...Done and Dusted with 08!...

Wohh! Nine days already into the new year of Two Oh Oh Nine, and I finally get some time to scribble some good and bad stuffs about the previous year and feel good and bad about it respectively. Ok, honestly, I am plain lazy! I can be so lazy that sometimes I wish the bottle of water kept at a distance of exactly three feet away from me now, just flies and reaches me! OK, let’s not get into that part, some of my wishes can freak people out, way too disturbing!

Ahh, 2008 is no more! First of all, a minute of silence for the same *R.I.P 2008*! I think If I try to summarize the previous year in one word, I would use legen……..wait for it……..dary. Why legendary? No, I didn’t win a lottery ticket! No, I didn’t get a limousine free with a small sachet of a Surf Excel washing powder. No, I didn’t get married to Angelina Jolie or Natasha Henstridge. I was just introduced to the most amazing sitcom mankind had ever heard of/seen. ‘How I met your mother’! Yess! Absolutely brilliant stuff! Talking of sitcoms, I downloaded and scraped through a few more like ‘Coupling’, ‘Southpark’,’Weeds’,’30 Rock’ and even revised episodes of ‘That 70’s Show’. Most of these have permanently taken a very special part in some corner of ma heart!

Learnt the guitar! That’s an achievement; I wasted a lot of time not learning it! That was stupid of me! Very stupid! Thanks to my ex-roomies Ravi and Mondeep, this was possible. I’ll try my best to continue the good process and learn some neat lead, buy a capo, and by year end, I should be able to play ‘Hotel California’ quite flawlessly! Ohh, looks like Resolution One!

I managed to write 22 external blogs; now that is really a small number compared to the number of posts written for my internal corporate blog. I’ll try my best to improve on that number this year. And there’s going to be a huge number of absolutely senseless, highly sickening, psychedelic and irrational posts, I swear! Jeez, Resolution Two it seems!

We ‘Soccer Saturday-Infosys’ almost won a Soccer Tournament, but NO, almost is far far away from WINning it! Guess what, who missed ‘that’ penalty kick that denied us the trophy? Yes, your highness! *takes a deeply disgusted and shameful bow*. I’ll really love to win a trophy this year with my team. Godammit, Resolution Three it seems!

I bought my mean mean gaming machine way back in May, 2008! And guess what, I’ve hardly played any high-end games! Who has the time man, to be mean! I mean, to be sitting-in-front-of-the-mean-machine and play some mean mean high-end-graphics games!! Really sad! Here, I would like to apologize to my GeForce 8600 GT in front of everybody and promise her that I am going to play with her this New Year, a lot! And yes, there goes my resolution Four!

I got into a really good project, learnt a lot of stuffs, and got a chance to work from my client location, though the place is just 20 minutes away from my company. :) I hate the fact, that time is almost up and I’ll have to go back to Infy, really enjoyed the stay ova here, contrary to what I initially anticipated! No, resolutions here!

There are a 1000 other things that kept me occupied, a 10,000 other things that could have kept me occupied and half a million other things that didn’t keep me occupied last year! I don't really remember all of 'em. I'll just leave Black-n-White faded memory scraps below.

The Joker-The Mega Rock Concert-The Typhoid Days-The sad days of Arsenal Football Club-The sad industry-We beat the Aussies-Rick Wright passes away-My first original composition-The visit to Don Bosco NGO-The Terrorist attacks-The Media Seminar-Some lovely memories-Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy-Sorry Bhai-Red Whine-etc-etc-memory fades away

Have an amazing new year, everybody!
And yeah, don’t love/trust anybody more than yourself! :-) You are precious!

Per fake shun!

Perfection! Oh, how we run after it! Like a poor, innocent kid running after his broken kite in a breezy evening, as the kite flies away far out of the kid's reach-n-sight!
Painting the perfect picture where you can successfully capture all possible human emotions! Somewhere, most of the times, we miss the trick, we miss that Da Vinci touch! ..just.. *sigh*
Giving that perfect pass, piercing the defenders, in a football match! Zizou had a blemish remember, that head and that butt! err, I mean head-butt! :-D So, he ain't GOD! *sigh*
Fretting with a perfection, making sure you don't leave any chord as you try to play your favorite Pink Floyd number! See, Gilmour was born to enchant us with his amazing voice, on-stage el casuale histrionics with his six strings! We won't be that flawless, after all! :) *sigh*
Finding your perfect love, the dream girl or the dream guy! Ahh, there we go! The day-dreams, ohh, the night dreams too! Wake up friends, it doesn't work that way! :) *big sigh*
Having a perfect day! Well, many would argue, come on dude, I had a perfect day many times! But, wait, isn't that relative? Think again! :D *compressed sigh*
Cooking the perfect food! The most delicious one! No offence to Moms, even that is kinda 'not possible'. Ok, am being a bit cynical now! *no sigh*
Delivering that perfect speech? The crowd erupts and chants your name repeatedly! An encore! Naah, doesn't happen! Get up, pick your sandals, rub your face off because the tomatoes and potatoes don't really give you a sexy look, you see! :-P *sigh*
A perfect relationship! Gimme a break, or maybe two breaks! Superman and superwoman anybody? Ahh, what do we call those tales where fairies are involved? ohh, stupid me, FairyTales! :-D *big sigh*
A perfect blog? I will wait for that day, when I get the comment, 'Dude, this was a perfect blog'. Not really, I won't wait for that day! ..the day that never comes.. *sigh*

Live life man! Get satisfied man!
Leave the 'Kingsize' bit to SRK and his over-the-top movies! :)

...The Bosco Kids...

Ahh…twas a really nice experience!
I am referring to my visit to an NGO in Bangalore. It was a first of a kind for me. I was actually accompanying a friend of mine, but nonetheless, twas quite incredible!
We were picked up from a common place along with other volunteers for the event and taken to the NGO (somewhere near Old Madras Road). A Father Dcosta (okay, I forgot his name again, my friend’s gonna kill me for this!) takes care of the NGO, bringing up homeless kids in a fantastic fashion, leaving no stones unturned to make their life a fruitful one to live. If I say ‘These were a bunch of talented kids’, my friends, it would be a gross understatement! Some of them acted really well, some danced with panache, some played around, in short, they were a cluster of enthusiastic and highly talented kids. It was good to see many volunteers around, some of whom even performed in the small function arranged for the occasion of Deepawali. There were volunteers from MBA colleges, there were a few Media Persons, a few on their ‘internship-program’ and others were trustees/helpers. Ohhh, yeah, these kids even cooked food for us, which honestly was pretty decent. After lighting ‘Diyas’ and leaving them to enjoy further on ‘their’ festive occasion, we left the place with a mix of a touched and an amazed feeling.

I hope I can return back to the place, and teach these kids some football! Oops, I said it! Shit! :)

Apart from that, I am having a restless time in my life and I won’t say “Dunno Why?!?”, because I know why! :-(
I hope I can come out of this “certain period” as soon as possible.
I want to hold a pigeon in my hand; can somebody show me the door to ‘Certainty’ so that I can rest in peace, dead or alive?

...Wasted it all.. A self-composed song

The audio recording of this song will be posted when the recording is done! :)
For the time being, please check out the lyrics and the chords. The strumming is pretty simple. It is something like this. DOWN-DOWN UP-UP DOWN-UP-DOWN-UP.

C D
I was afraid, I threw away the six strings!
C D
They never understood the G lik'a G would be!
C D
I sat beside a lake staring towards the 'livion.
C D
Not waiting for my signal, they rushed to me.

[ It's the same chords throughout! ]
My irritation was ignored, the flag was flown.
an ol' book was brought to me, I was asked to write.
They tied my hands, the red drops were bliss!
But I still had it in me, I put up a fight!

The guillotine was brought, he waved his hands.
The merchant rode by, showed me no compassion.
I cried my hearts out, wanted my last chance.
The princess watched cold, from her old mansion

I lied there unmoved, like a dead man ought to be
Another chapter was closed, mocked the city lad.
The eagle stooped low, t'was mighty concerned.
walked away everybody, leavin' the 'reaved n' the bad!

A
Why was I chosen to live
G
.... this life?
A
The stars were a better place
G
... to live.
A
Or is it that they gave me
G
... a chance
A
And I lost it and wasted
G
... it all...
Dm
.....wasted it all... (x4 times and voice fades away!)

PS: This is an initial stage for the song, there's certainly going to be changes in chords, lyrics and many such post-processing before I come up with the finished product. :)

Untamed Reasoning

You want to learn your destiny. You wake up in the middle of The Atacama near an oasis surrounded by Spanish speaking tribes. You don’t know the language. You try to connect. You fail miserably. You try to reach out for a scrumptious Pfannkuchen (A German pancake). You realize that it is a mirage in stead. An image deliberately composed in your sub-conscious to take you out of this nonreversible misery! But, as always you are late! Too late, in fact!

But then, there is always an ‘Other Side’ to desolation. A few English-speaking ‘white’ men respond to your flash-gun. (No, I understand, you didn’t fire one for help) They take you with them; provide you incredible generosity in everything! You relax! Then again, comes the confounding thoughts, these always come, even if you just want them to stay away and get lost in the most distant planet of the Milky Way. You stand up, show your gratitude and gently leave for the unknown. Do they question you? Ask for reasons? No, they don’t. They are least bothered about your helplessness.

You are again left all by yourself to exchange blows with your own wretchedness. You let your mind drift again, only this time you are a little less vigilant. You can see faded images of the banks of the great Rhine amidst the grandeur of the Roman Empire, the castles and vineyards. What a spectacle! Now, you feel, you belong there! The improbable happens! The castle guards catch hold of you, beat you up, and throw you into the woods! Into the wilderness, you are again! You don’t belong there. You are not one of them. You leave the world; leave its ‘show’ of humanity! You reach heaven, believing that there is a GOD, someone who can show you the ‘right’ way. You explore relentlessly, leaving no stone unturned. You realize that you were cheated; at least you make yourself believe so!

You come back to The Atacama, catch hold of a very simple poor man near the oasis. You make signs to him. He understands. He responds. You learn the language. You learn their life. You learn your life. You learn your destiny.

A great day for freedom

“Get out of the house with your football and studs! Now!”

“Popsy, please! I want to study! I really want to!”

“No, Don’t you understand plain English! You go out there and practice and don’t come back before the sun sets!! Do you get me, son?!!”

“Yes, Popsy! And you are mean!” * all sad, sad!! *

// 20 years later! //

“Pop, do you think surviving in one company is possible for more than 2 months!?”

“What do ya mean?” * pretty shocked *

“I mean, it’s like I have changed 25 companies in four years. I don’t feel like working. Nothing motivates me any more! At least, my footballing career was never boring! Ahh...those days! Thanks for all that, Pop! Wouldn’t have done that without ya! Ya know!!”

“Yeah yeah I know! And ask your mom to get me the laptop! Need to write some stuffs”

“What ya Pops! You needn’t document every damn shit we speak!”

“Son, first, don’t you dare swear at me! And Second, this is no documentation! It’s called blogging!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever crap that is! Ok, am off! Divya wants to see the Moon, we’ll give a brief visit, there!”

“Ahh, ok! Be careful! There are a lot of craters there, I heard!”

“Chill Pill dad! It’s not ma first time!”

// 20 years later //

“GrandPa, wanna play NFS-Aliens Arena with me? What are you typing? Can you hear me? Hey Mr. Sounak! Heeheehee”

“Don’t you…. kaw me by my first name! And yes, I…i…can hear you…yeah..so what were you talking ab…about?”

“OldPa, oh gawddd!! Wanna kick some uhmm…wanna play ANN AFF ESS??”

“ok..ok…don..don’t shout..I can hear you! Why don’t you listen to some good music, read some good books? I still do!”

“Grandpa, gimme a break! And anyways…huh..I don’t like these X-transitic-hip-O-hop music anymore! Gimme something that’ll make me..you know…hallucinate or something! Something that’ll make me..ya know…that’ll make me fly…hee hee…something real…ya know..what I mean! Anyways, did ya ever listen to any shite? As in..some music shite? Hee hee”“Grandson! Come here! Have a seat! Wa…want some black coffee?”

“Naah, I don’t like that stuff! Ok, shoot! Am all ears!”

“Trust me, you’ll never forget this sitting! But, promise me, you’ll pass this gyan to the coming generation, Will ya?”

“Ok..ok..cut the promise shit…I can’t!...now tell me…please..fast!!!”

“ok…patient…Long long time ago, a guy, pretty cool guy you see…..“

"Like me? Hee hee”

“yeah, somewhat like ya…named Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett sat with a guitar in his hand and a friend by his side…one George Roger Waters in a studio named Abbey Roads in London…and…”

Way before the term ‘cliché’ was framed!

Every thing was so easy.
Guy: “Hi, I think I like you. I think, I can’t live without you. Will you marry me?”
For a girl: // Mind you, this line for her wasn’t a cliché because ‘cliché’ wasn’t termed yet. This line was like a fresh strawberry ice-cream from the Freezer.
Girl: “Yes, I will” (I think the ideal response should have been. “Yes, I think I will!”, because the guy “thunk” a lot too! )

Guy: Will you go out with me?
Girl: Why should I? // with an attitude
Guy: uhmm…because I think you have beautiful eyes!
Girl: awww…sure I would love to go out with you! //Again, mind you! This is perfect in say 1861 AD. Considering that Akbar, Shah Jahan, Sher Shah Suri and co. didn’t have to use these lines. Oh come on, they had wealth; thereby they had ‘power’ and the rest you know….

Coach (after half-time of an American football match): You know what the problem with you guys is!? You guys aren’t playing as a team. (If Sir. Alex Fergusson says that after Manchester United are 0-1 down against West Ham United at The Old Trafford, Christiano Ronaldo would retort back…”Excuse Me! Welcome to Modern Age boss! I believe you need to revise your ‘evolution’ concepts!” )
But, if some Hungarian football coach of early 1900 had said this, the team would have gone into ‘deep though’. Yes, the boss is correct!
The human race is smarter now. ‘Clichés’ are hated!

On the other side!
Let’s consider movies. Now, here we do have a problem. Even so-called ‘smart’ directors, base their script on ‘clichés’, knowing very well that ‘clichés’ don’t work with the movie-goers now!
Still, why do they risk? Maybe, people who are so-so-so used to clichés, they start loving them eventually. Yes, true fact!
When a hero is hit with a bullet (after 743 attempts by the villain), he is bound to recover (Whatever maybe the recovery process!), but the villain dies with just one shot (1 attempt).
Cliché? Yes!
Do you really want a change to this good guy-bad guy rule? Naah!!

All foreigners, be it French, German, Mexican, Russian, Aliens from Outer Space, speak in a common language. English! (of course, exceptions are there in really good movies!)
Cliché? Yes!
Do you want a change to this rule? Naah!

In movies, babies are always born clean with a perfect face and lot of hair on the head. It looks nice.
Cliché? Yes!
Do we complain? Naah! Do we really want to see an ugly, hairless, dirty baby? Naah!

So, we do love clichés! Reason? I would want to know! :-D

PS: ‘Cliché’ is a ‘French’ term.
PPS: A famous quote: “It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then, like most clichés, that cliché is untrue.”

Dis and Dat...Nostalgia....

It is 1:20 a.m. now, late enough to actually put me to sleep. But, then, I don't feel like! This is what I call a real dangerous situation, when I sit down to write with an absolutely 'Blank' mind. This is when I don't have a barrier or a hypothetic rule to adhere to. I can type without even giving my keyboard a chance to 'sigh'. It is nine days away from the new year, yes, another year is becoming a page of history in our life. If you ask me to recall a particular year in my life, where I can sketch down memories quite vividly, I would sadly have to put up both my hands and say..sorry... I can't! . Man, 25 years in this planet, a quarter of a century...some time...some not-so-clear memories...kiddo in kindergarten running around during tiffin-breaks..hehe...I remember getting slapped by my Principal, Late Father Watier, ask me why?! "For, hanging from a tree, hell yeah!! hehe.." ...winning that particular painting competition in our colony when I was in the second standard...and yes...I do remember what the painting was! :) ...I remember losing my rain-coat when I was in fourth standard, I left it behind in my class, not to find it the day next! :( How sad I was, in fact I am having that expression right now on my face! " :-( " Class 5..My favourite class teacher...Mr.Parmeshwaram, the whole school shivered on hearing that name..hehe..but I was very close to Sir, he really loved me, I went to him for private tuitions too, boyyy...That dog..yeah..what was his name?!..uhmm..yeah..Goldie...I was so scared...hehe...Sir had this little Mr.Bambino (a stick) to straigthen us! :D ...We had this awesome group in our school...a huge band of guys (ours was a boys school)...we played cricket like crazy, and even football, sometimes we didn't have a football, stone...yess..yess...We used a stone for football! :D ...Too much of studies ...Class 9 and 10...twas tough! I still remember coming back after my ICSE exam and telling mom..."I think I made one mistake..so 5 marks gone in Maths.."...(yes, I did get 95! )...School Life..golden years at Xaviers..hehe..well...won't ever get back those days, those years, that life, that time!
'Memories'...We can just afford to cling on 'em! :)

PS: The snap shown above was taken when I was in First Standard. I am standing top row, fifth from right! :D