Well I am bogged down by the year ending or rather decade ending ratings bombarded by the media..Some I care and some I don't. And when the sand drains out of the decade's timer I am thinking why not to summarize some philosophies which are changing my life this year. I am not sure to whom it will make sense but thought of giving it a a try. So here I go
2010 – Things that changed for me
Health is wealth : This idea crept in my mind post monsoon in Pune. Got stuck up in a hell lot of diseases . I was down with viral fever 3 times. My mom got dengue and got hospitalized for first ever time. I almost became a paranoid checking the mirror and well as the web to get to know of the various flues and checking its presence in my body. And I learned even if you have infinite money and knowledge , life is going to get screwed up if your health is not good.
Time the most important thing- Life is too short to waste time travelling to and forth to office and wasting half a day in groceries lines. Give time to you and your family. I shifted my stay and reduced my distance to office by half . Staying in an area where I can get all my stuffs in walking distance. Rent can be compromised if you save your time.
Books! What a wonderful thing – I had revived my long lost reading habit this year. Got to finish almost 12 books in 2 different languages in paper. Also became a voracious reader of news papers ,blogs and new sites and what else. Keeping my eyes and ears opened to the world and getting restless over has became a habit to me.
Keep In Touch with buddies – This year also found me keeping in touch with most of my old buddies. Felt the importance of old friends in difficult times. The thing worth mentioning is a meet-up with an old friend after 3 leap years . We parted our ways before under graduation and our life took different turns (he is major in the Army now ). Thanks to the social networking I could locate him and meet couple of times here in Pune. The pleasure of meeting an old friend or relative and having a chit chat is more intoxicating than alcohol
Web in Mobile! Hats Off – I used to discourage my friends who were buying Iphones or similar gadgets arguing it as a waste of time to browse in the small screen. However when I got a new mobile and changed my plan to a data one I was like jumping in to the rabbit hole to open into a wonder land . The number of apps and the things I could do by remaining connected always is unimaginable. And what more I am feeling a little late to get into this world .Time is not far when I stop by broadband connection
Give your 100 percent in anything – Harsha Bogle said in an video “Talent alone takes your nowhere. It is your continuous efforts that gets you places”. My habit of getting through an audition in any singing event without practice got a major blow when I failed to impress the judges in a singing audition in TechM recently. The lesson learned is that if you don’t invest time in getting a song right you don’t have even the right to participate in an audition. This hold true for anything and everything we do. Give your 100 pc and never care about the results (Same thing Lord Krishna Said centuries ago)
Anger, it is bad thing- This one I am still working on . Perhaps is too personal to even write in a blog. Times are changing you cannot be a cool dude in present world if your temper is like Jai or Veeru or Thakur . Came to realize in the hard way that if we get angry it is our failure to handle difficult situations or people
Procrastination a bug to heal: This has hit me a lot in my life. I keeps on delaying things till the last moment. The worst part is not getting a peace of mind till I completes it. So I have decided rather than falling prey to worries of Procrastination it is better to get things done right first in proper time. Planning and executing for short term tasks in life and relishing in its successful completion is working good for me. A caveat is to stop expecting others to be like that
Last but not the least the philosophy which I hold to my heart and believe won’t get changed even in another decade is
Freedom : If you believe you are right and you know you are not hurting anyone physically or emotionally you are free to do anything in the world.
Ending this monologue with my possible goals and challenges for 2011.Pardon me if it’s too personal
To look at the mirror and say I am healthy (without lying off course)
To solve my religious dilemma ( socialist /agnostic /atheist or theist)
To get rid of my clumsiness
To learn one or more new skills ( guitar, gardening etc sky is the limit)
To learn to say no properly
To keep my house clean
To go to a long trip on my bullet
An the most important
To continue being compassionate to all living things in the galaxy
Can’t stop this scrap without my favorite lines by Robert Frost
“The woods are lovely dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before i sleep"
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Jimmy The Legend
Disclaimer
==========
If this description matches any person whose name is Jimmy that’s not my fault. In fact my protagonist wants the world to know him by this name only..
The Plot
===========
He lit the Gold Flake from the oven and took a sip of the Glenfiddich on the rocks..Beckoning the poor lad with his evil smile he let out his notorious dialogue “Aaaja bahar.Tumse Kuch Baat Karna Hai “ .A chill breeze swept the pond in front of the room knocking out our inebriation. Jimmy took the poor kid ,Golden Brown (nick name off course) ,out in the verandah in that cool spring night of Mid West. Me and Sallu were oozing out the pieces from the rohan josh when the confession has already started in the verandah . Jimmy offered Golden a cigarette in midst of the Q&A session. Sallu was swearing Jimmy for torturing the most innocent of the persons among our group. Anyways after some twenty minutes it seems Jimmy entered the living room bearing his wicked smile followed by an emotionally impregnated Golden.. He was shivering in the silence which had the density of a war cry. He let out a dialogue which seemed to me like in an old Bachan movie “Do you guys think that I have not fulfilled the duty of a friend”. Repeatedly he said ,each time with aggravating emotions..I took the stage and pacified the emotional young man while Jimmy was struggling to hide his guffaw. Sallu now started with cursing Jimmy. Guess what this whole fuzz about. Jimmy was digging deep into the labyrinths of Golden’s cerebrum regarding a fleet of crush he had on his college days. He tortured the poor being as to why he compromised his love mistaking it as a infatuation. For Golden who lets out his feeling when not in sobriety , this was too much and Jimmy had struck the iron when it was volcanic in heat…
This is was one of the many incidents which made our American bachelor days kuch khatta and meetha. Jimmy the protagonist , bitterly known as “The Love Guru” and “Bengali Baba” and “Master Uguay ‘(Kungu-fu Panda fame), is one of the master who practiced this traditional art of brain washing . Jimmy works 24x7 and he spend his spare time cooking lots of good stuffs and brain washing people as a hobby. For this hobby hi modus operandi is classy as a Scorcese movie . After identifying a target (mostly a soft spoken single guy who has got an adrenaline rush for an opposite sex but never has the gut to express it) ,he used to lure him with his culinary masterpiece viz. mutton fried in mustard oil before making into a spicy curry. Anyway here comes a call from Jimmy on target’s phone.
“Hmm kidher haai”
“Ghar pe hain”
“Kyaa kar rahaa haai”
”Kuch nahi bas time pass”
“Accha suno idher tere liye khaas meine accha mutton banaaya. Ek dum spicy aur tasty.. Tu aa rahe ki nahi”
“AbeeNahi yaar thoda kaam haai ghar pe”
“Kaam gaya bhaad mein ..Kuch purana wine bhi haai..Mutton ke saath ekd dum sahi hojaayenga..”
“Par yaar…”
“Oi ..Tu aa rahe ki nahi..Aaja tujse kuch zaroori baat karnaa haai “(bingo)
“Theek hai mein aata hoon”
In Jimmy’s house the to be victim will be served drinks along with the spicy mutton. The guy after getting drunk will spill out a flash of his mind which Jimmy cleverly manipulated to add fire to the fury. Moreover Jimmy takes the help of his clichéd 90’s love in which he used to cycle near his school gates whistling an R.D melody to impress his then girl-friend now wife. Whatever be it at the end of the night when a plate of mutton and a bottle of Whiskey gets over ,there will remain a desperate man ready to wake up his object of love to say the 3 words….Whole of Dublin say this unanimously..Jai Ho Jimmy Jai Ho
Whether the job is to make someone identify his soul-mate or to channel another one’s energy to matrimonial sites or to make a third one buy an expensive item, Jimmy does it sincerely with an art. His work of perfection which I appreciate the most is this one incident in which he made a confused guy in our group buy a brand new corolla before even he knew what the wheels are there for . Jimmy made the guy think of the satisfaction he gets when he takes his family for a drive in the brand new car. The poor chap did already covered the United States three times in his reverie before signing the contract . And guess what Jimmy made sure that the whole group got drunk like pigs from the already robbed man’s credit card. Whether to convince a Telugu guy to fall for a Gujarati girl or a Bengali guy to fall for a Tamil girl Jimmy is there with blessed hands. Jimmy may not be the most proficient cook I have seen. He may not be the most hard working guy I knew of. However he is till date the most capable spiritual (in brainwashing sense) guru I have seen with flesh and blood. This blog is a dedication to all those odd families which almost existed (but didn’t Praise the lord) thanks to Jimmy’s demagogues. Ironically I want to conclude by confessing that Jimmy is till date my most favorite spiritual guru . Let the Legend of Jimmy continues to rule the world forever…
Aftermath
========
I am accused of fooling Jimmy twice. Once making him eat cattle (which he follows religiously) and in another time making him buy a Honda civic (According to rumors spread by Sallu , Jimmy over spend some 3 grants for that). No Mea Culpa Jimmy. I was a mere instrument in the hands of almighty
==========
If this description matches any person whose name is Jimmy that’s not my fault. In fact my protagonist wants the world to know him by this name only..
The Plot
===========
He lit the Gold Flake from the oven and took a sip of the Glenfiddich on the rocks..Beckoning the poor lad with his evil smile he let out his notorious dialogue “Aaaja bahar.Tumse Kuch Baat Karna Hai “ .A chill breeze swept the pond in front of the room knocking out our inebriation. Jimmy took the poor kid ,Golden Brown (nick name off course) ,out in the verandah in that cool spring night of Mid West. Me and Sallu were oozing out the pieces from the rohan josh when the confession has already started in the verandah . Jimmy offered Golden a cigarette in midst of the Q&A session. Sallu was swearing Jimmy for torturing the most innocent of the persons among our group. Anyways after some twenty minutes it seems Jimmy entered the living room bearing his wicked smile followed by an emotionally impregnated Golden.. He was shivering in the silence which had the density of a war cry. He let out a dialogue which seemed to me like in an old Bachan movie “Do you guys think that I have not fulfilled the duty of a friend”. Repeatedly he said ,each time with aggravating emotions..I took the stage and pacified the emotional young man while Jimmy was struggling to hide his guffaw. Sallu now started with cursing Jimmy. Guess what this whole fuzz about. Jimmy was digging deep into the labyrinths of Golden’s cerebrum regarding a fleet of crush he had on his college days. He tortured the poor being as to why he compromised his love mistaking it as a infatuation. For Golden who lets out his feeling when not in sobriety , this was too much and Jimmy had struck the iron when it was volcanic in heat…
This is was one of the many incidents which made our American bachelor days kuch khatta and meetha. Jimmy the protagonist , bitterly known as “The Love Guru” and “Bengali Baba” and “Master Uguay ‘(Kungu-fu Panda fame), is one of the master who practiced this traditional art of brain washing . Jimmy works 24x7 and he spend his spare time cooking lots of good stuffs and brain washing people as a hobby. For this hobby hi modus operandi is classy as a Scorcese movie . After identifying a target (mostly a soft spoken single guy who has got an adrenaline rush for an opposite sex but never has the gut to express it) ,he used to lure him with his culinary masterpiece viz. mutton fried in mustard oil before making into a spicy curry. Anyway here comes a call from Jimmy on target’s phone.
“Hmm kidher haai”
“Ghar pe hain”
“Kyaa kar rahaa haai”
”Kuch nahi bas time pass”
“Accha suno idher tere liye khaas meine accha mutton banaaya. Ek dum spicy aur tasty.. Tu aa rahe ki nahi”
“AbeeNahi yaar thoda kaam haai ghar pe”
“Kaam gaya bhaad mein ..Kuch purana wine bhi haai..Mutton ke saath ekd dum sahi hojaayenga..”
“Par yaar…”
“Oi ..Tu aa rahe ki nahi..Aaja tujse kuch zaroori baat karnaa haai “(bingo)
“Theek hai mein aata hoon”
In Jimmy’s house the to be victim will be served drinks along with the spicy mutton. The guy after getting drunk will spill out a flash of his mind which Jimmy cleverly manipulated to add fire to the fury. Moreover Jimmy takes the help of his clichéd 90’s love in which he used to cycle near his school gates whistling an R.D melody to impress his then girl-friend now wife. Whatever be it at the end of the night when a plate of mutton and a bottle of Whiskey gets over ,there will remain a desperate man ready to wake up his object of love to say the 3 words….Whole of Dublin say this unanimously..Jai Ho Jimmy Jai Ho
Whether the job is to make someone identify his soul-mate or to channel another one’s energy to matrimonial sites or to make a third one buy an expensive item, Jimmy does it sincerely with an art. His work of perfection which I appreciate the most is this one incident in which he made a confused guy in our group buy a brand new corolla before even he knew what the wheels are there for . Jimmy made the guy think of the satisfaction he gets when he takes his family for a drive in the brand new car. The poor chap did already covered the United States three times in his reverie before signing the contract . And guess what Jimmy made sure that the whole group got drunk like pigs from the already robbed man’s credit card. Whether to convince a Telugu guy to fall for a Gujarati girl or a Bengali guy to fall for a Tamil girl Jimmy is there with blessed hands. Jimmy may not be the most proficient cook I have seen. He may not be the most hard working guy I knew of. However he is till date the most capable spiritual (in brainwashing sense) guru I have seen with flesh and blood. This blog is a dedication to all those odd families which almost existed (but didn’t Praise the lord) thanks to Jimmy’s demagogues. Ironically I want to conclude by confessing that Jimmy is till date my most favorite spiritual guru . Let the Legend of Jimmy continues to rule the world forever…
Aftermath
========
I am accused of fooling Jimmy twice. Once making him eat cattle (which he follows religiously) and in another time making him buy a Honda civic (According to rumors spread by Sallu , Jimmy over spend some 3 grants for that). No Mea Culpa Jimmy. I was a mere instrument in the hands of almighty
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Cattle Class
The bus was crawling like a snail..It was dipping , bouncing and arm-twisting with the mud muscles of the uneven road ..Sitting in the penultimate seat made me nervous..RFAK screaming “Aaaj Din Chadiya” over my iPods buds..It’s the last pit-stop rather pit-crawl before reaching the office building ..The driver maneuvering the metal box with all his expertise before halting to a stand still.OMG. Here comes the herd. All the Yam raj’s animal. Poor driver had to stand on the breaks to avoid collision. Thank god all the Holy animals are being guided by their master. Somebody said in my ears..Welcome to the notorious cattle class of glorified by Tharoor. The first thing came to my mind is how would it to be to make non Indian clients face similar situation..The ruthless ex-marine Test Lead of our team should be driven to Hinjewadi to be blocked by Holy Buffalos . I called up Sallu (my partner-in-crime while we were in US) and what he told made tears wet my lashes..His wilder thoughts were crossing boundaries. He says these guys should face the chasing of a stray dog while driving through the Hinjewadi Gaav ,and the rush in a shared auto, pedestrian running across highways, long lines for lunch and many more; not the cool Scorpio travel fleeting 90mph to halt in front of some smiling saree clad ladies , five star hotels , Mumbai-Pune highway and airports only .Khaair Chodo..Thoughts are like a wandering soul..Never knows when it rest. Here I am .Was it good back there across the ocean?. I don’t think so. Here there won’t be anyone to stare us at if we rush in a pub at night.. There won’t be the sharp arrows which will be thrown to you as questions like “Do ppl watch TV in ur country?” “Do ppl know what a computer is over there?” “Is there a slum everywhere?” . Nobody will laugh at your back saying these guys are not only geeks but also weak and raise their fingers calling u b**dy Indians. Thank god I am back .Sun is tickling the winter damsel. The air was mix of fog and dust; but I still felt the freshness of freedom.. Here I am in cattle class. I am in India…..
”Saare Jahan Se Achaa..Hindusitan Hamara. Hum Bulbule he iski Yeh Gulsitan Hamara”.
”Saare Jahan Se Achaa..Hindusitan Hamara. Hum Bulbule he iski Yeh Gulsitan Hamara”.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
A Moment's Ecstacy
Another translation. This time a Malayalam film song "Aa Nimishathinte nirvrithiyil...." First the original in malayalam and then the translation followsin english follows. This song is from the movie "Chandrakantham" composed by legendary MSV on Srikumarnan Thampi's wordings. Dasettan and S.Janaki has made it unanimous with their unique melody.. Morover the song is the best ever rendition of raga "Yaman" in malayalam
original lyrics
============
Aaa nimishathinte nirvrithiyil
Njanoraavani thennalai maari
Aayiram unmaada rathrikal than gandham
Aaathmadalathil thulumbi
Neeyurangunna niraalamba shayyayil
Nirnidramee njan ozhuki
Ragaparagam ularthuma thenchodi
Poovilen naadam ezhuthi
Ariyathe nee ariyathe
Aa Nimishathinte nirvrithiyil manam
Aarabhi than padamaai
Daahikkumen jeevathanthukkalil
Navyabhaava marandam vithumbi
Thazhvarayil ninte pushpathalpangalil
Thaarattu paattai ozhuki
Aaa hridayathinte spandanangalkkente
Thaalam pakarnnu njan nalki
Ariyaathe nee ariyathe
Translation
============
In ecstacy of that august moment
Becomest me, a gushing zephyr
Dripped forthwith, from my soul
A scent of thousand luring nights
In ecstacy of that august moment
Becomest me, a gushing zephyr
On that helpless couch you slept
Flew me without a sign of slumber
And that honey lips, that flower
which sautés pollen love grains
On it I wrote my euphony
Without knowing..without you knowing
In ecstacy of that august moment
My mind becomest the psalm of arabhi
To my craving quarks of soul
Delivers it a neo degree of feel
In those valleyes, in your flower beds
Swiftly did I float like a sacred lullaby
To that pricky vibes of your heart
Did I give my rythemic breaths
Without knowing..without u knowing
In ecstacy of that august moment
Becomest me, a gushing zephyr
original lyrics
============
Aaa nimishathinte nirvrithiyil
Njanoraavani thennalai maari
Aayiram unmaada rathrikal than gandham
Aaathmadalathil thulumbi
Neeyurangunna niraalamba shayyayil
Nirnidramee njan ozhuki
Ragaparagam ularthuma thenchodi
Poovilen naadam ezhuthi
Ariyathe nee ariyathe
Aa Nimishathinte nirvrithiyil manam
Aarabhi than padamaai
Daahikkumen jeevathanthukkalil
Navyabhaava marandam vithumbi
Thazhvarayil ninte pushpathalpangalil
Thaarattu paattai ozhuki
Aaa hridayathinte spandanangalkkente
Thaalam pakarnnu njan nalki
Ariyaathe nee ariyathe
Translation
============
In ecstacy of that august moment
Becomest me, a gushing zephyr
Dripped forthwith, from my soul
A scent of thousand luring nights
In ecstacy of that august moment
Becomest me, a gushing zephyr
On that helpless couch you slept
Flew me without a sign of slumber
And that honey lips, that flower
which sautés pollen love grains
On it I wrote my euphony
Without knowing..without you knowing
In ecstacy of that august moment
My mind becomest the psalm of arabhi
To my craving quarks of soul
Delivers it a neo degree of feel
In those valleyes, in your flower beds
Swiftly did I float like a sacred lullaby
To that pricky vibes of your heart
Did I give my rythemic breaths
Without knowing..without u knowing
In ecstacy of that august moment
Becomest me, a gushing zephyr
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The Cup of Madness
Last time one of my friends asked me. Why no write up nowadays? Prairies of creativity shadowed with the dunes of indolence was the reason I had given to him. As a poet from my mother tongue described his state of creative ecstasy like "Whenever my cute sweet heart, the damsel poetry, kisses me on the cheek, Here I stand, amidst the creative ocean, playing veena to adorn my shyness with jewels". Though the cute damsel is in her teens, in my case, her tickling effect can be no lesser. No more doodling lets jump to the story (Sorry UTK this has been delayed for a long time). Since the story is a real life incident I don't want to delineate the actors in detail. Dissecting the topic, "The cup of Madness" is not the cup worth insanity (as in case of the championship cups), rather it is the one which wakes up the madman inside you .Analogous to the magical potion prepared by Druid Getafix (for Asterix fans) this one gives you a gargauntum of super human strength...Surprisingly this one has been drunk across the Northern Hindustan as a Prasad from Shiv temples...Even now if you are guessing, let me disclose the name, the Thandai...
Hailing from the south, the only idea I had of Holi is its celebration with colours...And I got introduced to it only after coming to this deccan plateau. Each of my Holi celebrations there were different in its sense. The barbaric painting of colors, climbing ghats etc to mention a few. However in the last time, the season triggered some whimsical urge inside us to try out the cup of madness. Unfortunately we had an unsuccessful and tedious day roaming inside the city labyrinths to get "bhang", the primary ingredient of the potion (From here onwards Potion is promoted to a proper noun to describe the ..You know what...).So in this Holi time we didn't want a take a chance and wanted to make sure we get it for sure..
One of my roommates took up the responsibility...I am calling him Druid Getafix or simply the Druid Bhai, he being the potion maker, for cofidentiality.(An Asterix comic character introduction can be helpful for my readers if any ;-) )..So the D-day commences and the Druid is taking his assistant (thats me) to get the necessary ingredients of the potion. Mistletoe(another ctrl-c crtl-v) is banned in this city so furtiveness was maintained in getting the core ingredient. We got the mistletoe, some milk, some grapes and other fruits and of-course some colors for celebrations. I was calling all the interested members of the gaulish clan in parallel. Some were trapped already in office but the rest jumped on their bikes at the mention of the potion making ceremony. There were no Romans, Visigoths and Normans nearby but even then the gaulish clan want to become superhuman. We had painted ourselves with colors before the druid started making the potion...His comment "Bhai logon aaj aapko bholenaath ke darshan mil jaayenge" was taken very light heartly by us....
The clock is dragging itself like a snail. All the interested gaulish warriors had arrived and got smeared with the colours .The most enthusiastic one was a young Gujju boy UTK who was cribbing from the last Holi only to have the potion. Other guys were flat members Happy,Patel and Dshk , Lale our friend and one UTK's friend. After an hour the druid had finished preparing the potion..It was served to every member in the flat glass after glass.Lale was drinking in slower pace coz he had to drive back home sober. We were still in the state of sobriety. Thought the devil will kick later, maybe. We went outside the society to celebrate the festival with some other friends....Some of them stayed back in flat as they got the harbinger of something bad.The druid and the party was celebrating Holi outside..In that euphoria I was getting slipped into something nasty..The whole world was appearing to be dressed up in a different outfit. Responses seems to get slower. Every objects appearing with an extra outline.. Even in that transcendental state I couldn’t resist to go out with debu for shopping, a thing the inebriated but pragmatic Surds(Happy) refused. I was trying to cross the road and found the bikes and the riders getting zoomed in and out. I was not in a state to judge when to cross or not and so I grabbed Debu's hand for support. Debu was stopping at very shop leaving me in that blissful state alone and with a little spin (quantum computing 1 0 and a spin) . Is this the transcendental state which the sages only had experienced. I couldn't control my guffaw seeing a guy's face colored by his friends..After some minutes which seemed like eons I managed to reach the flat inebriated with the potion.
No sooner did I pushed the door open than I collapsed to the floor. Now delineating the characters in the room....On the bed sat UTK swearing and cursing the whole world and himself. The poor lad got his first kick in life (he didn’t even had a drinks before), had puked voluntarily had a bath and still was left in a bad state...Adi was a bit in control..Surds's justified his Da Vinci Code addiction putting the famous Mona Lisa smile and his eyes reflected the satisfaction of winning a world cup. However he didnt open his mouth at all...UTK didn’t stop his cursing.."My god why did I drink this..I am not able to sit properly at all.S**t yaar S**t ". I had made some dirty remarks about his audacity which was appreciated with a round of guffaws .Patel is roaming around trying give more potion to all of us to which I only yielded..UTK's friend had already left.Druid is enjoying the session like hell.I was swearing and troubling Happy for his silence but nothing would make the Monalisa smile to change.."Rang Barse" song was playing in MTV and we were saying like "Amitabh ko koi sharm nahi doosre ke samne uski biwi ke saath aish kar rahaa hai " and the laughter followed. Now the situation inside getting worser and quantum computing is getting more prevalent inside my head making it spin like a top same with Patel as I can make out.It is 50 times more strong than any inebriation I was subjected to before. Dshk has given some lemon drop to the baffled Patel and saying that it will aggravate the effect..Patel suddenly got up and said to Darshak "Mere ko kal theek 7.30 ko utha dena chahe kuch bhi ho jaaye"..I couldnt control it any longer and had to purge the infamous potion out..Lale now left for home ..Exhausted and inebriated I collapsed to my bed.....
In that stateless state for how long I got up to see the Druid calling me for food. It was 7 in the evening.I remember having something to eat probably fish...UTK was not there..Druid had dropped him...I went back to sleep again...Luckily I woke up at the next day morning and was able to go to office. Dshk broke his promise and Patel and Happy were snoring like pigs..Hey its me again not the potion.In office I found UTK still having the hangout of the previous day...He was still swearing and cursing himself..Now here comes the update of others..UTK's friend who had left early to celebrate with his friends got an attack and thought it was a stroke. He was muttering Hanuman Chalisa.. He was sandwiched by his friends in a bike which he tried to balance in the way to doctor.Got an injection from the doctor and went home to drop dead.Lale's incident was the best ..Even though he had only a couple glass it was too much for him..Lale who had been brought up in Pune couldn’t not find the way back home..He reached Deccan Gymkhana and was wondering in which way he should go to Tilak road .After transgressing into some one-ways only he managed to reach home.The potion had thrown a late Yorker to get him out..UTK still was not out of the punch..For the lunch we went out and I had to hold his hands to get him cross the roads..Our PM was saying "Bacche ki jaan logi?".....Happy and Patel woke up after a marathon sleep and our Druid bhai got embellished with an excess of gaalis from both...Evening I went back to house and found all of them awake and sober...
Now to conclude...The potion indeed was a unique experience..I have tried hell lots of drinks but the inebriation caused by the potion surpassed all of them..We almost had the darshan of Bholenath thanks to Druid Bhaai...And due to the invincible potion of superhuman strength I had my most memorable Holi ever and doubt if I will have a something which is steal is numero uno post.Regarding the potion UTKs opinion was unanimous among us "But I wont do that..No I wont do that".
"Jai Bolo Bholenath Ki....."
Hailing from the south, the only idea I had of Holi is its celebration with colours...And I got introduced to it only after coming to this deccan plateau. Each of my Holi celebrations there were different in its sense. The barbaric painting of colors, climbing ghats etc to mention a few. However in the last time, the season triggered some whimsical urge inside us to try out the cup of madness. Unfortunately we had an unsuccessful and tedious day roaming inside the city labyrinths to get "bhang", the primary ingredient of the potion (From here onwards Potion is promoted to a proper noun to describe the ..You know what...).So in this Holi time we didn't want a take a chance and wanted to make sure we get it for sure..
One of my roommates took up the responsibility...I am calling him Druid Getafix or simply the Druid Bhai, he being the potion maker, for cofidentiality.(An Asterix comic character introduction can be helpful for my readers if any ;-) )..So the D-day commences and the Druid is taking his assistant (thats me) to get the necessary ingredients of the potion. Mistletoe(another ctrl-c crtl-v) is banned in this city so furtiveness was maintained in getting the core ingredient. We got the mistletoe, some milk, some grapes and other fruits and of-course some colors for celebrations. I was calling all the interested members of the gaulish clan in parallel. Some were trapped already in office but the rest jumped on their bikes at the mention of the potion making ceremony. There were no Romans, Visigoths and Normans nearby but even then the gaulish clan want to become superhuman. We had painted ourselves with colors before the druid started making the potion...His comment "Bhai logon aaj aapko bholenaath ke darshan mil jaayenge" was taken very light heartly by us....
The clock is dragging itself like a snail. All the interested gaulish warriors had arrived and got smeared with the colours .The most enthusiastic one was a young Gujju boy UTK who was cribbing from the last Holi only to have the potion. Other guys were flat members Happy,Patel and Dshk , Lale our friend and one UTK's friend. After an hour the druid had finished preparing the potion..It was served to every member in the flat glass after glass.Lale was drinking in slower pace coz he had to drive back home sober. We were still in the state of sobriety. Thought the devil will kick later, maybe. We went outside the society to celebrate the festival with some other friends....Some of them stayed back in flat as they got the harbinger of something bad.The druid and the party was celebrating Holi outside..In that euphoria I was getting slipped into something nasty..The whole world was appearing to be dressed up in a different outfit. Responses seems to get slower. Every objects appearing with an extra outline.. Even in that transcendental state I couldn’t resist to go out with debu for shopping, a thing the inebriated but pragmatic Surds(Happy) refused. I was trying to cross the road and found the bikes and the riders getting zoomed in and out. I was not in a state to judge when to cross or not and so I grabbed Debu's hand for support. Debu was stopping at very shop leaving me in that blissful state alone and with a little spin (quantum computing 1 0 and a spin) . Is this the transcendental state which the sages only had experienced. I couldn't control my guffaw seeing a guy's face colored by his friends..After some minutes which seemed like eons I managed to reach the flat inebriated with the potion.
No sooner did I pushed the door open than I collapsed to the floor. Now delineating the characters in the room....On the bed sat UTK swearing and cursing the whole world and himself. The poor lad got his first kick in life (he didn’t even had a drinks before), had puked voluntarily had a bath and still was left in a bad state...Adi was a bit in control..Surds's justified his Da Vinci Code addiction putting the famous Mona Lisa smile and his eyes reflected the satisfaction of winning a world cup. However he didnt open his mouth at all...UTK didn’t stop his cursing.."My god why did I drink this..I am not able to sit properly at all.S**t yaar S**t ". I had made some dirty remarks about his audacity which was appreciated with a round of guffaws .Patel is roaming around trying give more potion to all of us to which I only yielded..UTK's friend had already left.Druid is enjoying the session like hell.I was swearing and troubling Happy for his silence but nothing would make the Monalisa smile to change.."Rang Barse" song was playing in MTV and we were saying like "Amitabh ko koi sharm nahi doosre ke samne uski biwi ke saath aish kar rahaa hai " and the laughter followed. Now the situation inside getting worser and quantum computing is getting more prevalent inside my head making it spin like a top same with Patel as I can make out.It is 50 times more strong than any inebriation I was subjected to before. Dshk has given some lemon drop to the baffled Patel and saying that it will aggravate the effect..Patel suddenly got up and said to Darshak "Mere ko kal theek 7.30 ko utha dena chahe kuch bhi ho jaaye"..I couldnt control it any longer and had to purge the infamous potion out..Lale now left for home ..Exhausted and inebriated I collapsed to my bed.....
In that stateless state for how long I got up to see the Druid calling me for food. It was 7 in the evening.I remember having something to eat probably fish...UTK was not there..Druid had dropped him...I went back to sleep again...Luckily I woke up at the next day morning and was able to go to office. Dshk broke his promise and Patel and Happy were snoring like pigs..Hey its me again not the potion.In office I found UTK still having the hangout of the previous day...He was still swearing and cursing himself..Now here comes the update of others..UTK's friend who had left early to celebrate with his friends got an attack and thought it was a stroke. He was muttering Hanuman Chalisa.. He was sandwiched by his friends in a bike which he tried to balance in the way to doctor.Got an injection from the doctor and went home to drop dead.Lale's incident was the best ..Even though he had only a couple glass it was too much for him..Lale who had been brought up in Pune couldn’t not find the way back home..He reached Deccan Gymkhana and was wondering in which way he should go to Tilak road .After transgressing into some one-ways only he managed to reach home.The potion had thrown a late Yorker to get him out..UTK still was not out of the punch..For the lunch we went out and I had to hold his hands to get him cross the roads..Our PM was saying "Bacche ki jaan logi?".....Happy and Patel woke up after a marathon sleep and our Druid bhai got embellished with an excess of gaalis from both...Evening I went back to house and found all of them awake and sober...
Now to conclude...The potion indeed was a unique experience..I have tried hell lots of drinks but the inebriation caused by the potion surpassed all of them..We almost had the darshan of Bholenath thanks to Druid Bhaai...And due to the invincible potion of superhuman strength I had my most memorable Holi ever and doubt if I will have a something which is steal is numero uno post.Regarding the potion UTKs opinion was unanimous among us "But I wont do that..No I wont do that".
"Jai Bolo Bholenath Ki....."
Friday, June 16, 2006
The Song Of the Immortal
This poem is a translation from my native tounge malayalam. Its name is "Enikku Maranamilla" written by the revolutionary poet Vayalar Ramavarma first published in 1955. As I felt that this great a poem shouldn't be bounded in a language I decided to do a translation. This translation is a humble dedication on the foot of the immortal poet.
As I dash on my sprightly stallion
With my whip skipping and swinging
Oh! Trembling is the unbound macrocosm
With the horse-shoe crushing micro moments
Oh! the delicate star of the mighty sky
Let me see your pale face
With the leaves of betel plucked from your wilderness
With the red areca grown in Mars
With the Lime burned from the sky's red hearth
Dancing in the heaven like a silver butterfly
Together when you put the moon platter before me
Accept I amidst of the tiresome travel
To Spit across the horizon's trajectory
Anon, will I come besides you one day
Anon, will I come besides you one day
Do wait for that auspicious morrow as
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
Long before the recorded chronicles
When an inchoate earth got drenched in deluge
Came I as Amoeba , Came I as Amoeba
Marked were the life's first vibrations with my motion
Bodying life from the atmos' soul did I grew up
In the myriad ages when got evolved the diverse species
Have not you seen that wondrous creativity
Which made a tossing out of the world
Yes Am I, I that invincible human
Moving am I eternally; my preaching forever
Haven't you heard the sagas of incarnation
When I came as fish,turtle,pig and Narasimha
Treated was I to an excess of names;even God
GOD! feeling like deafening the world with my laughs
Still remember my rejection in battlefield Kurukshethra
"Nothing can exist here beyond or distinct from me",said I
At Zion,Mecca, and where-ever the fertile cultures
Did Blew its sirens, gave I a cogent discourse
Through Fraser, Shakespeare, Darwin,Marx and Vyas
Did my preaching spread across the earth
I the Man, I the being, did origin from me
The wondrous dreamscape of a great universe
Within me lies the relics of grizzled cultures
Within me lies the seeds of neonate societies
Whenever weeps a life in this worldly workshop
Wails my laden soul with surplus empathy
Wherever the jaded lips of human toil
Utter ballads, there sings my calliphony
In Asia, In Africa , In Europe, wherever on earth
Does blossom the eternal spring Of human hardship
Sprouts from my arteries the scarlet bouquet of Roses
Nay! Not do I have death, Nay! Not do I have death
Nor can I be contained in dark dungeons
With a Crown showing the marks of effort
With a vision of blossomed dreams
With a heart singing ever lasting lyres
I, the man is traveling this aeon
Wearing the cloak of modern science
He who awakes and spawns the quintessence
Beauty, truth and culture, I that social man
At the close of my eyelids comes the dusk and
At once comes the dawn with its opening
Leaning on the great walls of horizon I stand
To maneuver the motions of this universe
As my strong legs boots the planets
As I please, flaring and dousing the lightning
Oh the delicate star of the mighty sky
Tomorrow will I make you dance
As I dash on my sprightly stallion
With my whip skipping and swinging
Oh! Trembling is the unbound macrocosm
With the horse-shoe crushing micro moments
Time the stud is my tireless traveler
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
As I dash on my sprightly stallion
With my whip skipping and swinging
Oh! Trembling is the unbound macrocosm
With the horse-shoe crushing micro moments
Oh! the delicate star of the mighty sky
Let me see your pale face
With the leaves of betel plucked from your wilderness
With the red areca grown in Mars
With the Lime burned from the sky's red hearth
Dancing in the heaven like a silver butterfly
Together when you put the moon platter before me
Accept I amidst of the tiresome travel
To Spit across the horizon's trajectory
Anon, will I come besides you one day
Anon, will I come besides you one day
Do wait for that auspicious morrow as
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
Long before the recorded chronicles
When an inchoate earth got drenched in deluge
Came I as Amoeba , Came I as Amoeba
Marked were the life's first vibrations with my motion
Bodying life from the atmos' soul did I grew up
In the myriad ages when got evolved the diverse species
Have not you seen that wondrous creativity
Which made a tossing out of the world
Yes Am I, I that invincible human
Moving am I eternally; my preaching forever
Haven't you heard the sagas of incarnation
When I came as fish,turtle,pig and Narasimha
Treated was I to an excess of names;even God
GOD! feeling like deafening the world with my laughs
Still remember my rejection in battlefield Kurukshethra
"Nothing can exist here beyond or distinct from me",said I
At Zion,Mecca, and where-ever the fertile cultures
Did Blew its sirens, gave I a cogent discourse
Through Fraser, Shakespeare, Darwin,Marx and Vyas
Did my preaching spread across the earth
I the Man, I the being, did origin from me
The wondrous dreamscape of a great universe
Within me lies the relics of grizzled cultures
Within me lies the seeds of neonate societies
Whenever weeps a life in this worldly workshop
Wails my laden soul with surplus empathy
Wherever the jaded lips of human toil
Utter ballads, there sings my calliphony
In Asia, In Africa , In Europe, wherever on earth
Does blossom the eternal spring Of human hardship
Sprouts from my arteries the scarlet bouquet of Roses
Nay! Not do I have death, Nay! Not do I have death
Nor can I be contained in dark dungeons
With a Crown showing the marks of effort
With a vision of blossomed dreams
With a heart singing ever lasting lyres
I, the man is traveling this aeon
Wearing the cloak of modern science
He who awakes and spawns the quintessence
Beauty, truth and culture, I that social man
At the close of my eyelids comes the dusk and
At once comes the dawn with its opening
Leaning on the great walls of horizon I stand
To maneuver the motions of this universe
As my strong legs boots the planets
As I please, flaring and dousing the lightning
Oh the delicate star of the mighty sky
Tomorrow will I make you dance
As I dash on my sprightly stallion
With my whip skipping and swinging
Oh! Trembling is the unbound macrocosm
With the horse-shoe crushing micro moments
Time the stud is my tireless traveler
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
Time the stud is my tireless traveler and
Immortal love is the halo seen eternal in me
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
A Most Memorable Onam
Those of you who may have missed my chirographies, I am back (If no one, I am there....)
This time its about Onam. Onam.The festival, which bonds every Malayali together, similar to, dissimilar components in a collage. A Malayali, irrespective of his religion, caste and region, wishes to be present at his home in Kerala to have the afternoon lunch. This lunch is a grandeur feast that would shed his worries and satiate him for sometime. Onam falls in the month of chingam, the first one in the Malayalam calendar at a time when the constellation would be Leo (Leo or Lion is called Simham in Malayalam hence the variation, chingam). It is the time when nature embellishes herself between the Idavapathi (NE Monsoon) and Thulavarsham (SW Monsoon) similar to a damsel on her wedding day, preparing for the transformation from a girl to a woman. (I can't part with more metaphors and similes so let me try and avoid their usage.)
As the folklore goes, Onam commemorates the return of the legendary Asura King Maha Bali who was trampled on by Vamana-the incarnation of Lord Vishnu and banished to hell. It is believed that before he agreed to this act of treachery from the lord, the king got a boon for visiting his subjects once a year. This yearly visit by the great Maha Bali is what is now celebrated as Onam.
Onam brings back fond memories from my childhood. The memories from times when we tied Oonjaal (swings) to coconut trees, had floral decorations on the 10 days of Onam called Pookkalam, played Pulikkali (a game of tiger), watched boat races, visited our ancestral home, ate delicacies and sang melodious songs. There is also the adoring memory of my grand father getting me Onappanthu (a new hand ball) whenever we visited his house on this occasion .I could never think of missing Onam, it was so very important to me. Infact, it is so important that my age reflects on the number of occasions I had celebrated Onam. However, it seemed like my stoic companion Mr. Fate had something altogether different in store for me this year.
Being thousands of miles away from my hometown did not in anyway hinder my Onam visits back home for the past two years. But this time because of my little sisters nuptials I had to pre-pone my Kerala visit and hence sacrifice my Onam at home. I didn’t think it would affect me much since Pune- the cultural city was already being tickled by Lord Ganesh's blessing. Deadlines crept up in my project. We became nocturnal beings missing breakfast for a week. The irony was that, 15th of September - the day of Onam was the same day when we had a major delivery from our team. As the day neared my mind had already taken leave from my body. It was already wandering around paddy fields, throwing pebbles that drew ripples on the pond, smelling the payasams (a sweet dish), adulating the Onanilavu (moonlight at this season), feeling rejuvenated from the festive air, wearing kodi-mundu (traditional attire for the occasion) and awaiting the arrival of Maveli (or Mahabali) with my progenitors. The only way to bring him back was to have a feast on the day of Thiruvonam (The 10th day of Onam). A decision was taken by me and one of my Malayali colleagues, Naveen to go to a famous kerala food joint called "Southern Spice” and having the Sadya (or feast) from there.
After getting permission we cruised towards the food joint in the mid-afternoon through the drizzling rain. How could the rain-god stop us from satisfying the hunger of our soul? On reaching our destination we found that it was crowded with other Malayalis from all over Pune. To get a place to atleast sit seemed impossible. We logically hit on the idea of getting the feast parceled. I could not control my excitement and had a tough time holding plantain leaves and guarding the pappadams (papads) from not breaking when we ran into potholes. We reached Naveen's home and spread the thooshanila (plantain leaf), switched on a Malayalam channel (ambience needed of course), adorned the leaf with the pickles and other curries and started splurging. I will walk you briefly through the process of eating a Keralian feast. The leaf will be served with all the pickles, curries and the pappadam on it. The first course of rice is to be had with daal, followed by another with sambhar, after which two to three different varieties of payasams follow, then it is the turn for rasam and pullissery (a kind of butter milk) with more rice of course. Sounds heavy, doesn’t it? Yes, so it is and delicious too. We struggled to make out which curry was packed into which parcel and sometimes we ended up pouring the wrong one onto the leaf but somehow we cupped our hands and scooped up the fluid remaining on the leaf. We managed to lap it up in half an hours time .It was not the most delicious feast I had, but it surely quenched the hunger of my transcendental companion - my stomach. After that, I called home where my parents were celebrating Onam with my sister and brother in law. They were happy to know that I had somehow managed a feast atleast.
Friends, I want to end this composition by playing the harp on a philosophical note. What is Onam? Is it just a festival celebrated by Malayalis across the world? Or is it just an event for getting together and celebrating? Or is it just an occasion to remember the culture that we forget? No. It is not just any or all these. Onam is an embodiment of the responsibility a person has toward his roots, his ancestors, his culture and his soul. It cannot be bound in the reins of caste, creed or religion. As long as I continue counting in Malayalam (something I can never avoid) I will fulfill this responsibility.
Eventhough a little belated, I wish you all a very happy Onamashamsakal (Onam Wishes)!
This time its about Onam. Onam.The festival, which bonds every Malayali together, similar to, dissimilar components in a collage. A Malayali, irrespective of his religion, caste and region, wishes to be present at his home in Kerala to have the afternoon lunch. This lunch is a grandeur feast that would shed his worries and satiate him for sometime. Onam falls in the month of chingam, the first one in the Malayalam calendar at a time when the constellation would be Leo (Leo or Lion is called Simham in Malayalam hence the variation, chingam). It is the time when nature embellishes herself between the Idavapathi (NE Monsoon) and Thulavarsham (SW Monsoon) similar to a damsel on her wedding day, preparing for the transformation from a girl to a woman. (I can't part with more metaphors and similes so let me try and avoid their usage.)
As the folklore goes, Onam commemorates the return of the legendary Asura King Maha Bali who was trampled on by Vamana-the incarnation of Lord Vishnu and banished to hell. It is believed that before he agreed to this act of treachery from the lord, the king got a boon for visiting his subjects once a year. This yearly visit by the great Maha Bali is what is now celebrated as Onam.
Onam brings back fond memories from my childhood. The memories from times when we tied Oonjaal (swings) to coconut trees, had floral decorations on the 10 days of Onam called Pookkalam, played Pulikkali (a game of tiger), watched boat races, visited our ancestral home, ate delicacies and sang melodious songs. There is also the adoring memory of my grand father getting me Onappanthu (a new hand ball) whenever we visited his house on this occasion .I could never think of missing Onam, it was so very important to me. Infact, it is so important that my age reflects on the number of occasions I had celebrated Onam. However, it seemed like my stoic companion Mr. Fate had something altogether different in store for me this year.
Being thousands of miles away from my hometown did not in anyway hinder my Onam visits back home for the past two years. But this time because of my little sisters nuptials I had to pre-pone my Kerala visit and hence sacrifice my Onam at home. I didn’t think it would affect me much since Pune- the cultural city was already being tickled by Lord Ganesh's blessing. Deadlines crept up in my project. We became nocturnal beings missing breakfast for a week. The irony was that, 15th of September - the day of Onam was the same day when we had a major delivery from our team. As the day neared my mind had already taken leave from my body. It was already wandering around paddy fields, throwing pebbles that drew ripples on the pond, smelling the payasams (a sweet dish), adulating the Onanilavu (moonlight at this season), feeling rejuvenated from the festive air, wearing kodi-mundu (traditional attire for the occasion) and awaiting the arrival of Maveli (or Mahabali) with my progenitors. The only way to bring him back was to have a feast on the day of Thiruvonam (The 10th day of Onam). A decision was taken by me and one of my Malayali colleagues, Naveen to go to a famous kerala food joint called "Southern Spice” and having the Sadya (or feast) from there.
After getting permission we cruised towards the food joint in the mid-afternoon through the drizzling rain. How could the rain-god stop us from satisfying the hunger of our soul? On reaching our destination we found that it was crowded with other Malayalis from all over Pune. To get a place to atleast sit seemed impossible. We logically hit on the idea of getting the feast parceled. I could not control my excitement and had a tough time holding plantain leaves and guarding the pappadams (papads) from not breaking when we ran into potholes. We reached Naveen's home and spread the thooshanila (plantain leaf), switched on a Malayalam channel (ambience needed of course), adorned the leaf with the pickles and other curries and started splurging. I will walk you briefly through the process of eating a Keralian feast. The leaf will be served with all the pickles, curries and the pappadam on it. The first course of rice is to be had with daal, followed by another with sambhar, after which two to three different varieties of payasams follow, then it is the turn for rasam and pullissery (a kind of butter milk) with more rice of course. Sounds heavy, doesn’t it? Yes, so it is and delicious too. We struggled to make out which curry was packed into which parcel and sometimes we ended up pouring the wrong one onto the leaf but somehow we cupped our hands and scooped up the fluid remaining on the leaf. We managed to lap it up in half an hours time .It was not the most delicious feast I had, but it surely quenched the hunger of my transcendental companion - my stomach. After that, I called home where my parents were celebrating Onam with my sister and brother in law. They were happy to know that I had somehow managed a feast atleast.
Friends, I want to end this composition by playing the harp on a philosophical note. What is Onam? Is it just a festival celebrated by Malayalis across the world? Or is it just an event for getting together and celebrating? Or is it just an occasion to remember the culture that we forget? No. It is not just any or all these. Onam is an embodiment of the responsibility a person has toward his roots, his ancestors, his culture and his soul. It cannot be bound in the reins of caste, creed or religion. As long as I continue counting in Malayalam (something I can never avoid) I will fulfill this responsibility.
Eventhough a little belated, I wish you all a very happy Onamashamsakal (Onam Wishes)!
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