Tuesday, April 6, 2010

First visit home - The Heritage tree - Life, THE Race!!, etc...

 
I'm back. I'm back to the place I live. I'm back to the place I chose to live. I was home, home is where I belong. And I felt that I belonged there as long as I was there.

Mom made 'pulihora' and 'payasam' for me :) I had a mug full of Bournvita every morning and evening I was there. I ate 'pappu-annam'. It was heavy, but I liked it. I bought my lovely-dovely sister a Cadbury's Silk. And the fact that she's sweet, she gave me my share. Two-thirds :D plus a large Dairy Milk :D :D My family Doc gave me a choco-lava :) My other sister, promised me a hat :) Dad bought me my tea-kettle :) I met my kid-cousins. I dined with my good-old friends. We spoke of those who were there and about those who weren't. I drove around my city. I slept on my bed. I touched my PC. Everything was the same. Or was it?

I was visiting all my folks back home and when I visited my Grand folks, my Granny  was telling me how the 'chikoo' tree (Sapodilla) in their backyard was planted when her kids were young and how they used to play around it, eat its sweet fruits... Then it was our generation... We all began  playing around it... Swings hanging from its branches, the way I hid on the tree-top while playing hide and seek, how I was
and still AM fond of its fruits every summer... And now, no one's left in that house but my grand folks with memories, probably fading, of all the three generations that were there. Just the 92-year-old man, as strong and active as ever. And his 80 something-year better half. So... I climbed that tree once again as there was no one else to do it. I plucked its fruits. As big as ever :) (I couldn't stay long enough to eat one though! :() everytime I thought it was the last fruit I'm going to pluck, I found another large one and I found myself reaching for it! I went on for a while and then, I stopped. I could still go on. But I didn't.

And then, as I looked down from above, I began to wonder, how life goes on... How we all grow as kids, how we learn from the little things in life as kids, how we create a mould for everything that we perceive, and then when you're out there... Making your living, how you wish your life could still be 'song-and-play' around that old tree, how you would love to play all day, get tired by night, and sleep sound without a thought for the rest of the world. We all slept as babies. Like babies. Then something came over us. We began worrying. We began having sleepless nights. We lost the baby in us to the world around us.


We're all running the race. What race? Who started the race? Is there an end to this race, like all others? When we realize all this, we're already running. I like to run. Run along. Not run away. I'll run. But I know, one day I'll have to stop. What then? Will I be able to sleep like a baby then?

I dunno. I know I have to hit the floor tomorrow morning. And that I have to sleep now. I'll sleep. I'll just sleep so I can wake up to the sunshine and run once again. Run Joe run... For you've got to win your bun! :P Run... :) FTW!!
 
See you when I see you folks... :D
 
P.S. Thanks Supertramp, for saving my blog!! :D

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Pune nagariya... :)

Hello folks!! :) Loooong time!! Well, a quick update... I moved to Pune about a month back, in search of my roti and dal (quite literally :P) and things have been good so far. In fact, they're great!! :) I've made myself comfortable in an amazingly short time, I set a small cozy corner for myself with Wilson (my large blue ball!! :D) to keep me company all day... and work's good too!! The best part being me doing great at work so far!! Haha!!

So, back to Pune... I totally love the climate here, though we spend most of the day in our world-class training facilities ;) The sunsets are all amazing, the city is amazingly clean for the kind of populations it has... And there's something about all the houses here... Each house has a name... most of them are the early 90s kind and the names sound so good!! All of them... like 'Kalpana', 'Maya', 'Kajal'... and many more good names, of which I cant recollect even one now!! Darn!! But yeah, its something more to call a house by a name... creates that magic touch I guess!!

I haven't gone around much YET but, the little has been good. And there's absolutely no language issue... we continue to talk in Hindi to ask what we need... and they respond in Marathi (which is extremely sweet to hear when pretty girls speak!!) a word of which we don't understand. But as long as you can get what you want, doen't matter!! ;) I may even end up considering a few rosy prospects here ;)

And apparently, this place is called 'The OXFORD of the East'!! I can see where all the literacy shows!! Very civilized I must say. This place is proving to be quite a happy place away from home!! Dindn't miss it for more than a day after I got here :P That says it ;)

So, this is it for now. I'll get back when I'm less lazy. Too lazy to upload pics right now!! Sometime later maybe.... aaanyway, until then, see you when I see you folks... :D

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Lal Salaam Lal Salaam...


The Marxist leader, and if I may say so, The Godfather of Bengal, one with a lighter side to him and a man of great wisdom, Comrade Jyoti Basu died this morning.

Let me be honest here, I know not much of the man himself, other than the fact that he ruled Bengal for 23 years straight, which in itself speaks a lot about him and also that he was a very strong-old-man.

But I felt it was needed to leave a tribute to him in my small way... I have a great respect for people like him who even make it to live so long as they have... 95 years!! Whoa!! In this age when we guys think of retirement plans, boredom in 40s, 50s... lack of energy to take the staircase to reach the top floors, etc... these people life for so long, live healthy, live with a definite aim, live by something they've chosen for life. The amount of WISDOM these people possess is just amazing!! And to top it all, I just learnt that he read PG Wodehouse to chill off all the time!! :D Now, that's really some humor for a man of his age!! Not that age has anything to do with it, but just amazes me for that very reason. He studied law in UK in the 1930s... guess that's the Wodehouse link that changed his life forever after!!

Whatever, I'm sure the man has a lots of credits to his name and most worthy. I'm just not the one to be enlightening others about him... RIP Comrade Jyotibabu

Friday, January 15, 2010

Why should girls have all the fun??!!

Its one thing many men have done and definitely something many more would want to do!! Yeah, I'm talking about the Scooty Pep :)




Its a tested and proven fact that Scootys (in general the class of gearless, brake-accelerate vehicles) are easier to drive when it comes to shopping for groceries, carrying some extra luggage back home and a lot more!! At least for a guy like me, who just loves to fall asleep while on two wheels, these vehicles are more safer and make it less tiring without all that gears and clutches!! And must say, the way you can squeeze these vehicles out of traffic... just terrific!! I can actually life one of these and put them on the less crowded lanes if needed... oh yeah!! And the storage space adds more ease to throw in random stuff you pick. Talking of colors, I'm only talking of Black or maybe silver here, its a little too much to ask for to have fun on a PINK scooty!! :P

For me, I feel like I'm cruising through when I place my feet straight on the little slant platforms on either sides, push myself to the back of the seat, throw my head back and zoooooommmmm.... :D

Yeah, its a whole different thing with bikes, all that power, the killer-looks, the rattle that annoys your next door neighbors when you come back late, the harle-harle-harle beats... all of it... its all the DUDE stuff. But tell me, how'd it be to carry a bag of tomatoes or a tray of eggs hanging from the handle of your bikes from the mart down the road?? Totally out of place... it'll be like playing a record slipping tracks. And I have had my share of crashes this way.

Lastly, talking of a greener place, lesser pollution... smaller the vehicle... lesser of all of it :)

Go ahead guys, you can have your share of the girls fun too!! ;)

See you when I see you folks... :D

P.S. What a post to begin I say!! :P And yeah, for those waiting to be blessed by me for the new year... SHINE O Dear Crazy Diamonds... :D

Monday, December 14, 2009

To imagine a heaven and then not to dream of it, but to demand it.


"...Its a rare gift, you know, to feel reverence for your own life and to want the best, the greatest, the highest possible, here, now. To imagine a heaven and then not to dream of it, but to demand it."



Hmmm... I was asking myself... is it a dream job you want or a dream company?? And of course its a dream job, a job where you do as your mind pleases, a job where you can THINK about how to get that old rusted motor running, on your own, a job where you can get in and show your team, THIS is how you nail it in the head!! A job where I can drive back home feeling taller and stronger!! :) I feel this only when I swim or when I soil my clothes in the garden, or when I read Rand. At least for now.


What's a dream company anyway?? Unless you have one of your own!! Only then is it YOUR dream, only yours and no one else's to share. And talking of a job, yes, it could get the best of you for a while, but if you're really looking for more answers, they're all around you. Just a matter of time we begin to see that bright spot down the hallway... the door which leads to LIGHT... where you're standing tall, dark against the light with your arms up, head thrown back, feet apart and when the light hits your face, you look better than ever... you smile. A silent yet fulfilling smile, something that would say more than a thousand words or a beautiful poem... And one day, someday, I WILL come home to that smile... :)

See you when I see you... :D

P.S.I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey at the end of which he knows not WHERE he would be but only know WHAT he would be. I hope I can swim across to the other end. I hope to see the land of my dreams, and sit along its shores. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. Inspired from The Shawshank Redemption :)

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Updates... Revival :)

Well, I've just been too lazy to sign into blogger!! Yeah, over 3 months I guess. I've had lots to write but somehow didn't make the effort to do it.

Anyway, if you're really expecting current tales of my land, let me warn you, I have nothing to say about it!! Whatever comes, I will remain and so the people of my land, who cares about borders/boundaries and limits these days??


So, coming back to me... my first month off I've been busy with House M.D and must say, Hugh Laurie really is some talent man!! In fact as I write this, I feel I must dedicate this post to House!! Why not?? I've been busy watching all the Seasons repeatedly, again and again... and talking of being influenced... I've been walking around with a cane, limping, for a few days, and finally had to give it away to someone who ACTUALLY needed it!!... I use Hanson-MmmBop as the ring tone for my friends, and ABBA's Dancing Queen for my brother (those of you who know will know)... you decide what that means. And yeah, I also read that Laurie said reading Wodehouse novels saved his life!! Oh man!! Now that's really something for reading novels what he is today!! :O






And... I've had my share of Wodehouse too... apart from that, I've had lots of revelations to myself... The most significant of all being the attitude of Dentists. Particularly female Dentists... more particularly pretty female dentists!! ;) When you're looking at her, you're so lost... the way she smiles, the way she engages you in random talk... smoooooth... and then KRRRRAKKKOWWW!! The next thing you know when you come to your senses is you're bleeding from your gums, she's giving you the perfect-smile with her perfect-teeth and she holds out my extracted tooth and flaunts it in front of you and says, "see... it wasn't that bad, was it??" Oh really!! And then she says, "don't spit anything out for about a day". I must have swallowed a pint of my own blood and Goddess!! it made me sick in the stomach!! Poor me, I didn't realize the smile and kindness were used over the anesthetic to perform this barbarous act!! C'mon!! Pliers??!! Wodehouse rightly says... "the prospect of visiting a dentist this evening makes you forget of the total ruin that's in store for you for the year to come!!" He's SO right!!

Seriously!! What's in it they need to smile about given what they do with it??!!






So, that is that. And oh, another significant move... I've started fishing again!! :D Big time. I'm going all out each day, and feeling totally on top of the world. But happens so that my to-be employer would like me to come and join sometime soon!! So the fishing stops then maybe (unless I can find a pond at work too ;)) Yeah, you win something, you lose something. Square.
So until I come back with something of greater significance (which I certainly will!! This was just like a starter ;) ), keep on dancing and as always...

see you when I see you folks... :D

Saturday, August 8, 2009

LEARNING TO FLY...




Friction lock - set.
Mixture - rich
Propellers - fully forward
Flaps - set - 10 degrees
Engine gauges and suction - check







Into the distance, a ribbon of black

Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction holding me fast, how
Can I escape this irresistible grasp?

Cant keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, i

Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything
No navigator to guide my way home
Unladened, empty and turned to stone
A soul in tension that's learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try


Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
My grubby halo, a vapour trail in the empty air,
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night


This is most of what was ringing in my head (Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly) when I was standing across the line, seeing my friends fly-off to chase their dreams... I suggest you hear it and SEE it to understand and FEEL it... On a more personal note...


I felt like...

Like an Eagle I've learned to fly
Now I span my wings
Only to soar high in the sky
If not this summer, not this fall...
I will fly, when it is my spring...

For I was born to fly, alone and high
Like an Eagle... I WILL FLY...


There comes a time for all Eagles to leave the warmth of their nests and learn to fly like an Eagle. they're just born that way.

If you walk like a duck, quack like a duck, squat like a duck, then be sure, you ARE A DUCK!! "That which is of the flesh is flesh, that which is of the spirit is spirit" You just have to be born with whatever it takes to reach those heights, span your wings and looks down upon the earthy beings and still stay grounded to that what's needed off the ground!!

Live like a King, they once said... the Kings came, they saw, they conquered and they died (or probably fleed their land just to live, forget like a King!!) This is the age of Eagles... they were, they are and they will be.

Eagles will never stay on the ground and feed on the worms and grains in grit... They will fly... They will fly high... They will rule the sky... They may be alone high up in the sky, but they just don't care, for they were born to fly - soar high!!

Contrary to what I thought it would be, and mostly IS, my presence at the airport, seeing off the people who were part of my dominant thoughts and actions for the last few years, wasn't all that emotional. Not at all emotional actually!! Eagles don't sympathize with one another!! Each one - on his own...

I guess the Eagle-ian way of things says it all about what the whole experience has left behind with me...

And hey, Eagles don't take advice/teachings from fellow Eagles, nor do they flock together!!

Well, that is that... The Eagle-ian way of LIFE!! (I wish I could show you how high I am already!! :|

See you when I see you... :D