Spin a yarn... a km long...

Was telling Pixie the story of the story teller at work yesterday . And yes, when someone starts spinning the bundle at work, it usually means , you are in for a useless conversation.A long winding conversation which is designed to confuse rather than communicate.

I have never been able to understand the need for twisting sentences. Its so much easier to just say things the way they are . Something is either right or wrong. It is not right because of A , B or C . Simple!. Why would someone want to bring the rest of the alphabet into it ? I can understand it if the speaker is not articulate enough. But that is not the case in this instance. Its deceit.

Deceit .

And its intended to waste some one's time .. Now , That is a crime.

And a crime always invites a punishment, In this case , it was a snub.

Sunday serenade

Mohit's song from Love Aaj Kal

Yeh dooriyan...

In rahon ki dooriyan

Nigahon ki dooriayam

would be my choice for a serenade on a Sunday evening - the fading light, sinking into the still waters, and watching..

Hun rahon ki dooriyan

Fanah ho sabhi dooriyan

The questions, and hesitation on both sides. It would be interesting to see who steps forward first.

Kyun koi paas hain

Door hai kyun

Jaane na kio yahan pe

Does it matter ? Not really. Just as long as we are looking at each other and the eyes are talking. The way it has been - all this while.

Aa Raha paas ya

Door mein ja raha

Janu na mein hoon kahan pe

Yeh dooriyan

A slight flush, a guilty glance towards the sun. After all we were here to watch the beautiful treat

In raahon ki dooriyan

Nigahon ki dooriyan

Hum rahon ki dooriyan

Fanah ho sabhi dooriyan

And then the smile, a shake of the head, as if reminding oneself of the foolishness of all this . Its silly, silly .....silly.

Yeh dooriyan

Yeh dooriyan

Watching the sun, waiting for it to pass. For the heart to stop fluttering.

Kabhi hua yeh bhi

Khali Rahon pe bhi

Tu tha mere saath

But glancing back and smiling again. Almost apologetic . Its irresistible. The smile again.

Kabhi tujhe milke lauta

mera dil yeh khali khali haath

Yeh bhi hua kabhi

Jaise hua Aabhi

Tujhko sabhi mein paa lia

And now laughing , walking up to you. Pointing to .. anything and laughing . Hoping you wouldnt notice .. Or hoping you would.

Tera mujhe kar jaati hai dooriyan

Satati hain dooriyan

Tarsati hain dooriyan

Fanah ho sabhi dooriyan

And walking away feeling on top of the world , euphoria, bliss, peacful - content..

P.S : Listening to the song for the 25th time while writing this. Had fun. Feel like I had danced with the song.. :)

Rancho

Yes , I have watched 3 Idiots and I would be the 4th idiot if I went ahead and tried to pick faults with the movie. That is not my intention, there are other qualified people( who incidentally also get paid for it!) who have written enough and more about it. But I would say, I enjoyed the movie. (the reunion scene - Would visit that place someday - has potential to be a great profile pic! :-) )

But the title of this post, the protagonist of the movie - Rancho is fascinating. Someone whose presence expanded the world of the people around him, - expanded , enhanced, improved - take your pick. Was thinking if I have had any Rancho in my life . Is there one person who barged into my orbit and kicked it neatly into a new course ? Yes and more than one !

P - who lived the mantra - Smile and the world smiles with you. (Well, she has a beautiful smile. The XY population was always ready to exercise those cheek muscles for her even if she wasn't! . :) ) I still fail to understand how she could smile while battling so many personal demons.. Hats off Lady!

Mrs B - A Buddhist who had crossed over from east Bengal in '47, she would sound divine while reciting poems . I used to look forward to my weekly Bengali classes at Mrs B's home. And that was not all, she could sing , she would write stories , paint .. She was an artist. Well, I cannot say I have imbibed any of her talents, just that her memory gives me peace. Its almost like thinking about a still lake... She taught me to think about a world outside books.. :)

SC - Toughened me up for the corporate life even before I entered the jungle. The stories that he used to tell me used to keep me entertained and in a way prepared me for what was to come

And Vily Aunty - Cant forget her in any of my posts can I ? Why my fav aunt .. Where else could I learn how to walk on burning coal. :)

There are a few others Ranchos too. :) But I should stop before this post starts sounding like an acceptance speech at Oscars *wink*

P.S ..While on the topic of movies, did anyone listen to the song , 'Dil to bachcha hai ji' .. Lovely song!

Back to the Cradle

No, its not what you think. Its me who has jumped right back into a cradle. Yes back home on a mini vacation and enjoying being an only child. (I had almost typed - ' being the centre of attention'. ) Enjoying the things that has not changed -
1) Pa waiting at the station to pick me up. (yes, every single time! )
2) Pa reaching 30 minutes before time and calling every 5 minutes to make sure the bus has not taken a wrong turn.
3) Ma cooking while I enter the house and the house itself smelling of Sambhar.
4) The cats crowding ma's feet as soon as she steps out of the kitchen into the backyard. (The number of cats in the compound has increased to 5 this time!).
5) A new jar of pickle in the fridge . (pickles -> amma's speciality).
6) Gossip time after lunch/ dinner and amma sleeping halfway thru the conversation. ( This has been happening for as long as I can remember ).
7) Obligatory visit to Villy aunty's place ( and the scowl that clings to my face for the rest of the evening, but its become a habit now, the only necessary evil in this list).
8) The temple visits and the numerous archanas, aradhanas and pujas. ( my reaction to this one has changed over the years)

9) Hours of silence with pa and me reading with ma's comments offering thebackground music. (ma is the only talker in the familiy).

So here I am, leaving the tag of being an 'adult' and enjoying some moments of 'cradle' time ..
Nite

Change of state ...

An article in today's newspaper read ' tribals being reconverted'. Goes with out saying they were given a taste for something else and then someone else wanted them back. I guess providing basic education, health care , eliminating poverty are out of fashion fads now. Why else would people be interested in something as personal as faith or beliefs? I am not interested in what TV channel my neighbour watches (unless his volume control button is broken). Of course if we watch the same reality shows, we would have something to make small talk over. So why are people so preoccupied in something as abstract as Him, that too when when no one even know is he exists or if he even cares about how many followers He has. And if He had a problem with the other Him , I am sure he is quite capable of fighting his own battles. If he does exist, he must be having a good laugh over the circus being enacted on this plane.

N then one thing leads to another and the circus becomes bigger , larger, meaner. Is there anything that would teach us to mind our own business and let people be ? Technological advancements, cultural and industrial revolutions have not taught us that, not yet atleast. Perhaps what differentiates us from the rest of the animal kingdom, apart from our supposedly high IQ, our lack of uniformity (relatively) is intimidating. It could be a combination of both too. And if coercing some one to conform doesn't work, force is step two. Hence if you see someone the road with a white shirt when you are wearing red, paint him red , easy ?

Na, easy would to be to live, learn, enjoy the differences. Easy would be to have choices. Easy would be a place where everyone is content . But does it not sound as dull as - Heaven ?

Adam at work

The new year has started with a bang, my ears are still ringing from it! And an interesting question from a friend of mine today - how do you handle men at work.. Although cloaked in innocence , the question was tricky.

Hmm. I gave a lame reply - that I treat them the way I treat a woman . But honestly speaking , I am still thinking about the answer. Never really thought about it that way. Well, we treat people differently , but not necessarily depending on the gender, especially in a formal setting like a work place. Atleast, I would like to believe its that way.

But then as I said , the question was not that easy . I guess it was about how I handle a guy who is being difficult . If its worth the effort perhaps I would meet him half way. A smile and giving someone their due respect usually helps in building a rapport. But if he is a bundle of grump just for heck of it, ignoring him is the way I would choose. Again all this would depend on the person involved too . Age, level in the hierarchy, his background, temperament etc would dictate my response.

But then its the way we treat any person who is being difficult , why just men ? Wonder what prompted the question in the first place ..Hmm..

All the best..

That was a text from a colleague who was moving on to another city , to 'greener pastures'. Lets call him 'S' - a REC grad, a great sense of humour (most of the time it was unintentional), a very very modest geek. I have been his mentor as part of my last assignment and it was a laugh riot for about a couple of years. The way he landed in my team itself forms an interesting story.

This guy sounds gruff on the phone and when he joined the team some of us were at the client location. And well, the 'hello' sounded more like 'yeah, don't waste my time'. And my good friend K at onsite lost his cool one day and the manager had to step in and take S out of his team and into mine. Yes, I would admit, I did want to wring my friend's neck that day . The manager's neck would have been a bonus. But the modest geek has saved many a day for me ... so no complaints..

But hey am not going to talk about work.. S has lots of stories . My favourite is the one about his various accidents. 3 accidents - One when a stray donkey was found waltzing on the road, two - and then it was a dogs turn to break into a little jig and wait .. the best is yet to come. His third hit was a pig and not just any pig it was oscillating' pig .. whatever that means. In his own words - ' it was 6 in the morning and I was flying thru the empty roads and suddenly there is an oscillating pig on the road. and wham!' This time it was S who was flying through the air - minus his bike. There were about 20 people rolling on the floor that day. Well, its made S a legend. Most of my friends know S as the oscillating pig man.. :)

There is another story that a lot of us are fond of. S was driving ( again but the wild life on the road was safe this time). It was the turn of his pillion driver to be part of the drama. Now this friend was under the influence of .. err . something. Now this funny guy suddenly said to 'S' I want to jump and S being S said .. jump, All this with the bike going well over the speed limit. And yes, the friend jumped! Rolled on the road laughing - the laugh lasted only for a few seconds though, before the effects of a broken limb kicked in.

There are many many such stories, remind me to tell you more when you meet me next time.

When I had started writing this post, I was a little emotional , but hey I am glad to have known him,.. :) My turn to say .. All the best!!! Would miss you!

P.S : Yesterday's date was interesting too.. :) 02/01/2010

01-01-10

Its like the aftermath of a party right now. Like the scraps of decoration still stuck to the roof. The day I mean ... After the excitement of yesterday and today its awfully silent now.

Endless mails and texts from friends, even got a call from one of my bros, it was nice . The social obligation that dictated a reply to each of them was less fun .. *a cheeky grin*

Yes, a lil sadness about a few who should have a called an guilt over the ones that I should I have texted at least.Hey, it maintains the balance of my world.

But it was kind of perfect - lots of less work, a happy boss, a weekend and generally ,

the good vibes of the day ..

Nite.

P.S : BTW the date was perfect too - 01-01-10.