up as well

He Does

VICTORY : We ALL Reach the Top ! ( Grammatically incorrect : who cares ? )

Celebration happens ... Meal sharing Happens ... WATER-SHARING Happens ( That was it! )
Success needs to be celebrated ... be it team or individual ... sense of fulfillment

TEAM changes Gears :

The Way Down ...
High levels of comfort within the team ... Sudden splurge of energy ... the high of success has an inertia to it .. we capitalized on it ...

Love blossoms :-) ... Kavan and Stuti, Pappu and Shannelle... Apoorva and Poorva + a dash of Prerna to go with it ...

Come down ... Team drinks water .. enjoys some personal space which was very essential to restore sanity ( it hardly worked though;-) )

TEAM Kicks ASS .... Big Time

Vada Pav ... Sxy Stoberi Milkshake + Majnoo Mango + Vastaad Vanilla .. yes sense of adventure like u've never seen .. omnipresent ... i'd call it collective 'ass-kicking'

The Icing on the Cake : TEAM Spreads its Wings - The Epic Train Journey

AS RCHR's motto goes : Leave Your Mark ... Dunno whether they do ... We Certainly Did ...

As the President of RCNM ... i strongly believe in The 'Make your own Rules' chain of thought ... cuz that's the only way to do things that no one dares to ...

In a matter of 12 hours ... i saw it happen ... and No it ain't as simple as it seems ... It took me eight months to figure it out .. I pray you don't have to wait that long..

Go Play. It's your Game.

P.S : Tell me when you crack it. I'll be waiting...

Time of Your Life

2006-01-19T23:23:00.000+05:30

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why.
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial.
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Steve Jobs at Stanford

2006-01-13T23:29:00.000+05:30

This one's a killer : Fell in love with it from the time i got hold ov it ... Doin' your own thing surely rocks ... Ask this guy ?

Here he goes :

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -including death itself.

"I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5 cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky - I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much." - Steve Jobs - June 2005

My Tryst with Leadership

2006-01-10T23:11:00.000+05:30

My Tryst with Leadership

Leadership has fascinated me ever since I got into college and was a part of Umang 2001 ... the third year of Umang to be precise.I was Star Wars assistant then. A 16 year old Umangite who was in awe of everything that i saw... the magnitude, the hierarchy, the hype, the hysteria ... Umang.
What fascinated me even more was the Chairperson of Umang'01 - Rishi Raj Singh Pruthi. He was a thin, frail Sardar who would walk up and down the corridors of N.M. College - seemingly insignificant. On 2nd August'01 he enters F.Y.J.C - H... the class starts clapping - kids tht we were ( t'was good fun though ). His first statement was : Last bench can you hear me ?
I showed him a thumbs up ... he started ... and how !
He spoke for a non-stop fifteen minutes and the class din't utter a word. Spell-bound, dumb-struck, in awe, gaping ... we used a million adjectives to describe the Mon. I then went on to become the Star Wars assistant... I remember my first and only General Meet in Umang'01 ( Assistants were allowed to sit for General Meets then ). It was room no. 14 ... a crowded room with frustrated faces, drooping shoulders and tired eyes. Most assistants gave a damn to Rishi Raj Singh Pruthi... i wasn't one of them. This General Meet has been a very strong foundation in my Leadership Career ( sounds cool..dun't it ? )
The Power of communication is the biggest lesson that came to me in my quest for leadership ... On that day ( approx. 17th Aug '01) Rishi Raj Singh ensured 200 assistants future Umangites ... wannabe HOD's, wannabe VCP's and CP's. I was to top the list. I recollect my ChairPerson speeches in front of the mirror ... the body language, the passion, the energy ... the high,
the adrenaline rush ... the intoxication..

JANUARY 10th'06 : Leadership is crazy. There is no easy formula for being a leader. If only! Leadership is challengin - all those balancing acts, all the responsibilty, all that pressure.
And yet good leadership happens- and it comes in all kinds of packages. There are quiet leaders and bombastic ones. There are analytical leaders and more impulsive ones. Some are tough as nails with their teams, some more nurturing. On the surface you would be hard-pressed to say what qualities these leaders share. Underneath, you would see that the best care passionately about their people- about their growth and success.and you would see that they themselves are comfortable in their own skins.
They're real, filled with candor and integrity, optimism and humanity.
I often questtion if leaders are born or made. The answer i guess is they're more made than born ... the quest and desire to lead often gives birth to leaders.Leading is more about trying something out-of-the-box, getting it wrong and learning from
it, or getting it right and gaining the self-confidence to do it again, only better.

For most of us, leadership happens one day when you become the boss and the rules change.
Before, your job was about yourself.
Now, it's about them.

Rang De Basanti : DCH meets Yuva ?

2006-01-09T22:29:00.000+05:30

'Rang De Basanti': The Preview

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s movie ‘Rang De Basanti’ is a youth flick with a message. The movie stars Aamir Khan , British actress Alice Patten , Madhavan , Soha Ali Khan , Kunal Kapoor , Siddharth , Sharman Joshi , Atul Kulkarni and Kiron Kher .

‘Rang De Basanti’ deals with a topic that is very relevant to contemporary times. It talks of several youngsters with different aspirations from life. The movie is about the rise in the consciousness of today’s youth of the values and realizations of their Indian-ness.

Character Sketches:

Alice Patten as Sue
Alice Patten plays Sue, a young London-based filmmaker who chances upon the diaries of her grandfather, who served in the British police force in India during the freedom struggle. Excited about these memoirs, she comes to India to shoot a film on the Indian revolutionaries mentioned in the diaries.

Unable to garner enough funds for her project, Sue eventually hires a group of five friends to play pivotal roles of these revolutionaries in her documentary.

Aamir Khan as D.J.
D.J. is an exuberant personality with a warm and wide smile always on his face. An ex-graduate, D.J. still lives like a college student, partying and having fun all the time. But deep inside, he is a sensitive man who unfortunately has not yet been able to find a sure shot aim to his life.

Madhavan as Ajay Rathod
Flt. Lt. Ajay Rathod is a man of high ideals and strong patriotic values. A pilot by profession, he is a good friend, a caring son and a loving fiancé. He is someone all members of the group look up to.

Soha Ali Khan as Sonia
Sonia is a die-hard optimist. A traditional Indian beauty, Sonia is both well traveled and well read. She and Ajay Rathod are engaged. Sonia is an idealist who feels passionately about issues relating to the youth.

Sharman Joshi as Sukhi
Sukhi is a Jat from Haryana. This athletic young man is the heart of the group because of his charming persona and an absolute lack of pretence about the way he is. He speaks typical Haryanawi accent and has no qualms in admitting that his English is twisted.

Kunal Kapoor as Aslam
Kunal Kapoor plays Aslam, a tall and handsome Muslim man who has a heart of a poet. Despite his orthodox family background, Aslam thinks beyond the barriers of religion.

Siddharth as Karan
Siddharth plays Karan, son of a wealthy businessman. He is a loner, a quiet man who shares a fractured relationship with his father. He also wants to settle down in a foreign country.

While working on Sue’s film, the five friends head off to Punjab, the land that gave many martyrs during India’s freedom struggle against the British.

D.J. (Aamir), the man who never ceased partying, now comes face-to-face with the side of Indian culture he had never witnessed before in person.

As DJ and his friends work on Sue’s project, they begin to see themselves as the actual descendants of the great men who are the protagonists of Sue’s movie.

In the film, both the 1930s British India and the India of today run parallel and intersect with each other at crucial points. As the film reaches its conclusion, the line between present and past blurs, as they become one in spirit and one in color – that is Basanti.

P.S. : I'm really lookin' fwd to this flick

Kal Ho Naa Ho

2006-01-05T20:40:00.000+05:30

Music is slowly becoming my mode of communication... mu language... my reflection
One more song that's a reflection of Me : Kal Ho Naa Ho

Har Ghadi Badal Rahi Hai Roop Zindagi
Chaav Hai Kahhi Hai Dhoop Zidnagi
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo... Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho
Har Ghadi Badal Raha Hai Roop Zindagi
Chaav Hai Kahhi Hai Dhoop Zidnagi
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo ...Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho

Chaahe Jo Tumhe Poore Dil Se
Milta Hai Woh Mushkil Se
Aisa Jo Koi Kahin Hai
Bas Vahi Sabse Hasin Hai
Us Haath Ko Tum Thaam Lo
Woh Meherbaan Kal Ho Na Ho
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho

Palko Ke Leke Saaye
Paas Koi Jo Aaye
Lakh Sambhalo Paagal Dil Ko
Dil Dhadke Hi Jaaye
Par Sochlo Is Pal Hai Jo
Woh Dastan Kal Ho Na Ho
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho

The Song that symbolizes 2006 for Anuj Gosalia

2006-01-04T02:13:00.000+05:30

It ain't just a song ... it's my anthem. Every word talks about the kind of person i aspire to be this year... Live these days of my youth like i never have... Live my life like i never have...

So, Ladies and Gentlemen ... here goes :'Koi Kahe' from the cult movie Dil Chahta Hai

Koi kahe, kehta rahe kitna bhi humko deewana
Hum logon ki thokar mein hai yeh zamaana

Jab saaz hai, aawaaz hai, phir kis liye hichkichaana
Oh, gaayenge hum apne dilon ka taraana
Bigade duniya, bigadne bhi do
Jhagade duniya, jhagadne bhi do
Lade jo duniya, ladne bhi do, hum apni dhun gaao
Duniya roothe, roothne do
Bandhan toote, tootne do
Koi chhoote, chhootne do, na ghabraao
Hum hain naye, andaaz kyoon ho puraana

Aankhon mein hain bijliyaan, saanson mein toofaan hai
Darr kya hai aur haar kya, hum isse anjaan hai
Hamaare liye hi to hai aasmaan aur zameen
Sitaarein bhi hum tod lenge, hamein hai yakeen
Ambar se hai aage hamaara thikaana
Hum hain naye, andaaz kyoon ho puraana

Sapnon ka jo des hai, haan hum vahin hain pale
Thode se dil phenk hai, thode se hai mann chale
Jahan bhi kahe apna jaadu dikhaate rahe
Mohabbat haseenon ko aksar sikhaate rahe

Aaye hamein dil aur neendein churaana
Hum hain naye, andaaz kyoon ho puraana

Koi kahe, kehta rahe kitna bhi humko deewana
Koi, kehta, kitna bhi humko deewana
Oh, hum logon ki thokar mein hai yeh zamaana

Oh, jab saaz hai, aawaaz hai, phir kis liye hichkichaana
Jab saaz hai, aawaaz hai, phir kis liye hichkichaana
Oh, gaayenge hum apne dilon ka taraana
Bigade duniya, bigadne bhi do
Jhagade duniya, jhagadne bhi do
Lade jo duniya, ladne bhi do, hum apni dhun gaao
Duniya roothe, roothne do
Bandhan toote, tootne do
Koi chhoote, chhootne do, na ghabraao

Hum hain naye, andaaz kyoon ho puraana
Oh, hum hain naye, andaaz kyoon ho puraana

Message of Meaning and Purpose

2006-01-01T18:21:00.000+05:30

Hello World

Wish you a very very very ( 0k stop )... Happy New Year

May the year be like any other

May we break our resloutions like any other year

May we not accomplish our goals and dreams this year as well

May our lives be significant and superior this year as well

May I use any other way to begin my sentences

May 'May' be as hot as any other 'May'of any other year

May College be as productive and meaningful as it has been all these years

May God give us the strength and courage to be the 'losers' that we aspire to be

May the World live in pieces and harmonious divisions

As Gandhi said 'Be the change you want to see in this world'...
So, let's pick our noses in public, litter some more.. and throw random abuses at successful people ( okay... at anyone )

Let this year help us set an example of exemplary living.. that means, we continue to not do all tht we intend to.. we continue being lazy and as procrastinate as always...

On this highly positive note, this message of relevance and higher purpose draws to an unfortunate closure..

May the Lord be with Us.
May Sanity Prevail.
Amen

Yeh hai meri kahani

2005-12-28T21:17:00.000+05:30

Yeh hai meri kahani
Khamosh zindagani
Sannata keh raha hain
Kyon zulm seh raha hain

Ek dastaan purani,
Tanhaye ki zubani
Har zakhm khil raha hain
Kuch mujhse keh raha hain

(Take Off!)
[
Chubte kante yaadon ke
Daaman se chunta hoon
Girtee deewaron ke
Aanchal mein zinda hoon
]

Bas yeh meri kahani
Benishan nishaani
Ek dard beh raha hain
Kuch mujhse keh raha

(Take Off!)
[
Chubte kante yaadon ke
Daaman se chunta hoon
Girtee deewaron ke
Aanchal mein zinda hoon
]

(Male voice reciting poetry)

Ab na koi paas hain
Phir bhi aehsas hain
Syahiyon mein uljhi padi
Jeene ki ek aas hain
Yaadon ka jungle yeh dil
Kaanton se jalkar yeh dil

Chubte kante yaadon ke
Daaman se chunta hoon
Girtee deewaron ke
Aanchal mein zinda hoon…

The Below Average Student's Guide to Cracking the CAT

2005-12-28T01:07:00.000+05:30

Was browsin' throu pagalguy when i came across this rather interesting write-up by this wannabe third person writer.. Interestin' tips ....
As they say : All's welcome in a journey that's 'Mine'

CAT 2006 : Anuj's Commin Baby ... He's all yours !

Below Average Student's Guide to Cracking the CAT

Here’s a survivor’s guide to cracking the CAT. In this article, Neo2000 tells you all you need to know about scoring well in the Mock CAT's, the big CAT, and all that follows.

Originally I was going to title this “The average student’s guide to cracking the CAT” .Then I realized I wasn’t average. This could hardly be called a guide. And I hadn't even cracked the CAT. So I modified the title. I was going to rip-off Five Point Someone’ s opening line and modify it to read “I am pretty sure lots of other people could write this better if only they’d get off their asses. They didn’t. I did.

However, there is plenty you can do if you want to start early.

1) If you notice, more often than not, the Verbal section seems to be horror of most students. So, start reading. If you don’t already, there’s no time like now. Get rid of that vernacular paper. Take in The Hindu, on weekdays and the Economic Times on weekends. Read the editorials. Chuck that SportsStar in favour of a good B (Business for the uninitiated) magazine . Read the books mentioned in this. Read, Read and then Read some more. Did you know that PG himself read over 2000 books before his 12th. He exhausted his local library doing that. Believe me, it shows. How many of you even have a membership to a library??

2) Improve your academic performance. Now is never too late to start. Academics play an important role to some extent, so it helps.

3) Go out and make a difference. Join a social service community. Click here to know more

4) Do some all round improvement. Get into shape, work out, learn to play a musical instrument, improve your relationship with God/Parents/Family members/Friends……. When things get tough these are the people who’ll be there.

5) Make friends with Google.

6) Practice for Group Discussions and interviews. Improve your communication skills

Discipline yourself. Pace yourself. Draw up a flexible timetable. Contrary to what most people think, a time-table needn't bind you down. Instead it gives you the time to do what you really want without letting you take your eyes off your goal. For instance, when I started prep, I used to wake up at 4 in the morning, study till 5:40 or so and then get ready for class at 6:30. Class finished by 8 and I had to rush back home to grab my bag, a quick bite and run for the college bus. Now my college was an hour and a half away which I spent in sleeping. My classmate on the other had, spent his time reading the editorials which we would then discuss on the trip back home. My VA skills, if I may say so myself , are rather strong so we'd discuss the topic and I'd help him with grammar and correction of sentences. My friend's QA was strong so he'd help me out with that

Form a study group. You are competing with over 1.5lakh students, so your group will just be a sample of what to expect. Make sure your group members are the serious sort-- not the types who run off to watch a movie after every mock. Well ok, they needn't be that serious too because it’s important to relax and enjoy the whole experience of preparing but its also important not to get carried away. A study group is very handy when it comes to taking sectional tests, mocks, FLT’s et al. Compare your scores with theirs. Find out what questions they attempted in QA that you didn’t and why they attempted them. Find out the approach and if there's a way of doing them that you didn’t know about. Check those errors in VA. Find out what the easy sets in DI were.

Google has this project for which the tag-line is "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants". Given the competition, every little thing helps. Go ahead, find your Giants.

Majority of you who go for coaching will mostly go 3 times a week, say Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Right now, the mocks haven’t started yet, so that means you have 3-4 study sessions before the next class. STUDY!! Four sessions is a lot!!

Let's say you were taught numbers on Monday morning. On Monday evening, study what you were taught and solve the problems from the material. Tuesday morning and evening, solve the problems from whichever book you've picked up. Wednesday morning, have a dekko at the topic that's going to be taught (don’t most institute's give you a schedule of sorts??). Above all, make sure you become really thorough with what you are studying. For e.g. all of us know the area of a triangle. Off the top of your head, can you tell me how many such formulae are there? Learn to analyse. It'll be very helpful when it comes to D.I.

Whatcha waiting for?? Go crack that CAT

Celebrate Life

2005-12-24T00:15:00.000+05:30

Celebrate Life : Your Way !

"It's only when I learnt that I was dying did I learn to live" … goes Abhishek Bachchan's famous line in the lately released flick 'Bluffmaster'…
Boman Irani asks him : how many days can you recollect in your life of 30 years ?
To which Bachchan Jr. replies : 30 days …. & enlightenment dawns upon him…

There's an ancient saying that states " Live as if there was no tomorrow. Dream as if you will live forever".

Morrie in the bestselling non-fiction 'Tuesdays woth Morrie' quotes " Mitch, To learn to live, you must learn to die first"

If you join the dots in the aforesaid statements, you will realize that they all talk about the shallow lives that we derive fulfillment from… As we progress into the depths of the article, I shall repeatedly try and convey the same message through different analogies. The essence being that I wish to eliminate the mediocrity in our lives.

In my MBA coaching class' my English Prof. made this remarkable statement. He had mutually decided with his wife that he will never put forth the excuse 'I do not have time' ever in his lifetime. He has successfully accomplished this pact for the last 30 years. In a profession that demands an unrelenting time commitment he believes that there is always time to do that extra…

That makes me touch the subject of Magic Moments : How many of us in our last 16-20 years have lived lives with enough magic moments.. You could literally end up counting them on your fingers. I know a lot of people who in their pressing, dead-line driven lives make way for magic moments with utmost regularity. Treks to the Himalayas, back-packing expeditions, photography excursions, teaching the underprivileged children …. The list goes on. They are people who invariably live beyond themselves and yes they're all highly successful.

Following the herd : We live in a society that makes us follow rather than lead. Morrie again makes a profound statement to his student Mitch " Mitch, my son, Our culture makes you believe and follow a lot of things that are not right. Now's when you stand up and say ' I don't give a damn'. So many of our careers, our lives, our professions are dominated by our peers, media and the mass. We're all trapped in a world where we are forced to bow down to the rule and not the reality

My mother tells me ' Son, I don't know how these 53 years of my life have passed away … but I want you to be able to remember and cherish each day of your life as if it were you last'.

So in this year that awaits us let's pray to the Lord to give us the strength, the power and the belief to 'Live a Lifetime in every HeartBeat'