Is THIS the SPIRIT???

12th March, 1993: 13 bomb explosions in a matter of hours rip through the city of Bombay. More than 250 people are killed are around 1400 injured.

1997-98: 3 blasts near Jama Masjid, Virar and Malad. Around 10 dead and same number injured.

2002-03: 2 blasts in Ghatkopar, Gateway Of India, Zaveri Bazaar, in a train near Mulund Station, Vile Parle, Bandra. Around 70 people killed and more than 350 injured.

11th July, 2006: 7 blasts in first class compartments of Suburban trains in a span of 20 minutes. 181 killed and 890 injured.

So that is a collective loss of more than 500 lives and more than 1200 injured.

WHY am i stating these facts??? Simply because I am sick of them. Simply because I am sick of living with the constant fear that I dont know whether I will come home everytime I leave my house. Simply because its probably one of the worst ways to die...and also because i believe its time WE did something about it.

You know, one of the worst things that we CAN do, is to put up a brave face and go to work the next day. I am so sick of the term "Spirit of Mumbai" being splashed around sub-grade and low standard news channels by reporters who dont care what happens to the people around them. After every blast that happens, you are so sure that this is going to be the headline of yet another article about how the rest of the 17 million mumbaikars got up the next day and went to work/school/hell...

WHAT is the matter with us??? Have we become so stone-hearted that the first thing we do after the bomb blast is to return to work??? Have we started portraying selfishness and cowardice as resilience??? DONT WE FEEL ANYTHING????

The so-called Great Thinkers of society argue on prime time debate shows that this is all we can do...what else should we do they say??? leave everything and sit at home??? isnt that what the terrorists want?? that we should give up our jobs and be afraid of them?? How can we let them WIN???

But i often wonder...does neglecting all that is happening around you and going to watch a movie in the same locality or travelling by the same train mean that you are actually DEFEATING the terrorists???If that was the case...shouldn't the blasts have stopped by now???I mean we have DEFEATED them a lot many times already haven't we???Surely they must have learnt their lessons by now...

I think the basic problem is that we have forgotten WHY we are human....You remember reading in your 7th standard Science textbook..."Man is a Social Animal"...If you did not know...the keyword there was SOCIAL...what makes humans HUMAN is their ability to live in a society...to care for each otehr...to SHARE each others emotions and feelings...

Yet all we care about is not losing a day's salary because of a blast that happened in some metropolitan 1500 kms. away from me...Why should i care about the 30 people who died in Delhi...I did not know any of them..Did i???

I think its time to stop PRETENDING that we care about what happens to the semblance of humanity that still exists around us...I think its time to actually do something about it..

What can be done???

Well...firstly stop creating a bias in your own mind...stop treating people differently...we are all made up of the same matter and you cannot take that fact away inspite of engraving divisions of Caste, Gender, Nationality on our superficial existence.

Secondly, be a part of the SOLUTION, not the problem. Use the diversity that exists amongst cultures to LEARN various things, not to demean others on the basis of what they practise or preach.

The most important thing...VOTE!!!be responsible for the people who Govern you and they will be responsible and answerable to you. After you vote take an active participation and show some interest in the things that happen around you. Become involved in a group..and if none exists..establish one that questions the local corporator of your area regularly. The last time i heard India was still a Democracy...why dont we USE it?

Question the media too...the role of media is to inform and educate..not to sensationalise the happenings and to point fingers.

And last but not the least..MEDITATE...I know a lot of you sceptics will frown at this and call me names..but MEDITATION is one of the most powerful ways to remove the negativity in the atmosphere. Just like the environment can affect you...Even you have the ability to affect the environment...If more and more people meditate the BAD of the world HAS TO reduce...Believe me people...WE have the ability in us to stop anything...its just a matter of realising that potential and utilising it...

If we really want to demolish the concept of the pseudo-spirit that we are holding on to...its time we showed the world what TRUE spirit means....

I am sure going to give it a shot...

Because I dont want to see anymore bloody bodies splashed around on the front page of the newspaper once a month...

Because I still believe in humanity...


P.S I got a lot of inspiraton for this one from Bawa's post about the same issue. Do read that also.

WALL-E

Well first things first…VERY VERY sorry for the inexcusably long absence from the blog, I plead guilty…no…I plead nothing…I should not be forgiven for it..

It has not been a very busy time or I would have given tiredness as an excuse for not having blogged for almost two months (Oh Man!!!has it really been that long???)…I just did not have much to write..again…correction..I had a lot to write just was not in the frame of mind to write…and was being plain lazy…hehe…

Well so on my comeback..let us start with a review of a movie that came out this week and I saw it on Saturday itself…(I know it’s a rare feat for me…never see a movie so early..hehe)

WALL-E is set in futuristic Earth when all humans have deserted the planet and gone to stay in a Space Colony called AXIOM which is generally hanging around a few galaxies away :D

The movie narrates the story of a futuristic robot named WALL-E short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth class..

WALL-E is the last surviving Robot of a generation whose sole purpose in life is: To clean up the mess on Planet Earth…and BOY Is he good at his JOB…He goes about his mundane routine…collecting things left behind by humans that fascinate him..Indeed he has a HUGE collection of such things…(For HP fans…this has an uncanny resemblance to Mr.Weasley’s infatuation with all Muggle Stuff)

One day a New Age explorer pod called EVE lands on the Earth to assess the environment…and WALL-E’s life changes forever..because he is in LOVE!!!! (Yeah!!this is one animated robot film with LOTS of emotions)

EVE’s departure takes WALL-E on a journey far beyond the Universe he imagined…to AXIOM…hovering millions of miles away…what follows is one of the most dramatic and meaningful climax to a movie I have witnessed in QUITE some time…

Ohh before this review gets too long let me tell you I liked the movie…so there…that’s settled..

I have always been a sucker for animated movies by Pixar and Disney…Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Ratatouille…Simply because they DO NOT make these movies with a KIDDIE audience in mind…their movies always boast of a very mature storyline and detailed screenplay interspersed with some amazing voice overs, background scores…and of course heart warming moments of “HUMAN LIKE” emotions displayed effortlessly and endearingly by non-human characters.

And WALL-E is no different. The first 20 minutes or so of the movie really astound you…for its mostly a silent movie…there are very few dialogues…and as usual the FACIAL EXPRESSIONS of the protagonists are simply perfect. I guess even some of our trained actors should take a leaf out of the ROBOTS books…

You have all the usual action and adventure in this movie…but what stands out again is the unique way in which all the run-of-the mill mundane things can be put forward. Some of the moments of the film will truly leave you feeling warm in the heart..something most of the movies these days can hardly manage..

Also one more things that stands out is the Background score..I know I already mentioned it but its worth talking about again…The score not only enhances the audio-visual experience of the film, it also provides that subtle touch to the film that is the thin line between a movie working and not working.

All in all..this is definitely one movie you should NOT MISS at any cost…I assure you, you will come out of the theatre with a definite smile on your face….Even if you are not a fan of animated movies go watch it for the simply superb job the guys at Disney-Pixar have done…this one is a definite feather in their already crowded cap..

Well Done Guys…

The Wait is FINALLY OVER....

hi..

So it was 2nd semester of engineering...i had joined classes for mechanics...(ohh EVERYONE DOES!!!!)...and i had just about started knowing the current group of friends that i am with in college...early days in what was to be (and still is) one of the craziest groups i have been a part of...

yeah coming back to the 2nd semester...so in classes we guys started talking and all...one day Lalit comes and says he is joining guitar classes...now he never seemed like the musically inclined you know...average guy...complete idiot....jokes around like he is auditioning for laughter challenge...din't really seem like he would learn guitar or anything...

well i started thinking what instrument would i learn if i ever thought about it...and instantly it came to me...VIOLIN....

and instantly it came to other people's mind...what a loser..hopeless romantic...sad idiot...blah blah blah....well din't care much for it...i KNEW i wanted to learn it...

well then began a 2 and a half year long battle...with whom u may ask??well i don't know that really...just never got down to learning it...everytime i decided to do it something happened..or my all too famous lazy personality got in the way...even went to a school in thane...learnt timings din't match...went to another one in vashi...and almost paid the fees but counter was cloed...and dint go again...i mean it just WASN'T HAPPENING...

in the meanwhile i became the BUTT of some not-so-subtle and sometimes oh-so-crass jokes by my aforementioned "FRIENDS"...never bothered me...but then noone likes bearign the brunt of those never ending leg pullign sessions, do they??

finally this summer vacation came and i decided...just HAVE TO join it...so din't think twice...went to thane and started with it....

TODAY...after more than 2 and a half years of wanting it...I HAVE MY VIOLIN!!!!!!!!!!YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

and it looks COOOOOOOOLLLL!!!!!....i mean really CCCCCOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

already in love with it man....and have promised myself to practise regularly...and WILL DO IT!!!!

enjoying the lessons so far...its a bit difficult...i mean the screeching noises just wont stop...hehe...hopefully it will get better...

Thanx LL....you were an unknown source of inspiration....who started it all...ROCK ON!!!!

P.S...if any of you has any tips on maintaining the violin or getting better at playing it do mail me...thanx in advance

Jaane Tu....

Hi....

so everyone's been talking about the movie...and watching it...and writing about it...so y shouldn't I???

You know...our hindi movies have really gone bad...and i mean the story lines are boring...the acting is (sometimes) quite pathetic...there's no link between the characters...you have random "Special Appearances" just to increase the USP of an otherwise pretty boring product...and most of the times the music is a heady mixture of atleast 4-5 old tracks...a sort of reincarnation of those classics...just in a confused i-don't-know-how-i-got-here sort of reincarnation...

AND THEN...there are movies like Jaane Tu...ya Jaane na...

i mean guys....WELL DONE!!!!

Any youngster in India worth his/her salt will tell you that Dil Chahta Hai was the best movie about friendship like EVER!!!!

and i would do the same...i would also tell you that Jaane tu comes very close to it...

ok...i agree it doesn't have a different story like DCH had...in fact the story is pretty cliched...usual girl-boy best friends like FOREVER...everyone except them know they are in love...then they realise...and a happy chase down the airport later they are married...blah blah...

but what makes this movie different is the WAY the story is told on screen...not jsut the scenario...but also the light-hearted...bring-a-smile-on-your-face kinda way the story has been portrayed..

the acting is superb..not just from the lead pair of Genelia and Imran Khan...but also all the other suporting actors..each and every character is so indispensable...that take one out...and the story will fail to unravel...that really shows the vision of the director...

Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah come together on the screen for the first time and create a perfect blend with their impeccable timing and mind-blowing acting skills....Sohail and Arbaaz Khan play perfect roles...so do the other Friends of the lead pair...each knowing their place in the script perfectly and fitting the bill to the L....

The side stories woven into the script blend seamlessly...and give an amazing understanding of WHY a character is so...not leaving you confused when you come out of the theatre...

What also makes the movie work is the great music courtesy A.R. Rahman..he again proves why he is the most sought after...the songs highlight and compliment the story rather than over-power it..

Also....this movie will be remembered for the innate sense of humour portrayed time and again by the dialogue writers...you are left in splits by some of the cracks (i laughed so hard on one that my friends had to shush me...hehe...if you have met me you know how LOUD i can be)

All in all..its a really really good movie...after DCH..one of the finest i have seen...and the only one that i want to watch AGAIN in the theatre...SO GO WATCH IT!!!!

It's Not About The Money....

Sooo long haven't posted anything...promise to be regular and good here now...lot going on in the head that needs posting anyways...

what i am writing about today is probably one of the most serious issue threatening our country at the moment..i mean its right UP there with the kashmir issue and the surging inflation( which btw...is like TOTALLY our fault...if u know demand and supply u can figure that out)

consider this scenario...we have a 12 year old kid..our regular average-akshay( Joe for u americanised idiots..hehe) type guy...goes to school....understands lil bit..comes home...plays a lot...gets yelled on by his mom...gets filthy with his buddies (in the completely non-adult sense of tht word)

now he is like so many other kids right???well U think so...but not his PARENTS...they think he is a genius...who is an idiot if he says he likes playing cricket more than squaring or cubing 3 digit nos....

so wat do they do???parents i.e??? they get EXTRA TUITIONS for him...y????of course....y shud their kid be BEHIND....behind i ask???in what???is this a RAT RACE???

i mean if it's a RAT RACE...where the hell is the finish line guys????

so he grows up lurking behind books....his bag grows heavier as his brain gets more confounded...and of course he never gets to buy that really cool season-bat he wanted...y...of course..his dad is saving up isn't he???for tht all famous and much sought after admission to engineering or medical obviously...what did u think this kid was gonna be???sachin tendulkar???

so he reaches 10th...and he gets decent enf percentage in boards...our regular average-akshay isn't dumb u knw...now his parents get him into Science obviously...i mean who wants a loser kid who wants to take up arts???what is he gonna be???fashion designer...hah....that's a glorified tailor...that's what it is....so goes his father...and his mother blows his father's trumpet...obviously...

so he gets through 12th sumhow...with spending half d day in college or JEE classes or CET classes...then comes home and spends the rest of the day hearing from his parents how important it is to BE something...to do engineering/medical and BE something in life...

so he gets through CET...gets decent grades...then his dad spends lakhs to get him into a DECENT medical/engineering college....(remember his dad saved up...din't buy him that bat he wanted coz tht was just such a waste of time and money u knw..)

now this kid goes through medical/engineering all the time wondering y d hell is he even there...he always wanted to be a cricketer remember???but still that's what he is told will give him STATUS in society...he will have a Dr. before his name after all( i think even we engineers shud put Er. now..we toil almost as hard u knw..hehe)

so this kid gets a Dr. or a (imaginary) Er. before his name...dad happy...he gave his kid a STATUS after all...the public respects him now...mom happy...she will obviously follow her husband's dictat right???

but is the kid happy????well dats for u to find out....ask around....i bet there will be atleast one (if not many) person in ur friend circle who wanted to do something OFFBEAT (as it is called) but were forced into the ELITE (as they are called) professions...

i have a friend who wanted to be a fashion designer...still does...but she is doing Bachelor in Physiotherapy...y???coz her dad wanted to see a Dr. before her name...and of course...FD is a glorified tailor...(or so said one of her dad's well wishers..)...this post has been fuelled as much by my journey with her over the past 2 years and by my need to put forth a point i have been trying to make to so many people so many time...

it breaks my heart tht even after 2 years in nasik doing B.Pth she still sometimes calls me up and says she doesn't know y she is doing this...she just wants to run away from the place...she still hopes of being a FD someday...and God promise i will do everything to help her achieve that...even if it means fighting the world...and her family....just take the first step dear...i will walk with u the rest of the way..(hehe)..

u knw i said at the start that its perhaps the most serious issue facing us???y d dramatic inclusion in the list with the likes of kashmir??...coz u knw its a strange irony this system is so analogous to the caste system we had in ancient india..

i sumhow feel the engineers and Dr's are the brahmins of today...u knw...the ELITE in society...people look upto u if u r doing BE or B.Tech...and if u r doing MBBS..man ...u must be super brainy or super rich...and if u r into like sports (the average guys u knw) or into arts or hell anything else...u r d shudras u knw...d lowly class who just din't GET INTO engineering so they choose to do sumthing else...

i just don't get it guys...OPEN YOUR EYES!!! everytime the olympics happen...we wonder y india won just one medal...well that's coz U sent ur kid to Maths tuition while what he wanted to do was go play basketball...

y is it tht we push our kids to do what WE want them to do???coz we in turn were pushed into what our parents wanted us to do???man...what a legacy to carry on...all hail hereditary traits!!!!

i think living with a dream that u weren't given a chance to even pursue, let alone fulfill, is probably the hardest thing to digest...

i just hope we indians sumday wake up and realize that ANY profession is worthy enough to be pursued...

that it's the DREAM and ability of a person that should decide his profession...not his parent's' need for social security for their child...

that it's not about how much money you earn...it's about how happy you are WHILE you are earning it...

Who Let the Dogs Out!!!!!

ok dis one was due on 29th may but as i did not have permission...cudnt post it then....well got the PERMISSION(yeah i EMPHASIZE on that word....) today so am posting it...dis one has been written in the 29th may timeline so go back to that reference to read dis...hehe

Hi guys..

well been long havent written anything....and as i said in my last post...today...29th may is a special day...and am writing this for a (not-so) special person....hehe...with ehr permission of course...

before u get baffled by the title...i want u to hold on to your monitors..the explanation will come...

well as i am not allowed to take her name lets just call her BB....again...i cant give u an explanation for this abbreviation...she alone knows...lets assume its obscene and move on...cool??

well so i met BB almost 2 years ago...before that chatted on fone for about 2 months...it was love at first sound for me...hehe...yeah i just coined that one...

for her apparently..it was love at first sight....she asked i said yes...i went through the usual first-time shocks and jitters but on 29th may 2 years ago...we were OFFICIALLY gf -bf...

at first..i dint know wat to do...but hell...just went with it and got along and all was rosey rosey...not all the time of course...we had our MOMENTS...good and bad ones...both equally unforgettable...

but this post is not an eulogy to our relationship so dammit lets cut out the sentimental crap...

this ones about BB....

now i cud be cliched and start with the usual wat attracted me to her...and i AM gonna be...

the first thing that attracts anyone to BB is....i dunno how to put it...lets say its HER...its just HER...the radiance that she is....though she hardy ever glows...but she has this magnetic property...she attracts AND repels people...most of them at the same time...

i told her this...what attracted ME the most to her was that she had both attitude and simplicity...and she dint have to portray them..she cud effortlessly be both....

BB has this way of talking...this way of throwing her head back and laughing when something stupid cracks her up...yeah she is a crackpot...complete..she went out with me...wat more proof do u need neways???

she is sum1 who can make u laugh in ANY situation...and i mean ANY situation....it breaks her heart to see her friends sad....and i m lucky i m STILL counted amongst them...

she dresses in the most simplest way...yet she can look absolutely ravishing in even a simple track pant and t shirt attire....and not surprisingly i still vividly remember what she wore to EACH AND EVERY one of our dates...hehe...yeah i know i am boasting of my memory skills...hehe...guess its just love huh??

i have seen her cry just 3 times in her life...and all 3 times it was my fault..i know...i still castigate myself for tht....

BB likes all d saddest jokes u have ever heard...the ones that make you curl your hair and send your eyes rolling back into your head...and i sadly had to bear one atleast everyday...courtesy some of her frnds who never kept her supply scarce...hehe

BB used to say "Hi Doggy" to every stray dog she saw on the street...wen asked about the same she explained it spreads goodwill amongst the dogs...as they pass on the HI to each other....surprisingly i found the explanation convincing...well what can i say...other than AGAIN...i was in love...and i STILL do it....guess that says something...

BB is famous for saying things that really make u cringe...it CAN be embarassing if in public...coz she shouts out the obscenities...and generally says stuff that makes u wanna club her in the head...but i dint feel that then...found it adorable actually...and it is...trust me...

oh and if u r still wondering about the title...remember that really crass and pathetic song that came out a few years ago which we ALL hated...well its her FAVOURITE....i must say i wasn't surprised wen she told me...though she dedicated sonu nigam's ab mujhe raat din to me once...again..one of the best moments of my life...

she used to hum this song whenever i put her on hold...unaware that i was quietly listening on the other end and smiling to myself and thanking God for bringing her to my life...

if i gave her a rupee for every time she made me laugh uncontrollably with one of her spontaneous and with one liners i guess i wud be bankrupt pretty soon....

She really is the sunshine in her friend's lives....inspite of the dark cloud cover of her dark circles...

more than anything..its that glint in her eye and that enthusiasm in her voice that attracts you to her....more than anything else..it was the love she gave me and then took away that makes me say....BB...without you....life wud have been......ok the same pretty much...what did u expect????HAHAHA

on a serious note....thanx BB...for teaching me a thing or two about living your life to the full...about being happy and idiotic and big mouthed....about forgiving your friends and about learning from your mistakes...

lastly...thanx...for teaching me a thing or two about loving someone...and believing in that love TILL THE VERY END!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

From

AAA....

Cycle, Danda, Ball aur BAARISH......

HI ALL!!!!!

well its been a sabbatical of more than 15 days...comp's been down as i mentioned...and really din't have he time to go to the cafe or something and post...so finally got an opportunity to post today...

been an eventful fortnight this...results came out....got decent ones...not upto the mark but i am not one to sit and regret...rather i am one to learn and move on...and move on i did...:D

rest of the stuff has been pretty simple...get up at 5...go for ashtavakra...get bowled over by what guruji says and come home in a daze most of the times....have been grumbling a lot abt the indiscipline in the group...did nothing about it though...should have spoken to everyone but just accepted and kept my hole shut...dunno y...did stop grumbling also actually...dats a gud thing i guess??

had been planning on calling all college people over for lunch or something..been almost 2 years...so invited people over on saturday...as expected many dint turn up..which was a gud thing else i guess i wud have to seel my cycle to feed them all...hehe

amongst the people that DID turn up...mansi was the only girl...and poor soul came from so far away...guess my mom's pav bhaji is quite a lure even for tiny tots like here...haha

oh worth mentioning here is the sheer QUANTITY of pavs and bhajis that were GULPED...

i guess we kept a score coz last time it was a surprise to know KETAN of all people ate more than 10 pavs and countless servings of bhaji....

this time sadly...ketan cudnt repeat....lest surpass his previous ACHIEVEMENTS....and he was beaten hands down by none other than LALIT...him having started with the pav even before the bhaji was served...if there ever was an award for being impatient...it SHOULd go to this guy...the rest of the gang were minions in comparison to the everest of the culinary contest..of EATING...


well so after the lunch and usual banter we decided to play cards(ya BIG surprise there)...i have never seen my friends loosen up their pockets and pay up for anything as fast as they did for a deck of cards...amazing what people do when it comes to their pleasure..hehe

so after a very heavily cheated game of Judgement....mansi and maulik decided to leave..understandable...they had a 2 hour journey and frankly kindergarten kids shudnt be allowed outside the house after 7...hehe..

then we guys were tossing around various plans..let's go to palm beach galleria and hang out one said....let's play football on MY terrace said the other...alas no one said lets throw kushal and mukul from the terrace and watch them fly(or cry) to their own death...

in the end it was decided to go play cricket at the Multi-utility Airoli station parking lot...what followed was the best hour and a half of fun i have had..

also people were very keen to have a ride on my (now repaired) cycle...

we had a half broken but very solid piece of wood as a bat..and tennis BALL...and 11 totally crazy drunk-without-drinking guys...u picture the scene...oh did i mention TORRENTIAL RAIN???

OH YES!!!!torrential it was...when we started out with the teams and everything there was a slight drizzle...which by the mid of the first innings had turned into a potential downpour and by then end of the innings...WAS a downpour!!!


i dont think i have ever done something so crazy...CORRECTION..i have NEVER down something so crazy...

just HOW we managed to save our mobiles by keeping it in a polythene conjured up from mid air and safely into a dilapidated fire-hose box only we know...

i guess we really crossed limits of stupidity tht day...for apart form me almost everyone had a very long journey back home...in completely soaked clothes..and i mean COMPLETELY soaked(hope u get the underlying meaning...haha...sorry...sad pun :D)

but let it be known tat it was FUN...especially the shouting...and boy was there shouting....after almost every ball...the umpire was the cynosure of all eyes....and at the centre of all the shouting....

one of the most memorable aspects was the cheating...with the stump shortening...and the appeals for run outs...man it was some serious fun...also there was a lot of swearing...as expected from us testosterone-infused males...

we finally dispersed after a good 5 game....people headed home and i dried up and changed and started reflecting on how i never did all this in my childhood...had a pretty messy one actually...had just heard people talk about playing in the rains and all...

well for those of you like me who havent done this...DO IT...for those who have..DO IT AGAIN!!!!

cheers guys...

Anupam.

Tough Times!!!

Hi all..
Well if any of you were wondering why i am being so conspicuous by my absence let me clarify its only because my comp is down...and HOW!!!!

my HDD is pretty screwed up...thats to say it isnt getting detected...and i have no idea Y d heck is it even happening..so i m pretty much stuck wid no PC for the past few days thats y havent been able to post as such...

Life's going pretty smooth otherwise...just realised how much i have come to depend on my PC...its become such a part of life...just short of addiction...but way above habit...its a wonder how one reacts when its time to break a habit...u go from despair to dejection to total despair again...before u realise its actually good...U DO have a life away from that habit too...u get time to do so many other things in the meanwhile...talk to your family...clear out your drawers (something i have been hounded for by my MOM hehe)

I did start attending Violin classes...finally!!!!after 2 and a half lazy years of wanting to do it and talking to all the teacher's atleast twice i finally took the plunge (figuratively!!) and joined...have had 2 classes...havent progressed beyond Sa Re Ga Ma as yet...and its pretty difficult...(ok i never thought it would be easy...so don't gimme that look OK!!!!)...

Hoping to buy my own Violin soon enough....waiting to start my part time paper correction job to earn up some money...

Bro will be back this week....has been gone for over 2 months now to turkey...will be great fun when he comes back...hehe

Also waiting for Mona to come back..she is my BESTEST FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!in the whole wide world...presently on a trip to singapore thailand malaysia and all that jazz...coming back on 26th i believe...

a pretty important day coming up...29th may...will think if i wanna post about it...with due permission of course...

also have a lot of topics roaming around in my mind..developing them in the abstract before i type them down...so wait up guys...

hope my stupid HDD gets un-stupid and starts working....i promise i will be back with a bang and a boom and a blah and a whoosh...ok enough....:D

so till my next post...So Long..

KEEP SMILING PEOPLE!!!!

HER "IK CUP CHAAI"

Today's blog is gonna be a lot senti...so if u really don't wanna read it would be a good idea to stop here itself...but if u do wanna read its about one of the most important people in my life..

OK for the first time i don't really know how to start this one...have been sitting here watching the screen for like 5 minutes unable to even start writing..

OK here goes..

this post is about my cousin...my eldest maternal aunt's daughter...her name...and this one i m NOT kidding about is MEENU...yeah...we north indians have weird names for our kids...its a great way of torturing them for their entire life you know...

Now meenu didi was one hell of a person...and i mean ONE HELL OF A PERSON....you know there are these few people in your life who just seem like the MOST amazing human being alive...well add to that that i completely loved her and you would know what i am talking about..

She was someone who could make you laugh anytime of the day...EXTREMELY beautiful...she had this radiance about her you know...the kinda thing that puts you in reverence of people...i guess that radiance was just a reflection of the happiness she felt inside..

As a girl she used to get everything she wanted you know...i mean she had 2 brothers who could die or kill for her...but that doesnt mean she was a spoilt brat or anything...was one of the most down to earth people...caring loving selfless....i mean...she just had it all...

But its kinda funny...how when things start going wrong they kinda shatter away that perfect image of the family and just wrench your life out of your grasp...don't they...

Her dad got murdered right outside their house....her mom got pretty mad after it and kinda lost the will to live...she passed away a few years ago as well...

So wat was once one of the most happy families i have ever seen turned into quite the distraught bunch..all that was left was the two brothers and a sister...and their families..

Meenu didi had gotten married in 1993...she was damn happy in her marriage too...had 2 kids...a guy and a girl...

Well i know this is sounding like a hindi movie of sorts...but i long ago realized life is like this only....it has some major ups and downs and some pretty huge defining moments as well..

i think some 5 years ago didi was diagnosed with breast cancer...she came to mumbai and got it removed...went through the painful and kinda soul draining process of chemotherapy and all that jazz...

but unfortunately...die to some medical lapse or something...the cancer still spread to her lung...so she had to undergo another chemotherapy...again the same process where you know that the thing that is killing you is running through your very veins..,.and the worst part is you are voluntarily getting it injected there...

i remember i had written her a letter in between somewhere....saying didi i know u must be pretty sad and thinking about y did this happen to me...but the point is this has happened and you really can go only forward...all you can do is think of how to live with this...so please keep up your spirit...i dont want to see that flagging (yes...i can talk a lot older than my age sometimes)

the paradox in all this is...that it didn't work...after 2 or 3 painful chemotherapies and hair re growths later...the doctors gave up on her...she was too far gone to be helped....she HAD TO die...

well ok...i know everyone HAS TO die someday...but how would you feel if the doctor sitting across from you said sorry dear...you got a maximum of one year to live...i mean...i always imagine what i would do...how i would react if this happened to me...and it creeps me the hell out man...i just dont wanna know WHEN i am going to die....i dont think i would be able to live till then also if i knew....

well coming back...so she was given about a year to live...and it was made pretty clear that she wouldnt be able to make it beyond that...somehow i never had the courage to ask her what she was feeling...i mean how do u ask it..."hey didi..how does it feel to know you r gonna die???and what do u think is gonna happen to ur 8 year old kids"????

she once told my mom over the phone that i want to make it as easy for my family as possible...she used to arrange things in her house and leave notes on top of everything saying this is placed here...so that her family wudnt have trouble finding things after she is gone..i remember my heart getting wrenched into a million pieces when i heard this...but it just showed what exemplary courage she had...i mean..she was practically preparing for her own death...

i met her once when i had gone to mathura...in between her chemotherapies..the thing that i saw instantly was she had lost her radiance...that glow in her eyes was just not there anymore...it was the saddest part about everything...almost as if when the doctors were operating on her along with the tumours they removed from her soul that centre that brings out all the happiness...her eyes seemed so damn hollow...and full of sadness...

her brothers tried everything in desperation...somehow to squeeze out a few more years of life from her...till her kids would be old enough to take care of themselves...but are kids ever really old enough to be ok with losing their mothers???

last may starting we got a call saying she was in critical condition...i guess everyone knew the time had come..my mom and another maasi were going from here to meet her...and my mom wanted me to go...coz we were pretty close...but i made some excuse about not wanting to go and dint go..

the truth is..i was scared..i was scared i wont be able to see her go..i just dint have the courage to watch one of the people that i loved the most just deteriorating away....

on may 15th last year..she passed away...i got the news about 10 o'clock in morning...and i dint really believe it for a day or two..i mean..i just dint wanna accept it man...it was too much i guess...

when my mom came back a few days ago...she said that didi told her that she dint wanna die...she just wanted to live a few more years..

i still cant believe its been a year since she has gone...i mean...life really just moves on doesn't it..

this is for u didi....for the spirit that lived inside of you...for the spirit that left us all to grieve...

this is for YOU didi...and the happiness that you showered on us..before making us cry...

I hope you are happy didi...

from your "IK CUP CHAAI"

love.

P.S: i am really sorry if this was too long or too emotional...i just had to put this down...and as the name of the blog goes..its insights into my thoughts...so they have to be long...don't they...

NO SUBSTITUTE!!!!!

Hi all,

2 days ago, got a message from the class group informing about this pre-placement seminar happening in Accenture today. Didn't really have much to do so decided to go for it. As expected no one from my group came. So wasnt looking forward to it so much...just had a hunch though...weird kinda thing...

Started off at 5:15 as usual...went to watch ashtavakara at mulund...left from there at 8 and got to Vikhroli by 8:45

Was a fairly good campus in vikhroli...pretty green and looked homely more than anything....as i entered i thought...i wudn't really mind working in a place like this..

They made us wait in the reception first then in the waiting room and then took us to the cafetaria, through an utterly confusing path of corridors, stairs and what seemed like a MILLION doors, where we were to have our seminar and stuff (with progressively deteriorating chairs actually...was quite funny)


The first session was pretty boring...this manager called Akhilesh Gupta was talking more about wat Accenture is than more about what we wanted to hear (which frankly...we really had no idea about either..hehe)

We also had a QnA session with one of the HR managers...that was a lil knowledgeable atleast...we asked her what generally is the recruitment process and stuff like that...and her answers were fairly obvious....

followed by a short short break for tea...in which i had about the most horrendous medu wada i have ever had in my ENTIRE life....

the second session was expected to be another bummer...and me and anisha were pretty much dreading it...but it turned out to be quite cool actually...this guy was pretty good...he was basically a technical manager of some sort and was explaining about what a project generally is what one is supposed to do in project management...lot of technical garble totally irrelevant here...

so y am i boring u with all these details and such a long long description???

well coz i found out the answer to one really important question that i was dwelling upon....

its like this..ever since i joined IT engineering i had this notion that i really wasn't cut out for it u know...the kinda feeling that tells you sorry boss...this ain't my cup of tea....

incidentally...we were talking to the Sr.Manager in Accenture who also happened to be an ex-VJTIan (thats my college) and an M.Tech from IITB, Mr. Milind Rumade (i think i got the name wrong there...sorry)

one of my friends asked him the same question...that sir i feel i m not going to be good at coding per se and would be better off in management.

he just said...how much of coding HAVE u done..to not like it...and it kinda hit me u know...that i have been NOT liking something that i havent even given a shot to...

he then said...what makes u think u will be good in the management sector...u haven't tried that as yet as well???what if u don't like that also....

and he also said that you be in any field..more than your expertise..what matters is the amount of hard work u put in...there is NO SUBSTITUTE for it...

its funny at some level i thought i always knew it...just hit me when he said it though...one of those things..

its also funny how such (apparently) BIG questions in life have such relatively small(and STUPID) answers...

so lets just say instead of cribbing about y d hell did i take IT....i am gonna give it a shot...and Pray God that i am good at it....

all in all...i must say was a good visit....patted myself on the back for deciding to go...Thanx a lot Sir....u might have just changed my life...hehe


P.S. its funny how sometimes when things dont pan out the way u want them to u get so sad...inspite of knowing never to expect anything...STRANGE

SORRY DEAR!!!


love
anupam.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GURUJI!!!!!!

Jai Gurudev...

its one of those days...when u feel ecstatic for no reason.....you feel like you are on the top of the world...and you don't really remember getting there..well this would have been the case had i NOT known the reason...

for OF COURSE I DO!!!!!!

ITS HIS BIRTHDAY!!!!!!woohoo!!!!

Its one of those days when you look at yourself in the mirror and SMILE...and say...oh man...today is gonna be FUN!!!

happy birthday to you guruji....life would have been so damn stupid without you around to guide it...

i really dont know what gift to give Him...i guess SMILING is good enough????

SO SMILE I WILL!!!!!

Cheers All...

p.s...its a great day to ask for something you wish...generally comes true...hehe...just a lil secret for you guys...

WELCOME!!

HI people Jai GuruDev

welcome to MY blog...as the title says...this blog is about things that i love..things that matter to me or things that just arise my curiosity. I used to blog quite sometime ago...but got caught up in a lot of things and it kinda took a back seat...

But..now i am BACK....and i want to thank BAWA for inspiring me...its really just his blog that gave me the much needed kick on the posterior to restart this...THANX BAAU!!!!!!

I should also thank KUSHAL...for suggesting the title of the blog...i know he meant it as a joke...but it got stuck with me..hehe...THANX DUDE!!!!

Through this portal i hope to communicate the things that i feel or want to write about...i hope i will be able to do justice to my hitherto unexplored passion for writing and be able to bring to words the other things that i am passionate about...

So i hope u guys will be there with me in this yet another journey..like u have been all throughout...

Cheers...TO LIFE!!!!

Love
Anupam.