Tuxedos on the beach

A lot of bad news surrounds me, the newspapers are full of stories related to the hideous Delhi Rape incident and the protests that followed. Arguably, the best batsmen of our time- Sachin Tendulkar has retired. Even on the personal front things aren't looking so rosy. I feel tied down, not by circumstances or difficulties in my life but my desires. The desire to be free, to wander alone late at night, to travel, meet new people, date someone, go on long drives, to write. None of these desires is inappropriate or unreasonable, but here comes an important factor- the dice throw of fate. The people around me whom I call- "friends" are "very busy". Hence they can not accompany me to any of these escapades. And to be frank, I am losing interest in them. A person grows out of clothes, situations and as I am discovering, out of friends as well. They no longer fulfill my growing needs of companionship, emotional support and a non-overbearing genuine care. I d...

My visit to Pune was a 3 day affair between 5-7 June 2012. Though it was a hectic one with the itinerary just preceding a major college event of which I was one of the organizers. On 6th June, the 4 of us- me, my mother, my aunt & my cousin boarded the Pune Darshan bus, (a guided city tour of Pune). The guide, a certain Mr. Jagtap was an interesting fellow- his peculiar way of speaking hindi was pretty funny. The first place we visited was Tilak museum. The museum is dedicated to the great Indian freedom fighter- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as "Lokmanya" Tilak. It houses many articles of his personal use as well as models of various aspects of his life- such as his life as the editor of Kesari , the first Indian newspaper; his life at Mandley Jail (now Myanmar). Tilak is a revered Marathi icon. Someone, in whom every Marathi takes a pride identifying himself with. Obscured in history under the big (& often undeserving) names, Tilak was a social reformer ...

Note: The following work is loosely based on different events in my life across a long duration. There might be a resemblance to people in real life in the plot, but the encounters, musings and the interactions mentioned here are purely a work of fiction and do not express my true opinions or feelings towards any individual. 13 November 2012, 9 A.M Went to meet a friend. Met the old caretaker of his building, Jeevan. He has been living in a room that has been allotted to him since many years. Exchanged greetings and wished him a Happy Diwali. "काहे की दिवाली साहब" He said.  I asked him what happened  "तंगी चल रही है।" I agreed and said that inflation had indeed made life hard. But did anything else happen, I added. "मेरा पोता बीमार हो गया था, 2 लाख लगेंगे इलाज में". I was flabbergasted "You only tell ". He continued.  "Is it possible for me to arrange such a big amount?" "इश्वर सब  भला करेंगे"- I said. "अब ...

Show me an unmarried young guy who has no interest in girls and I'll show you what a gay looks like. Everyone likes girls, and why not? They are sweet, they are pretty, they are bitchy and yes, they are hot. ;) The Martians like to drool on their counterparts from Venus and its perfectly normal. Now coming to girls. Since my college life began, I noticed a sharp shift in the mentality of female homo sapiens. They put on more make-up, dress up well (read provocatively) and often use subterfuge to attract the attention of guys. Again, even while keeping the scientific hormonal stuff aside, its normal. But then something occurs. Girls, who try to gain the male attention, whine about the increasing number of "cheap" men ogling their bodies. They fail to take into account, that its the same curve hugging dress that they wore to attract sensuous stares. They go on to complain how the quality of men has gone down and real men aren't available any more. Time and again th...

Ohkay. So just a couple of changes in this post, in terms of my writing style. Firstly, I am gonna refrain from peppering my own expert comments on things (like this one) throughout the entire post. As a well wisher pointed me out it makes me sound too analytical and kills the flow. Secondly, I am also gonna refrain from self bashing. The same well wisher (and many others) told me that I treat myself too harshly. So taking their advice, I'll stick the original flow of pure thoughts without criticizing myself (or as a matter of fact, anyone) So, I went clubbing for the first time in my life. I have been to pubs and discs but only for birthdays or college parties, never with friend groups. A new experience I must say :) Its a place called O2, which has a nice entry passage and a polite staff, much more polite than 10 Downing Street or Delhi Grill (both pubs in my city) So we went in and some of the guys ordered drinks. Just for the records, I am a vegetarian teetotaler who...

Being happy is not easy. Maybe it is our brain's programming that makes us find faults in everything. Our over analytic behaviour makes us find faults in everything that we do. Makes us believe that we should not be happy as we don't have - a) or b), or reminds me of a problem in our lives. Why is it so? Why are we not happy? This is not a rhetorical question but something that I live a near perfect life. Yes, I am arrogant and often "condescending" but I consider myself to be a good guy from inside. May be this conflict between the popular rhetoric of "Bad Guys" and my inherent goodness often creates problems. Often, while talking to people. Its good that I have understood the problem, but again I tend to analyze it too much. Result, I remain unhappy, unhappy when someone talks to my crush, unhappy when I see others enjoying and me being so called "left out". And then I try to find solace by being professional, doing my "work". I a...

27th Semptember 2012, Karnal "Woke up at 8.30 and prepared to leave. I am sad because I am in love. For those people who wrongly infer that I already am and cite my shares and retweets to support it, may utter 'ooooh's and 'aaaah's, but not me. For a person who is hypercritical of himself and everything around him almost to the brink of a disorder, this is no ordinary thing. He is a true libran whose mind analyzes love and gives a thumbs up to heart before proceeding. And especially, when the subject of interest is inanimate. I have fallen in love with the city of Delhi, with its broad roads and traffic jams, with its shining malls and crowded markets, with its greenbelt and concrete jungle, with its super rich and the vendors who risk their lives daily to earn their daily bread. Yes, I haven't yet got the chance to explore the city inside out because most of my interactions have been with the planned subcity of New Delhi or the smartly managed Delhi...

Recently watched the movie Barfi. Its a visual treat, 100% pure cinema which takes you to a wonderland where love is in its purest form and is beyond expressions. A mute boy, an autistic girl and a girl who is confused whether to choose between true love or a comfortable life. The characters are perfectly fit for their roles, be it-The Telugu Superstar Ileana, or the fabulous Priyanka as the autistic Jhimil. Ranbir Kapoor proves yet again why he is considered the next big thing in Bollywood. His act of Barfi! lands him in the middle of a very tough competition for the Best Actor award which already features scintillating performances by Irrfan in "Paan Singh Tomar" and Nawazuddin in "GoW". But something that caught my eye was a lot more than the artistic enchantment of the movie. The lovely portrayal of the autistic Jhilmil fed food to my thoughts which were bent towards the loss of innocence and humanity among us. Cinematographer Ravi Varman has brilliantly portr...

I write this at 1.30 A.M. Its raining outside and the pitter-patter sounds like music to my ears. My rational mind tells me to stop thinking about this poetic nonsense and go to sleep. For tomorrow I have to get up early and study for my upcoming campus placement. Some other day I'd have wrestled with it, only to sleep and wake up at 8.30 (which I'll be doing anyways) but not today. I ignore my left sphere. The day has been quite amazing as I managed not to over think, which is quite an achievement given the state of affairs. For the first time in many years, darkness seems soothing to me. Not because I have something to hide, but because some times its good to not know everything. To have some unknown variables in the equation of life. I lower the head of my table lamp as the light is hurting my eyes. Its a coincidence that a book named- "Cloud Atlas" is lying on my table. I am feeling a lot more cozy from when I began. :) The clouds rumble, as if a stern father...

I have often been pointed out to by my peers that I am too negative minded. I am the one who is always carping about petty things, criticizing everyone (including self) and too hasty in everything. And they are partially right as well. But this post is different. Being in a not so big town (no am not whining here) has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. One major disadvantage is there isn't enough awareness and taste in the arts. There are few people who like to be at leisure, bask and indulge themselves to some tasteful art. Be it fine art or literature. This post has more to do with the latter. Thankfully, I got a chance to be a member of a small coterie called Shabd Shilp which is an open group for all literature lovers to come together and discuss poetry and other forms of literature among like minded people over coffee and sandwiches. People from varying level of literary skills come here- from novices like me (an engineering student) to Ph.D holders in English t...

No, This post is not about the wonderful movie starring will smith and his son. Neither is this post related to it- the human spirit, the never-say-die attitude which instead of inspiring people, sometimes pushes them into blues as their own incompetence and guilt makes them feel worthless. Its about happiness, a bird that everyone chases, but no one seem to have it. Even those who feel like they have captured this bird cant hold it for too long. But Why? Almost all of the world around us is virtual, such is the case with happiness . The fake smiles, the celebrities marrying each other in lavish ceremonies only to divorce with a massive lawsuit pending. The Facebook World- aah. It seems almost the entire world except you is happy. The "YAY!!" Status, the albums full of 'friends' enjoying at some hot and happening place. There are times when even you are in those albums but often you feel left out. It seems you are the only boring person. So, is it so? Are you the ...

What is Reality? How do you define "REAL"? Is it something you can touch, see, smell or taste? These are just our senses that respond to the external stimuli. Have you ever seen a dream that seems so true that you cant distinguish whether its happening truly or just in your imagination? And then you wake up, into the world that you deem to be real. But the question remains. Is this real or both the world co-exist? The more you think about it the more mind boggling it is. A plausible answer to this is- its the mind! But again, isn't the same mind which dreams? Or maybe it is the mind that is making the illusion that this is reality whereas quite the opposite might be true People must be wondering if I've gone mad. No I a'int. But in fact this puzzle has been in my mind for a long time and I have been brooding a lot on it. The film Matrix incubated this idea in my mind and since then it has never left me. What if the entire world was an illusion. Or maybe n...

I am quite fond of old Hindi songs. With the deteriorating quality of contemporary ones, its no surprise that they rule my playlists. Thanks to Sony Mix and YouTube, people from my generation can even see those songs these lovely numbers on their computers and T.V sets. One thing that never ceases to fascinate me is the way in which romance between the lead pair is portrayed. There is no kissing, no bedroom sequence and in many songs the duo don't even touch each other. And yet their every delicate move makes you sigh dreamily & you wish you were there in place of that hero/heroine. Their eyes speak volumes. Be it the evergreen Dev Anand, in what is perhaps one of the best love songs of all time- "Abhi na Jao Chhod Kar" where he adoringly convinces his lady love to stay for a bit longer. The song is a gem and the boyish charm of Dev Anand weaves such a magic that it is impossible for anyone, even the beautiful Sadhna to resist his lovely plea. Or take ...

Its been a long hiatus since I last blogged. But it seems I am finally getting my spirit back :) I have been writing regularly, its just that my mood and some super busy holidays held me from re-blogging again. So, here I am, in new settings. Will there be new flavour as well? Lets see. Hoping to see you soon. ;) -- Maverick