''Can you really have friends in office", my cousin asked me as he was leaving. He will be out of college in 6 months. While i was thinking, awww, another kid all growed up, he added, "I mean, they can only be colleagues right?"
I had a sitcom style flashback in which i went over all the "moments" with people from both my first jobs. Well okay, it was only a couple of moments then, but now that i have all the time in the world to write and you, apparently, have nothing better to do, i shall elaborate.
Or not. There is corny and then there is corny. Enough to say that work people, and this is going to be a really long sentence, in spite of my best attempts at ignoring them with silence, jokes and frosty nosed stares, barge or politely knock their way into my life and demand to know what the hell am i doing with it, thus providing much needed moments of introspection and shame, which i hope will someday add up to me getting off my backside and doing something. They bring good ideas beyond work to life, i cannot tell you how satisfying and empowering that is. They read my books and on behalf of my books i am very grateful. What a waste it would be if all of a book's life was about being read by me. Just me. Imagine the size of that existential crisis! If i cannot give them quality, i can at least do quantity!
Its been over 5 years since i worked in the same workplace with the folks at my first first job and so i can safely say its not a same-place-same-time kind of relation. So i told him, "YES, you can have friends in office. I dont know about your second/third job, i suppose it will get difficult as you move higher, but at your first job, you will find friends."
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Obligatory whiney year end post
Heroes season 1 comic
Superman For Tomorrow - Vol 1 and 2
My Laptop
A hard disk full of entertainment
The Fall of Hyperion
It takes all that to make me feel safe enough to go spend a day with my granny. Didnt need to go beyond the first two, but thats not the point. Common sense says there has to be a life beyond books and movies. After all, so many people around survive, if not flourish, without either. Whoever is hiding that world from me (of course i have to find someone to blame!) is doing a damn good job of it too. Showing me all the unattractive or impractical alternatives - malls, pubs, friends, work, family, travel - any of which can fill, but none of which fulfill.
Day 3 of my "take it or leave it" vacation. Existential crisis looms large. Some big gesture is in order to see me through the other side of this one.
Superman For Tomorrow - Vol 1 and 2
My Laptop
A hard disk full of entertainment
The Fall of Hyperion
It takes all that to make me feel safe enough to go spend a day with my granny. Didnt need to go beyond the first two, but thats not the point. Common sense says there has to be a life beyond books and movies. After all, so many people around survive, if not flourish, without either. Whoever is hiding that world from me (of course i have to find someone to blame!) is doing a damn good job of it too. Showing me all the unattractive or impractical alternatives - malls, pubs, friends, work, family, travel - any of which can fill, but none of which fulfill.
Day 3 of my "take it or leave it" vacation. Existential crisis looms large. Some big gesture is in order to see me through the other side of this one.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Breaking news
I might have been on TV!
Okay, okay, i'll rewind.
After staring in a film (which finally released a few weeks ago, but not me nor any of the 5 folks who were with me in it managed to get it together to go see it. Are we in it? I guess we'd rather not know), it looks i'm now broadening my horizons with television. The economic Times news channel did a short piece on my office that was telecast at 1 today, but we dont get that channel at home. Is that my curse? Not being able to see my "work"? And how did i get to probably star in it? You get to decide!
A. I am an indispensable part of my office. I am its spirit. I am it.
B. When i work, i embody the image of a software engineer with the source code to change the world.
C. They were shooting at lunchtime and i was back early from lunch.
So, for reasons A,B or C, the camera was pointed at me.
Oh damn, he's on to me. Act natural, remember, act natural and smile. Wait, smile while looking at the screen? Thats not natural. Okay, no smile. What am i looking at? Did i write this code? Look silly to me. Dont just stare blankly, use your fingers! Let them fly over the keyboard, let the screen fill up with the fruits of your labour. Aaha, compile the code! Brilliant. Yes, now raise your eyebrow at that non-existent compile error. Very good. Now go tail -f some logs. Frown at the messages filling up your screen. I dont care if they are saying all is well. Frown at them as some minor character in a movie would frown at some innocent looking aberration that will ultimately herald the end of the world. Dont smile, dammit. Dont twitch either. Aah, finally he is off my face! And on to my fingers now? Really?? Our office ought to have better to offer than my fingers. See all these wires on my desk? And under my desk. Why dont you take a shot of me in the middle of all this mess? Oh your viewers will not get the irony of a company into wireless being filled with wires? Okay my fingers have run out of polite things to do. Can we move on now? Thank you!
There is a repeat telecast sometime tomorrow, but i'm not likely to catch that either. So i guess we'll never know. Moving on to the bigger picture though, the universe seems to have compressed my burst upon the film scene - rise to be the reigning queen - grow old but refuse to go out - move on to television career graph to the span of a year. Looks like the next step of moving on to reality shows will come pretty soon! Inspired by this tweet, i think i'll sign up for KKK! The supreme commander of the armed forces versus the unknown underdog. Aah, what a story that will be! With a nail-biter finish where the underdog wins because of her natural tree-climbing skills. And then refuses to come down and lives happily on it ever after.
Okay, okay, i'll rewind.
After staring in a film (which finally released a few weeks ago, but not me nor any of the 5 folks who were with me in it managed to get it together to go see it. Are we in it? I guess we'd rather not know), it looks i'm now broadening my horizons with television. The economic Times news channel did a short piece on my office that was telecast at 1 today, but we dont get that channel at home. Is that my curse? Not being able to see my "work"? And how did i get to probably star in it? You get to decide!
A. I am an indispensable part of my office. I am its spirit. I am it.
B. When i work, i embody the image of a software engineer with the source code to change the world.
C. They were shooting at lunchtime and i was back early from lunch.
So, for reasons A,B or C, the camera was pointed at me.
Oh damn, he's on to me. Act natural, remember, act natural and smile. Wait, smile while looking at the screen? Thats not natural. Okay, no smile. What am i looking at? Did i write this code? Look silly to me. Dont just stare blankly, use your fingers! Let them fly over the keyboard, let the screen fill up with the fruits of your labour. Aaha, compile the code! Brilliant. Yes, now raise your eyebrow at that non-existent compile error. Very good. Now go tail -f some logs. Frown at the messages filling up your screen. I dont care if they are saying all is well. Frown at them as some minor character in a movie would frown at some innocent looking aberration that will ultimately herald the end of the world. Dont smile, dammit. Dont twitch either. Aah, finally he is off my face! And on to my fingers now? Really?? Our office ought to have better to offer than my fingers. See all these wires on my desk? And under my desk. Why dont you take a shot of me in the middle of all this mess? Oh your viewers will not get the irony of a company into wireless being filled with wires? Okay my fingers have run out of polite things to do. Can we move on now? Thank you!
There is a repeat telecast sometime tomorrow, but i'm not likely to catch that either. So i guess we'll never know. Moving on to the bigger picture though, the universe seems to have compressed my burst upon the film scene - rise to be the reigning queen - grow old but refuse to go out - move on to television career graph to the span of a year. Looks like the next step of moving on to reality shows will come pretty soon! Inspired by this tweet, i think i'll sign up for KKK! The supreme commander of the armed forces versus the unknown underdog. Aah, what a story that will be! With a nail-biter finish where the underdog wins because of her natural tree-climbing skills. And then refuses to come down and lives happily on it ever after.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Rambling. About work for once
That bug, it is a silly mistake but it cuts deeper than it should. I spend hours wondering how I could be dumb enough to have missed something so obvious. For that day, i'd like nothing more than to go into the past and not make it. Or baring that, go back into the past and hit the me there on the head.
Or the day I roam around in wide eyed amazement, having watched the master at his very best. No traces of the wistful sigh that comes from knowing you are not made for those heights but wanting to get there anyway.
Or the day spent chasing a tricky little issue, preferably someone elses. The thrill of the chase, the fun in pitting our collective brains against the code, the frustration at being almost but not quite there and the pleasure in finally nailing it.
Such days make me wonder - do i after all love what i do? Not the kind of love that announces itself with a bang. But the kind that creeps up on you and envelopes you without your realizing it.
Somehow, I dont think so. For one, such days are too infrequent. And there is very little that is free flowing, its more hard work/discipline and less inspiration/creativity. For another, the idea of spending the rest of my life in this profession still scares the hell out of me. To be fair though, the idea of anything for the rest of my life is scary. (Its a little bit like looking through Adams Total Perspective Vortex. Only, instead of you being dwarfed by the rest of the Universe, you are dwarfed by the rest of your life and the idea of managing it.). One day at a time, i can live with. But then, that is not saying very much. As life has shown with exceptional clarity, there is very little i cant live with, one day at a time.
Or the day I roam around in wide eyed amazement, having watched the master at his very best. No traces of the wistful sigh that comes from knowing you are not made for those heights but wanting to get there anyway.
Or the day spent chasing a tricky little issue, preferably someone elses. The thrill of the chase, the fun in pitting our collective brains against the code, the frustration at being almost but not quite there and the pleasure in finally nailing it.
Such days make me wonder - do i after all love what i do? Not the kind of love that announces itself with a bang. But the kind that creeps up on you and envelopes you without your realizing it.
Somehow, I dont think so. For one, such days are too infrequent. And there is very little that is free flowing, its more hard work/discipline and less inspiration/creativity. For another, the idea of spending the rest of my life in this profession still scares the hell out of me. To be fair though, the idea of anything for the rest of my life is scary. (Its a little bit like looking through Adams Total Perspective Vortex. Only, instead of you being dwarfed by the rest of the Universe, you are dwarfed by the rest of your life and the idea of managing it.). One day at a time, i can live with. But then, that is not saying very much. As life has shown with exceptional clarity, there is very little i cant live with, one day at a time.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Talking about the weather
Since i havent classified anything in a while. I've often tried to slot the people in my life into two groups which i shall name fair weather friends and, rather imaginatively, foul weather friends. Not in any way related to the usual sense if any, in which these terms are used.
Fair weather friends are those with whom you like to "hang" in fair weather. When the going is good, they make it better. You enjoy the same things, you laugh at each other's jokes. They are the ones you miss during the good times.
And then there are foul weather friends. People you want when the going gets tough. Who encourage you, advise you, motivate you or just listen. The world feels a lot less worse when they are by your side.
And then of course are the people who defy classification. The people who carry your weather with them. They can make the sun come out on a rainy day. Or cause thunder showers in summer. The ones who evoke such strong reactions from you, you wish you knew why.
Fair weather friends are those with whom you like to "hang" in fair weather. When the going is good, they make it better. You enjoy the same things, you laugh at each other's jokes. They are the ones you miss during the good times.
And then there are foul weather friends. People you want when the going gets tough. Who encourage you, advise you, motivate you or just listen. The world feels a lot less worse when they are by your side.
And then of course are the people who defy classification. The people who carry your weather with them. They can make the sun come out on a rainy day. Or cause thunder showers in summer. The ones who evoke such strong reactions from you, you wish you knew why.
Friday, December 04, 2009
My goodbye present
Thats it. My last "girlfriend" is getting ready to leave the country. To whatever/whoever is responsible for this exodus, i'm telling you, i wont let it be. Do you hear me? My people in England, France and god knows what all places in you yes yay, beware. Someday i'll come to each one of these countries and get you all back to mine.
Where i shall as usual continue to not keep in touch, but thats neither here nor there. I want my people in my country!
Where i shall as usual continue to not keep in touch, but thats neither here nor there. I want my people in my country!
Monday, November 09, 2009
A hard night's day
The office van spat him out. He dragged himself up the two floors of his building. Opened the door and sleepwalked straight to the kitchen. Where she had left him breakfast with a Note. That woke him up. Like everyday.
He settled down to Heroes. Reheated breakfast in hand, hum of the washing machine in the background. He felt loved.
Good morning da!
Heat it before you eat it. Add you clothes to the machine and switch it ON. Or else, we shall be wearing our wedding clothes to work tomorrow. Latest Heroes (yuck) streamed on the PC.
He settled down to Heroes. Reheated breakfast in hand, hum of the washing machine in the background. He felt loved.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
I'm feeling postitve
I missed a step and tore a ligament. Yeah the same one again. One basketball coach used to yell out butter fingers whenever someone let slip a pass they shouldnt have. I now have my own contribution to add to the colourful description of human body parts. Crepe paper ligaments. That tear even on a change in wind direction. Or the flapping of a butterfly's wings. It isnt anywhere as torn as the last time though, so i get away with crepe bandage and no running/jumping/skipping.
So i decided not to be a hero, not to go to work with a limp as if my putting a semi colon was going to save the world. I decided to work from home. I got off to an early start too, before the state electricity board decided to step in. They cut off power for the whole damn day and when asked why, said it was Thursday, like that explained everything and how dumb could one be for asking. So i couldnt work from home, i couldnt entertain myself from home, i certainly couldnt not be at home. The day could have been awful but i had the Big Bang by Simon Singh (who is now my new rock star) for company and of course afternoon sleep. I realized something during the course of the day. Here i am, on an unscheduled leave, and it doesnt bother me, it doesnt affect my work, it doesnt affect anyone else at work or probably anyone else in the world! While it should have made me feel about this big and made question my role in the scheme of things and left me generally depressed, it didnt. People, or at least I, dream of having a life they can take a break from whenever they feel like one and come back to it and for it be like they never left. Or, because i've been reading about spacetime and would like to show off, primarily to the future me, i dream of being light enough to cause minimal distortion in the spacetime around me. So i can walk off to another part of the universe and not have planets plummet into each other or fly off into space. Today, at a very micro level, was about that.
So i decided not to be a hero, not to go to work with a limp as if my putting a semi colon was going to save the world. I decided to work from home. I got off to an early start too, before the state electricity board decided to step in. They cut off power for the whole damn day and when asked why, said it was Thursday, like that explained everything and how dumb could one be for asking. So i couldnt work from home, i couldnt entertain myself from home, i certainly couldnt not be at home. The day could have been awful but i had the Big Bang by Simon Singh (who is now my new rock star) for company and of course afternoon sleep. I realized something during the course of the day. Here i am, on an unscheduled leave, and it doesnt bother me, it doesnt affect my work, it doesnt affect anyone else at work or probably anyone else in the world! While it should have made me feel about this big and made question my role in the scheme of things and left me generally depressed, it didnt. People, or at least I, dream of having a life they can take a break from whenever they feel like one and come back to it and for it be like they never left. Or, because i've been reading about spacetime and would like to show off, primarily to the future me, i dream of being light enough to cause minimal distortion in the spacetime around me. So i can walk off to another part of the universe and not have planets plummet into each other or fly off into space. Today, at a very micro level, was about that.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Onto books now
The first time i came across Neil Gaiman was at the science fiction section at Landmark. He was sold to me by a 6 footer who wouldn't touch books with a 7 foot pole. Big name in the comic world, he wrote Sandman, don't you know? Huh? I bought it anyway. Anansi Boys. It came with a lot of praise and a Hugo nomination that the author declined, say. I could barely finish it. It was one of those rare books i had to skip the middle to get to the end of.
My next one was American Gods (which Wikipedia now tells me might have been a prequel to Anansi Boys!). Hugo and Nebula award winner. I couldn't read past one fourth of that one. I went around feeling ashamed of myself. I couldn't finish his books. What was wrong with me??
The third one was The Graveyard Book. Hugo again. Lot of praise again. I justified the purchase saying it was a children's book, there is no way i couldnt finish a children's book. I promised the 6 footer that if i didnt make it through this one, i'd mentally classify Gaiman as an author of umm... literary fiction or... magic realism or... yes, good housekeeping, stuff i wouldnt touch with a 7 foot pole. But this one had me at hello.
Its about a little boy called Nobody (Bod) Owens who is bough up in a graveyard. By ghosts. There is a scene early on when Bod is just a baby, living with real, living parents. He has managed to topple off his crib by climbing on his teddy and has waded his way to the head of the stairs.
My next one was American Gods (which Wikipedia now tells me might have been a prequel to Anansi Boys!). Hugo and Nebula award winner. I couldn't read past one fourth of that one. I went around feeling ashamed of myself. I couldn't finish his books. What was wrong with me??
The third one was The Graveyard Book. Hugo again. Lot of praise again. I justified the purchase saying it was a children's book, there is no way i couldnt finish a children's book. I promised the 6 footer that if i didnt make it through this one, i'd mentally classify Gaiman as an author of umm... literary fiction or... magic realism or... yes, good housekeeping, stuff i wouldnt touch with a 7 foot pole. But this one had me at hello.
Its about a little boy called Nobody (Bod) Owens who is bough up in a graveyard. By ghosts. There is a scene early on when Bod is just a baby, living with real, living parents. He has managed to topple off his crib by climbing on his teddy and has waded his way to the head of the stairs.
Stairs that went up were tricky things, and he had not yet entirely mastered them. Stairs that went down however, he had discovered, were fairly simple. He did them sitting down, bumping from step to step on his well-padded bottom.I read those lines and then i couldnt make myself get back to the book for the rest of the day, i was so excited! How does anyone come up with stuff like that? You'd have to go inside a little one's head to find it, thats the only place where stairs that go up and stairs that go down exist as two different things! Although, I'm not sure children (or young adults as they seem to be called these days) who are the audience for this book will "get it". It might work on them as a joke though. I went back to the book at night and it didnt disappoint. I got so caught up in Bod's wanderings around the graveyard, i forgot he was the only living kid in a colony full of ghosts. His adventures reminded me how little it takes to keep you entertained as a kid. I loved how it is okay to invent a concept like "Freedom of the graveyard" without defining it exactly, because kids are used to things they dont entirely understand. I loved that Bod had Silas, an adult who is his filter to the world, who helps things make sense, who keeps out the bad stuff, while preparing him for the day he will have to walk out into it. And like a reviewer says on the book, i cant wait to see what happens next. I hope there is more!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
This is me trying to be back
Why has this become so difficult? Small things that i could easily pull into respectable (at least in my eyes) posts now just refuse to grow up. Some of them flirt with moving out to twitter but finally just give it up and settle down in their pyjamas on the overstuffed sofa that is my head. Which is the perfect place to just be, really. No one there is going to tell you to stand on your own two feet, go out in the world and make a place for yourself. Me being a firm believer in not telling others to do what i dont myself do.
And with that post, content over having won a small victory over lethargy and indifference and apathy, she will forget that there is a war.
And with that post, content over having won a small victory over lethargy and indifference and apathy, she will forget that there is a war.
About TV, mostly
(She gets back to blogging after months and all she has to write about is Television. Talk about living vicariously.)
I havent seen any Star Trek other than the latest movie (and that too for apna Spok), but this had me nodding along. Science fiction is supposed to be about how a different plant, different technology, different species makes for different societies with different rules. Having a story and making technology fill in the blanks is just doing it backwards. And i went around being shocked at this obvious-once-pointed-out deception and how people stood for being thus strung along until bhai made me see that is is exactly what all the medical series that i so love to watch do! Tech the tech. House, Grey's Anatomy, all of them. House at least its excusable. There House is the hero and the medicine, however clever it may be, is just the background. Its about how twisted House is and how it affects everything and everyone around him. And they dont wing that, they dont tech House just to neatly tie up an episode. However, now that he is becoming less twisted, i wonder if there is any justification to keep watching. Grey's Anatomy is supposed to be about how medicine and working is a hospital shapes people, makes them who they will turn out to be. And they set out all the drama and totally wing the medicine part.
Does all that analysis and resulting realization mean that i'm going to stop watching? Heh. I'll just be a little more ashamed doing so, but shame i've made my peace with a while ago.
Let me now tell you about an ant and a grasshopper. It takes its time but winds its way back to TV, i promise. So, I am the ant. Not so much the hardworking bit but the hoarding stuff for cold winter days bit. And Bhai, he is the grasshopper. All about instant consumption, living as if the future will never come. And you know what? It never does! Never does he go around starved of TV stuff to watch. Never have i been able to gloat about my hoard of serials to be watched while he is getting bored out of his wits. Have they gone and gotten rid of winter and not told me about it so i keep hoarding like an ass? Does the entertainment sun really shine all the time?
I havent seen any Star Trek other than the latest movie (and that too for apna Spok), but this had me nodding along. Science fiction is supposed to be about how a different plant, different technology, different species makes for different societies with different rules. Having a story and making technology fill in the blanks is just doing it backwards. And i went around being shocked at this obvious-once-pointed-out deception and how people stood for being thus strung along until bhai made me see that is is exactly what all the medical series that i so love to watch do! Tech the tech. House, Grey's Anatomy, all of them. House at least its excusable. There House is the hero and the medicine, however clever it may be, is just the background. Its about how twisted House is and how it affects everything and everyone around him. And they dont wing that, they dont tech House just to neatly tie up an episode. However, now that he is becoming less twisted, i wonder if there is any justification to keep watching. Grey's Anatomy is supposed to be about how medicine and working is a hospital shapes people, makes them who they will turn out to be. And they set out all the drama and totally wing the medicine part.
Does all that analysis and resulting realization mean that i'm going to stop watching? Heh. I'll just be a little more ashamed doing so, but shame i've made my peace with a while ago.
Let me now tell you about an ant and a grasshopper. It takes its time but winds its way back to TV, i promise. So, I am the ant. Not so much the hardworking bit but the hoarding stuff for cold winter days bit. And Bhai, he is the grasshopper. All about instant consumption, living as if the future will never come. And you know what? It never does! Never does he go around starved of TV stuff to watch. Never have i been able to gloat about my hoard of serials to be watched while he is getting bored out of his wits. Have they gone and gotten rid of winter and not told me about it so i keep hoarding like an ass? Does the entertainment sun really shine all the time?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
This weekend I
1. Said no to a trip. Again.
2. Trawled the Science Fiction and Fantasy sites on the net for stuff i can/want/should be reading. Now the proud owner of a 3 page list of potentials.
3. Went to the Landmark sale. 3 pages - 4 lines to go.
4. Took photograph of a rat that decided to help itself to food off my mom's plate while she was on the phone. Then took photos of its heroic capture and undignified disposal involving a rubbish pan, the cover of a CD stand and two very brave men.
5. Felt warm due to faraway people. And my 3 page list.
2. Trawled the Science Fiction and Fantasy sites on the net for stuff i can/want/should be reading. Now the proud owner of a 3 page list of potentials.
3. Went to the Landmark sale. 3 pages - 4 lines to go.
4. Took photograph of a rat that decided to help itself to food off my mom's plate while she was on the phone. Then took photos of its heroic capture and undignified disposal involving a rubbish pan, the cover of a CD stand and two very brave men.
5. Felt warm due to faraway people. And my 3 page list.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Really? You can see the clothes??
I didnt "get" Kaminey. Not the brilliance. Not the cleverness. Not even when they were pointed out to me. The small things did not add up to something majestic, they just remained small. I'm still not sure why he made the movie.
I shouldnt care but it sort of pisses me off that i seem to be the only one.
The one thing i did get is the song.
Aah. now that i've said that, you can begin to shoot me.
I shouldnt care but it sort of pisses me off that i seem to be the only one.
The one thing i did get is the song.
Aah. now that i've said that, you can begin to shoot me.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
I might have been in love before, but this time its real
Of course its a TV show. Studio 60 on the sunset strip. Has only one season, all of it on youtube. The gigantic idiots at the network that produced show took it off air after the first season because, well, because they are gigantic idiots. (I need to learn stronger words to express my disapproval, i do.) Its so awesome, i cant tell you but let me try anyway. Its got Mathew Perry, and much as i love friends, Matt, the character he plays on this show, is what i will think of him as from now on. Okay, maybe half Matt half Chandler, its that good. But, he is not the best thing about the show (Danny Tripp is). The best part is the writing. Its clever, its funny, it... sparkles. I can see how terrible i am at doing justice to it, just help me out and watch the pilot, will you?
I looked up the guy creating the show, Aaron Sorkin. And what do you know, it looks like i've been a fan of his writing without even knowing it was his. A few good men and The American President, both movies with dialogs i've loved. Looks like i will have to watch The West Wing after all!
Warning: Based on what I've seen and read, it looks like he likes to create incredibly nice characters who think nothing of staking their careers on their principles in the most perverse of situations. If they did it in real life, they wouldn't have much of an ass left after life was done kicking it. If such (seeming and probably) naive behaviour bothers you, try to forget that it does while you watch the show.
To give you a sample of how much i love it, here is a scene from episode 14. Danny and this one person (in the most cliched of romantic comedy tricks) are locked up on the roof. They've been trying to get out but cant until the episode is over. They wonder (being big shots) how come no one has missed them. Towards the end, this guy Cal comes up on the roof to switch something on and finds them here.
Cal: J, Danny you guys are here!
J: Yeah
Cal: We've been looking for you
Danny: Yeah?
Cal: (a tad defensively): Yeah!
Danny: Where?
Totally unfunny on paper right? I've seen that clip 300 times and each time I've laughed at Danny's belligerent Where.
So if you ask me, what did Bhai get you from Germany, I will not show you the pink miniature skateboard with wheels key chain that he mooched off someone who got it for free with something and then i mooched off him, i will not show you the 300 black shirts he got for himself and then tried to push on me insisting that they were my size, i will say he got me Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
I looked up the guy creating the show, Aaron Sorkin. And what do you know, it looks like i've been a fan of his writing without even knowing it was his. A few good men and The American President, both movies with dialogs i've loved. Looks like i will have to watch The West Wing after all!
Warning: Based on what I've seen and read, it looks like he likes to create incredibly nice characters who think nothing of staking their careers on their principles in the most perverse of situations. If they did it in real life, they wouldn't have much of an ass left after life was done kicking it. If such (seeming and probably) naive behaviour bothers you, try to forget that it does while you watch the show.
To give you a sample of how much i love it, here is a scene from episode 14. Danny and this one person (in the most cliched of romantic comedy tricks) are locked up on the roof. They've been trying to get out but cant until the episode is over. They wonder (being big shots) how come no one has missed them. Towards the end, this guy Cal comes up on the roof to switch something on and finds them here.
Cal: J, Danny you guys are here!
J: Yeah
Cal: We've been looking for you
Danny: Yeah?
Cal: (a tad defensively): Yeah!
Danny: Where?
Totally unfunny on paper right? I've seen that clip 300 times and each time I've laughed at Danny's belligerent Where.
So if you ask me, what did Bhai get you from Germany, I will not show you the pink miniature skateboard with wheels key chain that he mooched off someone who got it for free with something and then i mooched off him, i will not show you the 300 black shirts he got for himself and then tried to push on me insisting that they were my size, i will say he got me Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Be kind. Do not rewind.
You think you are over it. Its all locked safely in the past,. No, not locked. It used to be locked when the past was too close to the present to be left unguarded. But now, with time and the distance that comes with time, the lock has become redundant. You rarely venture there and even if you do, the layers of dust make the memories sufficiently hazy to not mean much. It surprises you sometimes, you understand what people mean when they say life goes on.
All it takes is one silly photograph on someone's Orkut album for the floodgates to open. You are not even in the damn photo, but you are there.
And the funny part is, i knew this would happen. I'd be walking the hostel corridors, on my way to my room and i'd grin about the fact that someday i will look back at this totally unremarkable moment with more longing than it deserves. Turns out i am as wise as i think i am.
All it takes is one silly photograph on someone's Orkut album for the floodgates to open. You are not even in the damn photo, but you are there.
And the funny part is, i knew this would happen. I'd be walking the hostel corridors, on my way to my room and i'd grin about the fact that someday i will look back at this totally unremarkable moment with more longing than it deserves. Turns out i am as wise as i think i am.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Jokes
To really get this, you have to:
1. Know something about Chennai
2. Have heard of Carnatic music
3. Be familiar with the music scene down south
4. Have read the HitchHikers Guide to the galaxy
5. Be acquainted with Wolfram Alpha
6. Be familiar with Tamil movies
7. Have grown up among/around Tamil people
8. Be a computer science graduate (probably not necessary, but i am not aware of any other career paths that go through the Turing Test)
The pseudo Tamilian than i am, i'm sure there are a lot of references there that i have missed. But i absolutely love it that i "get" a joke that not too many people on this planet will get. It makes me feel special. (More special, actually, than i would feel if i had "made" the joke.) Like there is a secret club i belong to and its a private joke we share. Which is why i love xkcd so much. Though i'm surrounded for the most part of the day by people who "get" it, and probably get it better than i do, it still makes me feel like i belong.
1. Know something about Chennai
2. Have heard of Carnatic music
3. Be familiar with the music scene down south
4. Have read the HitchHikers Guide to the galaxy
5. Be acquainted with Wolfram Alpha
6. Be familiar with Tamil movies
7. Have grown up among/around Tamil people
8. Be a computer science graduate (probably not necessary, but i am not aware of any other career paths that go through the Turing Test)
The pseudo Tamilian than i am, i'm sure there are a lot of references there that i have missed. But i absolutely love it that i "get" a joke that not too many people on this planet will get. It makes me feel special. (More special, actually, than i would feel if i had "made" the joke.) Like there is a secret club i belong to and its a private joke we share. Which is why i love xkcd so much. Though i'm surrounded for the most part of the day by people who "get" it, and probably get it better than i do, it still makes me feel like i belong.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
New phone resolutions
Once upon a time there lived a girl. She had a phone, not that she didnt, but it was ancient and pulling on on life support. She'd decided to do the kind thing by pulling the plug, but couldnt actually do so until she had a replacement. So she looked high and she looked low and she asked around and she got utterly confused. She was fuzzy on the requirements, she was fuzzy on the budget, she was fuzzy on why she needed a phone at all! (Dont tell anyone, but her STD bill for the last month was 10 rupees.) Then one day she saw an ad in the newspaper for a phone that looked decent (that was important to her, who woulda thunk), matched some set of requirements and budget, and her brother did not threaten her with - its either me or the phone. So one fine Sunday she went and bought it.
That night, the God of mobile phones, in an attempt to regain territory from the God of equipments bought in a fit of passion that then spend all of their shelf life in a box on a shelf came in her dream and gave her one tablet with 5 commandments.
1. Thou shalt carry thy phone. Everywhere.
So she does. Everywhere. And when she forgets, she crosses floors without a thought to go get it.
2. Thou shalt not miss calls.
She doesnt. She simply cuts them off. And then follows commandment 3.
3. Thou shalt call people up.
She does. Even though she knows people are likely to fall off their chairs in surprise and break their legs if she calls them up just like that. She believes they will agree it was worth it. After all, as she knows from personal experience, breaking a leg is not as bad as it is made out to be. She can see herself running out of people though. (Damn you you yes yay and you kay and germany. Gimme my people back!)
4. Thou shalt charge thy phone
She does. Religiously.
5. Thou shalt know thy phone
She is getting there. Already she can set the alarm and play the radio (which she still thinks is the coolest part of the whole thing) and take pictures and use the dictionary without throwing the phone at the wall in frustration. She next plans to tackle the bluetooth monster.
Its been three days and so far, the God of mobile phones has no cause to complain.
That night, the God of mobile phones, in an attempt to regain territory from the God of equipments bought in a fit of passion that then spend all of their shelf life in a box on a shelf came in her dream and gave her one tablet with 5 commandments.
1. Thou shalt carry thy phone. Everywhere.
So she does. Everywhere. And when she forgets, she crosses floors without a thought to go get it.
2. Thou shalt not miss calls.
She doesnt. She simply cuts them off. And then follows commandment 3.
3. Thou shalt call people up.
She does. Even though she knows people are likely to fall off their chairs in surprise and break their legs if she calls them up just like that. She believes they will agree it was worth it. After all, as she knows from personal experience, breaking a leg is not as bad as it is made out to be. She can see herself running out of people though. (Damn you you yes yay and you kay and germany. Gimme my people back!)
4. Thou shalt charge thy phone
She does. Religiously.
5. Thou shalt know thy phone
She is getting there. Already she can set the alarm and play the radio (which she still thinks is the coolest part of the whole thing) and take pictures and use the dictionary without throwing the phone at the wall in frustration. She next plans to tackle the bluetooth monster.
Its been three days and so far, the God of mobile phones has no cause to complain.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Notes to the future me
Ideally, i'd like to yell this so the whole world can hear. Or at least, my world. Since that isnt happening, i'll yell it on my blog.
<begin imagining caps>
You can either get things done or do them your way. Wanting to get things done your way is just plain greedy. If i believed in a universe that was interested in you and interested in being fair, i'd tell you that it'd give you one under the ear. (I know i ruined kaan ke neeche, but nothing in English comes close.)
<end imagining caps>
Me, right now i'm in that in between place where i neither do things nor get them done. I know its not going to last, so when it over and i have to pick one or the other, can you please shove this post in my face?
<begin imagining caps>
You can either get things done or do them your way. Wanting to get things done your way is just plain greedy. If i believed in a universe that was interested in you and interested in being fair, i'd tell you that it'd give you one under the ear. (I know i ruined kaan ke neeche, but nothing in English comes close.)
<end imagining caps>
Me, right now i'm in that in between place where i neither do things nor get them done. I know its not going to last, so when it over and i have to pick one or the other, can you please shove this post in my face?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I'm back. Yes. Again.
First i decided to write. Then i decided not to. And then, i decided to write about not writing. (Now you know, a decision for me, most of the times, is the thought that is topmost in my head at that point.) But then i decided that would be like coming out of a long comfortable silence that no one minded, to announce the arrival of more silence. And now, apparently, i have decided to write.
So, the silence. Work, sure. Long days, weekends. And thanks to my once broken leg, i have been granted the super-harmful superpower of being able to work from home. All of which boiled down to the citi never sleeping. But, it was sort of fun. After a long long time, i got to code off the seat off my pants. No ten people looking over the design before you get to put one semi-colon. Which of course meant that i had to do the damn thing ten times over. But it was fun. Yes. I'm telling you.
Plus, busy days are easy days. When ghosts from your past come visiting, you can send them back there with one look. Not now, mummy is busy and they go away quietly, no questions asked. Not that you are ever short of excuses, but none is as easy as this.
My back started its 6 monthly (since i can never be sure if bi-annually means twice a year or once in two years) ritual of giving up. I felt like a pregnant woman all of Monday. Only i wasnt, so i couldnt hold my back and limp around and make huge groaning noises and waddle like a duck every time someone called me to their desk. It is being intensively taken care of right now (40 minutes a day i do nothing but. Who can keep that up??) and is almost back to behaving itself.
On a trip to some other place there happened to be a crossword and i happened to go in and happened to see My Friend Sancho. Bought. Finished. Liked. But dont listen to me. I think i'd decided to like it before i bought it. It is, you know, _real_. And funny. Sustained giggles when the mannequin attacks him and a certain muslim... item. And it helped me shoo away the ghosts that weekend. Very effective.
Okay. Back to some silence now. Hopefully not very long.
So, the silence. Work, sure. Long days, weekends. And thanks to my once broken leg, i have been granted the super-harmful superpower of being able to work from home. All of which boiled down to the citi never sleeping. But, it was sort of fun. After a long long time, i got to code off the seat off my pants. No ten people looking over the design before you get to put one semi-colon. Which of course meant that i had to do the damn thing ten times over. But it was fun. Yes. I'm telling you.
Plus, busy days are easy days. When ghosts from your past come visiting, you can send them back there with one look. Not now, mummy is busy and they go away quietly, no questions asked. Not that you are ever short of excuses, but none is as easy as this.
My back started its 6 monthly (since i can never be sure if bi-annually means twice a year or once in two years) ritual of giving up. I felt like a pregnant woman all of Monday. Only i wasnt, so i couldnt hold my back and limp around and make huge groaning noises and waddle like a duck every time someone called me to their desk. It is being intensively taken care of right now (40 minutes a day i do nothing but. Who can keep that up??) and is almost back to behaving itself.
On a trip to some other place there happened to be a crossword and i happened to go in and happened to see My Friend Sancho. Bought. Finished. Liked. But dont listen to me. I think i'd decided to like it before i bought it. It is, you know, _real_. And funny. Sustained giggles when the mannequin attacks him and a certain muslim... item. And it helped me shoo away the ghosts that weekend. Very effective.
Okay. Back to some silence now. Hopefully not very long.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Jaago re!
Election kitne baje khulta hai appa?
Appa I'll come with you to the booth.
Appa why dont i have an voters card like you do?
Appa i cant find my name :(
Appa you have my passport no?
But the question i'm most proud not having asked this time. Whom are you going to vote for, Appa? We ended up voting for different people, different parties, but probably not very different lives.
I went to the ink dotting lady (the dot i used to dream of as a kid is now a thin long non-descript line) and confidently thrust my thumb to be dotted. I would have died of embaressment but for the following:
1. The guy checking the identity proof stared at my passport for a long time and then hesitantly asked - Madam, is this your Voter ID Card? I think i can see how he got there. Everyone gives me a Voter ID card. This one seems to have given me a book. Why would she give me a book? She doesnt look particularly mad. Plus, it does have a photo. Maybe the EC now gives a booklet full of Voter ID cards? One page per election? Yeah. I better ask.
2. The boss sitting at a faraway chair heard passport and yelled back - Dont accept her passport as identity proof unless it has a photograph!
Appa I'll come with you to the booth.
Appa why dont i have an voters card like you do?
Appa i cant find my name :(
Appa you have my passport no?
But the question i'm most proud not having asked this time. Whom are you going to vote for, Appa? We ended up voting for different people, different parties, but probably not very different lives.
I went to the ink dotting lady (the dot i used to dream of as a kid is now a thin long non-descript line) and confidently thrust my thumb to be dotted. I would have died of embaressment but for the following:
1. The guy checking the identity proof stared at my passport for a long time and then hesitantly asked - Madam, is this your Voter ID Card? I think i can see how he got there. Everyone gives me a Voter ID card. This one seems to have given me a book. Why would she give me a book? She doesnt look particularly mad. Plus, it does have a photo. Maybe the EC now gives a booklet full of Voter ID cards? One page per election? Yeah. I better ask.
2. The boss sitting at a faraway chair heard passport and yelled back - Dont accept her passport as identity proof unless it has a photograph!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Live bloging
At this point, i have no idea what this post is going to be about. But i've been silent for too long. My blog cannot dry up and die a neglected death. If i go, i'll go with a bang. A pop, at the very least.
Okay, enough melodrama. Aah, i think i got it now! I'll make this one about culture. No wait. That can be a post of its own, if i ever get around to feeling less lazy. IPL is on. I wish i could make up my mind once and for all whether or not i am interested in cricket. No, i didnt suffer from the great disillusion that most people who loved the game in simpler times seem to have done. I still get excited at the prospect of a match. I follow scores on cricinfo especially if people around are doing so. I read newspaper reports about it with interest. But i cant remember the last time i actually sat through a match. Not even the 2 minutes noodles 20-20 version.
Change. What do you do when call x up starts to appear on your do-to list? Heck, even returning missed calls means having to overcome too much of resistance. You throw your phone away! Good idea no? Really, i dont know why i bother with the thing anyway. I get like one call a month. There is a virus or something that drains the battery so i have to charge it everyday. Everyday. Whether i use it or not. On a good day, my phone lies on my desk all day. Most days its locked in my drawer with my dabba. If i were kinder i'd put it out of its misery. How can my phone have a life if i dont?
Change. Last one, really. Its true what they say. As you grow older, its more and more difficult to change. And not just because you've got used to a way of life. But more because you think you know best. At least for yourself. You think you have earned the right to live your way. Everyone around you should kindly adjust.
Change. Okay fine. I cheated. Kya ukhaad loge? Standing behind you like a rock, promising love and support for life, whatever road you happened to take. Or standing in your way, yelling over my dead body if they think they see you going on the wrong road. Is there nothing in between?
Okay, enough melodrama. Aah, i think i got it now! I'll make this one about culture. No wait. That can be a post of its own, if i ever get around to feeling less lazy. IPL is on. I wish i could make up my mind once and for all whether or not i am interested in cricket. No, i didnt suffer from the great disillusion that most people who loved the game in simpler times seem to have done. I still get excited at the prospect of a match. I follow scores on cricinfo especially if people around are doing so. I read newspaper reports about it with interest. But i cant remember the last time i actually sat through a match. Not even the 2 minutes noodles 20-20 version.
Change. What do you do when call x up starts to appear on your do-to list? Heck, even returning missed calls means having to overcome too much of resistance. You throw your phone away! Good idea no? Really, i dont know why i bother with the thing anyway. I get like one call a month. There is a virus or something that drains the battery so i have to charge it everyday. Everyday. Whether i use it or not. On a good day, my phone lies on my desk all day. Most days its locked in my drawer with my dabba. If i were kinder i'd put it out of its misery. How can my phone have a life if i dont?
Change. Last one, really. Its true what they say. As you grow older, its more and more difficult to change. And not just because you've got used to a way of life. But more because you think you know best. At least for yourself. You think you have earned the right to live your way. Everyone around you should kindly adjust.
Change. Okay fine. I cheated. Kya ukhaad loge? Standing behind you like a rock, promising love and support for life, whatever road you happened to take. Or standing in your way, yelling over my dead body if they think they see you going on the wrong road. Is there nothing in between?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Its DONE!
I did it! Seven whole days of eating according to syllabus!! GM diet shall now proudly head the extra curricular activities section of my resume. A few years ago, i would have been super impressed with myself, not to mention super ashamed. Today, after a little gloat, i'll take it in my stride.
Day 1: Only fruits. Bad. At the end of the day, i was willing idlis to turn into fruits.
(People offered me pastries. They promised not to tell anyone, even.)
Day 2: Only vegetables. Worse. Worst, actually. Low on energy. Head ached, tooth followed. I dreamed of fruits.
(Someone got chocolates to work. People made sure i saw them eat.)
Day 3: Fruits and vegetables. Awesome! Woke up fresh. Felt great all day. Except for disconcertingly pleasing images of bakasur finishing off truckloads of food and breaking open watermelons for dessert.
(People offered me cream biscuits.)
Day 4: Milk and bananas. And wonder soup. The soup saved my day. Wasnt as bad as i'd convinced myself it would be.
(It was gudi padwa and people had modak and srikhand and basundi Waaaaaanh. I'm not exactly sure what basundi is, but it made me cry.)
Day 5: Tomatoes. LOTS. And brown rice and palak and rajma. Normal
Day 6: Vegetables. Brown rice. Sprouts. Tofu. Normal.
Day 7: Vegetables. Fruits. Brown rice. Sprouts. THE END!
I havent seen the results yet but i dont feel particularly light or fresh or super intelligent. Rather anti-climatic it is, at least after the first 4 days. But if the results are good, its a nice short cut to have!
Day 1: Only fruits. Bad. At the end of the day, i was willing idlis to turn into fruits.
(People offered me pastries. They promised not to tell anyone, even.)
Day 2: Only vegetables. Worse. Worst, actually. Low on energy. Head ached, tooth followed. I dreamed of fruits.
(Someone got chocolates to work. People made sure i saw them eat.)
Day 3: Fruits and vegetables. Awesome! Woke up fresh. Felt great all day. Except for disconcertingly pleasing images of bakasur finishing off truckloads of food and breaking open watermelons for dessert.
(People offered me cream biscuits.)
Day 4: Milk and bananas. And wonder soup. The soup saved my day. Wasnt as bad as i'd convinced myself it would be.
(It was gudi padwa and people had modak and srikhand and basundi Waaaaaanh. I'm not exactly sure what basundi is, but it made me cry.)
Day 5: Tomatoes. LOTS. And brown rice and palak and rajma. Normal
Day 6: Vegetables. Brown rice. Sprouts. Tofu. Normal.
Day 7: Vegetables. Fruits. Brown rice. Sprouts. THE END!
I havent seen the results yet but i dont feel particularly light or fresh or super intelligent. Rather anti-climatic it is, at least after the first 4 days. But if the results are good, its a nice short cut to have!
Monday, March 23, 2009
For want of a purpose
Who has Monday blues on a Monday evening?
I rock at feeling sorry for myself. I doubt if anyone does it better.
Ooh, i could watch that movie until its time to sleep.
Call him about that cake.
Call her.
Please? Its a good movie.
At least download the songs she was kind enough to send you.
Not even if it is the only thing that'll get me out of this bed? I suppose not.
Reply or she'll think you died.
I should go on that diet!
And that is how, from tomorrow, i go on the GM diet. The whole world has done it and survived, so i should not be so scared. But i am. Which is why the declaration. Kick me if i default.
I rock at feeling sorry for myself. I doubt if anyone does it better.
Ooh, i could watch that movie until its time to sleep.
Call him about that cake.
Call her.
Please? Its a good movie.
At least download the songs she was kind enough to send you.
Not even if it is the only thing that'll get me out of this bed? I suppose not.
Reply or she'll think you died.
I should go on that diet!
And that is how, from tomorrow, i go on the GM diet. The whole world has done it and survived, so i should not be so scared. But i am. Which is why the declaration. Kick me if i default.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
What if...
(Something i wrote a while ago. At that time i thought it needed polishing. Now i dont see why. Plus its Sunday. How can i not post on a Sunday?)
Imagine a time far far far away. Ahead. Imagine we have survived our own stupidity, imagine the sun did not turn into a red giant, imagine we, or whatever it is we have evolved into, still live on. There is some kind of society, and it engages most people in matters of survival. Let us imagine that that fulfills them, gives them a sense of purpose in life. Imagine that we humans have learnt a lot more about life and the universe but we havent learnt everything. There is still a lot of unknown that beckons.
Now we come to the problem. To go beyond where your forefathers have already gone, you have to get there first. However, the knowledge accumulated over the years is so much that one lifetime is not enough to take it all in. So while the journey is not over, no one lives long enough to get to the starting point.
The question is, will this frustrate just the academic minority or will it affect society as a whole? How much does the majority care about progress, unless it directly makes their life easier? And even then they find something else to complain about. Lack of scientific/philosophical/artistic progress should practically speaking not affect their lives at all. Survival is a full time and extremely fulfilling job for most. How important then is the illusion that we as a species are getting closer to the answers? Even if I as an individual am doing nothing to directly contribute to our getting there, and moving one step closer is in no way going to affect/improve my life. Will academia simply be abolished and everyone concentrate on survival/entertainment? Or will the feeling of purposelessness overwhelm society to such an extent that people would decide to destroy everything and start over, just to have somewhere to get to?
If it came to picking sides, which side would be your good side?
Imagine a time far far far away. Ahead. Imagine we have survived our own stupidity, imagine the sun did not turn into a red giant, imagine we, or whatever it is we have evolved into, still live on. There is some kind of society, and it engages most people in matters of survival. Let us imagine that that fulfills them, gives them a sense of purpose in life. Imagine that we humans have learnt a lot more about life and the universe but we havent learnt everything. There is still a lot of unknown that beckons.
Now we come to the problem. To go beyond where your forefathers have already gone, you have to get there first. However, the knowledge accumulated over the years is so much that one lifetime is not enough to take it all in. So while the journey is not over, no one lives long enough to get to the starting point.
The question is, will this frustrate just the academic minority or will it affect society as a whole? How much does the majority care about progress, unless it directly makes their life easier? And even then they find something else to complain about. Lack of scientific/philosophical/artistic progress should practically speaking not affect their lives at all. Survival is a full time and extremely fulfilling job for most. How important then is the illusion that we as a species are getting closer to the answers? Even if I as an individual am doing nothing to directly contribute to our getting there, and moving one step closer is in no way going to affect/improve my life. Will academia simply be abolished and everyone concentrate on survival/entertainment? Or will the feeling of purposelessness overwhelm society to such an extent that people would decide to destroy everything and start over, just to have somewhere to get to?
If it came to picking sides, which side would be your good side?
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Maybe the connection is bad?
Hello? How you doin' up there? All good in the land of the gods? I was just wondering, you know, given all the spare time my life seems to be made up of, whether there is any chance that while making the world, you got so carried away by the beauty of the deep and meaningful questions your creations would come up with, that you, erm... forgot to put in the answers? Did you?
Hello?
<silence>
Yeah, i though so.
Hello?
<silence>
Yeah, i though so.
Monday, February 23, 2009
I am the world
Have you ever felt... complete? It comes to me, this feeling, usually when i'm alone with music. I may be by myself in my room or surrounded by humanity on a busy street, but world fades into the background. The wind blows just for me, the song plays just for me, its been written just for me and that is all there is to the world. I sing along cause there is no one there to laugh, you see? The world flashes by now and then, but it doesnt demand, doesnt hold me back, it just waves a cheery goodbye. And where ever it is i am going, the only thing i wish for is that i never get there.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Its all coming back to me
As yet another group leaves on yet another trip without me (i have not been to more places in the last few years than i have been to in all my life), i sit and remember the good times.
The first memorable one to Mahabaleshwar, with colleagues who were not yet friends. Came back a little surprised at how much fun it was.
To Mulshi on a Bike.
To Matheran, the fraudest hill station ever and Nagao, the best beach ever. The hood of the car came lose when we were coming back. We the girls were given some rope to secure our luggage. We tied the bags together like they were birthday presents we were tying ribbons on. Very pretty, very useless.
To Raigadh and Harihareshwar in the monsoon in a van breathing its last. That got stuck in the mud. People, people i know, just bent down and lifted the van. They could have done it with one little finger, i couldnt have been more impressed!
To Varandha Ghat. Lots of rain, lots of monkeys. And something happened to the keys so we had to break into our own car. And a waterfall.
A hurried one to Dive agar. We left in the morning with no idea where we were going and that is where we ended up. Swans.
To Ganpati Pule. Two car loads for the first time. The terrifying return journey where one by one everyone fell sick. Two healthy people remained, neither of whom could drive. 20 questions.
Rishikesh, rafting. I could write a book on it.
Agra, first time travel by general compartment.
Delhi, god knows how many times. Cannaught place. Saravana Bhavan.
Panchmarhi. The monkey, the buffalo, the goat.
Roorkee. The second most beautiful campus ever. A hurried trip to some hill station whose name i forget.
Manali, skiing. Book.
Some place near Allahabad, for bird watching. We saw one alleged pigeon.
Trivandrum. Our own TV, our own cook, a swing in the hall, a bathtub, we lived in luxury!
Calicut, the most beautiful campus ever.
Bombay, Goa. Weddings. Old friends.
Malshej. Water Kingdom. Unexpected. Fun.
As i write this, a small part of me timidly asks, maybe its enough? Maybe its time to let go? All of me answers, not in this life.
The first memorable one to Mahabaleshwar, with colleagues who were not yet friends. Came back a little surprised at how much fun it was.
To Mulshi on a Bike.
To Matheran, the fraudest hill station ever and Nagao, the best beach ever. The hood of the car came lose when we were coming back. We the girls were given some rope to secure our luggage. We tied the bags together like they were birthday presents we were tying ribbons on. Very pretty, very useless.
To Raigadh and Harihareshwar in the monsoon in a van breathing its last. That got stuck in the mud. People, people i know, just bent down and lifted the van. They could have done it with one little finger, i couldnt have been more impressed!
To Varandha Ghat. Lots of rain, lots of monkeys. And something happened to the keys so we had to break into our own car. And a waterfall.
A hurried one to Dive agar. We left in the morning with no idea where we were going and that is where we ended up. Swans.
To Ganpati Pule. Two car loads for the first time. The terrifying return journey where one by one everyone fell sick. Two healthy people remained, neither of whom could drive. 20 questions.
Rishikesh, rafting. I could write a book on it.
Agra, first time travel by general compartment.
Delhi, god knows how many times. Cannaught place. Saravana Bhavan.
Panchmarhi. The monkey, the buffalo, the goat.
Roorkee. The second most beautiful campus ever. A hurried trip to some hill station whose name i forget.
Manali, skiing. Book.
Some place near Allahabad, for bird watching. We saw one alleged pigeon.
Trivandrum. Our own TV, our own cook, a swing in the hall, a bathtub, we lived in luxury!
Calicut, the most beautiful campus ever.
Bombay, Goa. Weddings. Old friends.
Malshej. Water Kingdom. Unexpected. Fun.
As i write this, a small part of me timidly asks, maybe its enough? Maybe its time to let go? All of me answers, not in this life.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Books, TV etc
Heroes is back. And while i cant be anything but glad, it sometimes feels like the makers are playing chess with the characters. Every season they paint each character with a random colour, throw them on the board in some interesting starting position and then watch the fun. From there on, the horse jumps in steps of two and one, the bishop goes diagonal, the rook goes straight. Claire hyperacts, bytes off more than she can chew and what with two dads, keeps getting grounded. Peter manages to see black and white in a grey world. Hero wants to be a hero, its almost like he is looking for villains who will make him one. Bennett is "protecting his family" and that excuses everything. As the two percent of Nathan that cares for Peter excuses the naked greed of the remaining ninety eight. Sylar is well, Sylar... i wonder if they even bother to write new dialogs.
Finished with Philip K Dick's Counterclock World. Dont read this if you plan to read the book, but i wouldnt recommend the plan unless you like that kind of thing and know what you are getting into. Its not bad, the concept is an interesting one, a world where from 1986 time has started to go backwards. So dead people rise from their graves, get cured of whatever illness that killed them, get younger, become kids and finally disappear into a womb. Its filled with stuff that makes you chuckle at the cleverness, conversations start with goodbye and end with a hello. Food comes out of your mouth, is packaged and sent to supermarkets. And my favourite, oh shit is now oh food. The Library is the evil corporation, in charge of eradicating books that describe stuff that has no longer happened. (See how interesting it can get? One day they'll eradicate all of Mozart's music just because. But then, Mozart will rise from the grave and imagine what he'd create!) My problem is that i need a story! A setting like this, however imaginative, is just the background. I need characters in it to have adventures (which they do), to fight evil (which they do) and for there to be a spectacular end to it all (which there isnt). I'm beginning to see the beginnings of a faint line in the SFF universe. Asimov, Frank Herbert, Adams, Practchett, Orson Scott Card are all one side. The Le Guins and the Philip K Dicks on the other. Arthur C Clark is sitting on the fence, mocking me, daring me to push him over. And i cant. While his setting is his story, i love reading him so.
One second yesterday was the 123456789th one since epoch. Geeks all over the world celebrated. And i find this out from Pune Mirror. I will go drown myself now.
Finished with Philip K Dick's Counterclock World. Dont read this if you plan to read the book, but i wouldnt recommend the plan unless you like that kind of thing and know what you are getting into. Its not bad, the concept is an interesting one, a world where from 1986 time has started to go backwards. So dead people rise from their graves, get cured of whatever illness that killed them, get younger, become kids and finally disappear into a womb. Its filled with stuff that makes you chuckle at the cleverness, conversations start with goodbye and end with a hello. Food comes out of your mouth, is packaged and sent to supermarkets. And my favourite, oh shit is now oh food. The Library is the evil corporation, in charge of eradicating books that describe stuff that has no longer happened. (See how interesting it can get? One day they'll eradicate all of Mozart's music just because. But then, Mozart will rise from the grave and imagine what he'd create!) My problem is that i need a story! A setting like this, however imaginative, is just the background. I need characters in it to have adventures (which they do), to fight evil (which they do) and for there to be a spectacular end to it all (which there isnt). I'm beginning to see the beginnings of a faint line in the SFF universe. Asimov, Frank Herbert, Adams, Practchett, Orson Scott Card are all one side. The Le Guins and the Philip K Dicks on the other. Arthur C Clark is sitting on the fence, mocking me, daring me to push him over. And i cant. While his setting is his story, i love reading him so.
One second yesterday was the 123456789th one since epoch. Geeks all over the world celebrated. And i find this out from Pune Mirror. I will go drown myself now.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Questions
(Something i wrote very long ago. Since i seem to be in the mood to flush out stuff...)
Why me
Why you
Why square peg
Why round hole
Why me
Why you
Why us
In this whole wide world
When it is answers i seek
Why questions
Why me
Why you
Why square peg
Why round hole
Why me
Why you
Why us
In this whole wide world
When it is answers i seek
Why questions
Change
(Yes i've gone nuts with posts. So sue me.)
There is change in which you and world are on the same side. You are like a pebble lying in the river. You just lie there, the river just flows and one day you wake up to see all the rough edges gone. Smooth, you think, and wonder why people find it so difficult to change.
Then there is change where you are against the world. You are the agent, you have to fight to get to where you want. You discover the meaning of words like resistance and comfort zone and inertia. You come to see how deep traditions go, you come to see the strength of the world.
And there is change that wants to change the world. I dont think i'm allowed to even talk about it.
Is there a point to this? Probably none, other than the fact that i like to classify.
There is change in which you and world are on the same side. You are like a pebble lying in the river. You just lie there, the river just flows and one day you wake up to see all the rough edges gone. Smooth, you think, and wonder why people find it so difficult to change.
Then there is change where you are against the world. You are the agent, you have to fight to get to where you want. You discover the meaning of words like resistance and comfort zone and inertia. You come to see how deep traditions go, you come to see the strength of the world.
And there is change that wants to change the world. I dont think i'm allowed to even talk about it.
Is there a point to this? Probably none, other than the fact that i like to classify.
House, M.D.
You know how in movies the world sometimes seems to dance to your tune? Ad billboards, mannequins, statues on crossings, traffic policemen, everyone seems to be singing your song. It happening to me, but in a much more creepy way. Was watching House yesterday and this one character says to another who is stuck in a rut but doesnt know how to get out - The only wrong thing is to nothing. And i felt like hugging her. And slapping her.
Another interesting conversation in the same episode. (Yes, i get my dose of philosophy from TV series. Problem?) The patient is this famous cancer researcher who quit 8 months ago because her job wasnt making her happy. And is now learning to dance. And cook. The doctors at the hospital are all over her, not able to understand how anyone can do that. One of them used to be a plastic surgeon.
(Note: i made up the dialogs. They have better writers)
Ex-plastics guy: I used to love my job. The money, the hours, the people, everything. I gave all that up for a crappy job, a boss from hell, peanuts for pay. I'm not happy. But you know what, i can go home at night look myself in the mirror and say - i did something worthwhile today.
Ex-cancer-researcher: Yes, i miss that. But it just wasnt enough.
Damn. I always figured if i went after the satisfaction, the happiness would follow. Dont tell me i'll have to look for something that satisfies me AND makes me happy. I'll give everything up and go live in a cave. With wifi. I'll ask for nothing more.
Another interesting conversation in the same episode. (Yes, i get my dose of philosophy from TV series. Problem?) The patient is this famous cancer researcher who quit 8 months ago because her job wasnt making her happy. And is now learning to dance. And cook. The doctors at the hospital are all over her, not able to understand how anyone can do that. One of them used to be a plastic surgeon.
(Note: i made up the dialogs. They have better writers)
Ex-plastics guy: I used to love my job. The money, the hours, the people, everything. I gave all that up for a crappy job, a boss from hell, peanuts for pay. I'm not happy. But you know what, i can go home at night look myself in the mirror and say - i did something worthwhile today.
Ex-cancer-researcher: Yes, i miss that. But it just wasnt enough.
Damn. I always figured if i went after the satisfaction, the happiness would follow. Dont tell me i'll have to look for something that satisfies me AND makes me happy. I'll give everything up and go live in a cave. With wifi. I'll ask for nothing more.
Working from home
Is strange. New.
Is filled with moments, at least in the first couple of days, when you will want to strangle someone and relish watching them die (those more knowledgeable say you get used to living with the feeling).
Is lonely.
Is terribly inefficient. Yahoo Messenger will take you a hour to setup. Mails will take ages to open up. And will be about sweets from near and far, which will make you want to cry.
Is liberating.
Has conference calls in which people will mumble among themselves and unless they address you by name, you can best help things by shutting up and counting sheep.
Corrupts.
Makes you proud once you learn to control temptation. Especially around 2.30 p.m. You'll be able to sit on the bed all day and not give in. By the end of the week, you'll have so gotten over it, you'd think nothing of a 5 minute fling, knowing it will not lead to anything more permanent.
Is not half bad! I think i'm ready to break another leg.
Is filled with moments, at least in the first couple of days, when you will want to strangle someone and relish watching them die (those more knowledgeable say you get used to living with the feeling).
Is lonely.
Is terribly inefficient. Yahoo Messenger will take you a hour to setup. Mails will take ages to open up. And will be about sweets from near and far, which will make you want to cry.
Is liberating.
Has conference calls in which people will mumble among themselves and unless they address you by name, you can best help things by shutting up and counting sheep.
Corrupts.
Makes you proud once you learn to control temptation. Especially around 2.30 p.m. You'll be able to sit on the bed all day and not give in. By the end of the week, you'll have so gotten over it, you'd think nothing of a 5 minute fling, knowing it will not lead to anything more permanent.
Is not half bad! I think i'm ready to break another leg.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
A list (not of the linked variety)
I've been to Essel World. Had almost all my limbs in a cast (fine it was the same hand twice, in my world that counts as two hands). Now if only there could be a small flood outside my house that doesnt kill anyone, because of which we'd have to get out in tiny rowing boats, i can let go of my childhood and start on the business of fulfilling my adult fantasies.
Err... you know what i mean. Although i do wish they could be as clear cut as the childhood ones. The wooly fuzzy ones that i seem to be stuck with, very difficult to put a tick against one and say, yes, this one is done.
Being well on my way to the big 3, a friend asked me if i had a things to do before i turn blah list. I hemmed and hawed because obviously i hadnt thought of it like that, as yet another deadline. (I'm impervious to them, deadlines, they come and go with barely a blip on my existence). He then contributed to the first item on the list - make a list of things you want to do before you turn blah.
Its a good one, that one. Because making a list means you see a future. In which you have the power to do things. Something to work towards, something to tick mark. It means having moments best described by this awesome song from Ru-ba-ru:
यह जो पल, यह पल है सुहाना
जिंदगी जीने का एक छोटा सा बहाना
So yeah, i'll make a list.
Err... you know what i mean. Although i do wish they could be as clear cut as the childhood ones. The wooly fuzzy ones that i seem to be stuck with, very difficult to put a tick against one and say, yes, this one is done.
Being well on my way to the big 3, a friend asked me if i had a things to do before i turn blah list. I hemmed and hawed because obviously i hadnt thought of it like that, as yet another deadline. (I'm impervious to them, deadlines, they come and go with barely a blip on my existence). He then contributed to the first item on the list - make a list of things you want to do before you turn blah.
Its a good one, that one. Because making a list means you see a future. In which you have the power to do things. Something to work towards, something to tick mark. It means having moments best described by this awesome song from Ru-ba-ru:
यह जो पल, यह पल है सुहाना
जिंदगी जीने का एक छोटा सा बहाना
So yeah, i'll make a list.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Yaay! Blogpost material
Says one of the many messages on the cast on my leg. No one should be surprised that i hurt myself, but this one is cool in so many ways, where do i begin?
1. I didnt stumble. Or fall. Or miss a step. And yet within the span of a second there grew a lump of the kind they show in the mug-shots of goiter patients near my ankle.
Happened while i was skipping down the stairs, headed for our Friday bash. Friends gathered around. No one was sure how big ankles really are, so i was made to remove my other shoe so we could compare. Result was non-zero. Went back to my seat and waited for the burger that my Friday bash was reduced to.
2. Was driven to a big hospital in a big car by two big and very kind people.
My uncle tells me i missed Lata Mangeshkar being hospitalized there for a knee replacement surgery by a day. Damn.
3. Where i was wheeled around in a wheel chair! Something about a guy pushing you from behind, i dont know, it gives you a feeling of meeting the world head-on. Bring it on, i wanted to yell to all the curtains we went through, i'm ready for you! Genius that i am, i mastered operating the thing in the two minutes he left me alone with it. I'm ready to yettu podu on it, that is how comfortable i am.
4. One of the doctor's assistants came to look at the x-ray (in which my flat feet dont look flat. At all). He peered at the x-ray, squinted at it, tilted it at all angles, went a few steps back and started at it from a distance and in general spent a lot of time looking for whatever he was looking for in it. I wanted to tell him, what with me being such an expert on all things medical having watched Grey's Anatomy AND House AND err... Scrubs, dude, thats not how the cool ones do it. Just a glance tells them whats in there. He then gave up on the photograph and moved on to the real thing. Poked around the swelling for a while. I really should have accidentally kicked him while i could.
5. I got to see, live and exclusive, the cast being put on my foot! The PoP strips, the cotton, the bandage, the tub of water, all of it! The two other times i was casted, i woke up with the cast. This time i saw the miracle. Blessed are my eyes.
(Reminds me of the first time i had stitches. I was so mad it was my upper lip that was getting stitched. I wanted too see! The second time around it was my finger, i am ashamed to admit it was too chicken to see).
I did embarrass myself by asking him whether my jeans would come off once he put on the cast. I was worried, the only alternative i could see was to live in them for 15 days. It didnt occur to me they could be cut, until one kind man asked me if they were my favourite. Then i wanted to cry.
6. I got crutches!!! From the hospital, on rent, because that foot has a ligament torn and is not to be disturbed until further notice. So much advance thinking and execution is really not me. I am that person who would reach office, keep one foot out and then wonder how to climb up two floors without using the other foot. I dont know what got into me. Whatever it is, i hope it stays.
7. Got delivered home in a car by another kind soul. Even though i'd told them about the cast and the crutches, it was pretty dramatic. The 10 meters i had to walk from the car to the door, i did it with such ease and grace and speed, i could have been walking on four legs all my life.People said so.
8. And now for the best part. The cast has writing all over it! The few hours i spent in office before i could be transported home, i spent guilting people into writing messages on it. Because comments are so precious, i have to reply to them!
Lalit/Mohsin
<insert-name-of-process-that-does-all-the-work> was killed" - Genius. Pure genius. If only it was mirror imaged.
Zarin
Yaay! Blogpost material - Nothing but.
Charuta
Gym mein mat aana - Sob. Naheeeeee! Please? I promise to run on just one leg!
VijayG
!Work from home - too late. People missed the "not" and decided i was desperate enough to write it down.
Pushkar
Get well soon :) - like Zarin said, someone had to say it! Also its the only one my grandfather "got" and it made him happy. So thanks!
Charuta
You are NOT Claire :O - Again, genius. Yes, i know that now.
Nishant
Nerve Panic - Heh. Thats one problem we wont be asking you to reproduce!
Thats it folks. See you in two weeks with hollow armpits, etched out biceps and one very fit leg.
1. I didnt stumble. Or fall. Or miss a step. And yet within the span of a second there grew a lump of the kind they show in the mug-shots of goiter patients near my ankle.
Happened while i was skipping down the stairs, headed for our Friday bash. Friends gathered around. No one was sure how big ankles really are, so i was made to remove my other shoe so we could compare. Result was non-zero. Went back to my seat and waited for the burger that my Friday bash was reduced to.
2. Was driven to a big hospital in a big car by two big and very kind people.
My uncle tells me i missed Lata Mangeshkar being hospitalized there for a knee replacement surgery by a day. Damn.
3. Where i was wheeled around in a wheel chair! Something about a guy pushing you from behind, i dont know, it gives you a feeling of meeting the world head-on. Bring it on, i wanted to yell to all the curtains we went through, i'm ready for you! Genius that i am, i mastered operating the thing in the two minutes he left me alone with it. I'm ready to yettu podu on it, that is how comfortable i am.
4. One of the doctor's assistants came to look at the x-ray (in which my flat feet dont look flat. At all). He peered at the x-ray, squinted at it, tilted it at all angles, went a few steps back and started at it from a distance and in general spent a lot of time looking for whatever he was looking for in it. I wanted to tell him, what with me being such an expert on all things medical having watched Grey's Anatomy AND House AND err... Scrubs, dude, thats not how the cool ones do it. Just a glance tells them whats in there. He then gave up on the photograph and moved on to the real thing. Poked around the swelling for a while. I really should have accidentally kicked him while i could.
5. I got to see, live and exclusive, the cast being put on my foot! The PoP strips, the cotton, the bandage, the tub of water, all of it! The two other times i was casted, i woke up with the cast. This time i saw the miracle. Blessed are my eyes.
(Reminds me of the first time i had stitches. I was so mad it was my upper lip that was getting stitched. I wanted too see! The second time around it was my finger, i am ashamed to admit it was too chicken to see).
I did embarrass myself by asking him whether my jeans would come off once he put on the cast. I was worried, the only alternative i could see was to live in them for 15 days. It didnt occur to me they could be cut, until one kind man asked me if they were my favourite. Then i wanted to cry.
6. I got crutches!!! From the hospital, on rent, because that foot has a ligament torn and is not to be disturbed until further notice. So much advance thinking and execution is really not me. I am that person who would reach office, keep one foot out and then wonder how to climb up two floors without using the other foot. I dont know what got into me. Whatever it is, i hope it stays.
7. Got delivered home in a car by another kind soul. Even though i'd told them about the cast and the crutches, it was pretty dramatic. The 10 meters i had to walk from the car to the door, i did it with such ease and grace and speed, i could have been walking on four legs all my life.People said so.
8. And now for the best part. The cast has writing all over it! The few hours i spent in office before i could be transported home, i spent guilting people into writing messages on it. Because comments are so precious, i have to reply to them!
Lalit/Mohsin
<insert-name-of-process-that-does-all-the-work> was killed" - Genius. Pure genius. If only it was mirror imaged.
Zarin
Yaay! Blogpost material - Nothing but.
Charuta
Gym mein mat aana - Sob. Naheeeeee! Please? I promise to run on just one leg!
VijayG
!Work from home - too late. People missed the "not" and decided i was desperate enough to write it down.
Pushkar
Get well soon :) - like Zarin said, someone had to say it! Also its the only one my grandfather "got" and it made him happy. So thanks!
Charuta
You are NOT Claire :O - Again, genius. Yes, i know that now.
Nishant
Nerve Panic - Heh. Thats one problem we wont be asking you to reproduce!
Thats it folks. See you in two weeks with hollow armpits, etched out biceps and one very fit leg.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Words that wont leave me alone
Tujhe kya gham teri rishta
Gagan ki baansuri se hain
Pavan ki guftgu se hain
Sooraj ki roshni se hain
They make me want to fly, these words.
Daraaein daraarein hain maathe pe maula
Marramat mukkadar ki kar do maula
Did you see how beautifully he just called Him a mechanic?
Thoda sa resham, tu humdum
thoda sa kurdura
kabhi daud ja ya lad ja
ya khusboo se bhara
Tujhe badalna na chahoon ratti bhar bhi sanam
Bina sajawat, milawat, na jayada na hi kam
I earlier heard bina sajawat as tera sajawat. I liked it better then. Even your imperfections are perfect.
And, zari wala neela aasman. Sigh.
If i can create something that beautiful once, i'll quietly go.
I did briefly fantasize out loud about becoming a writer a couple of days ago. In it i alternate between writing goosebumps-inducing poetry and lol comedies like TBBT. People around me soon bought me back to reality. Didnt exactly help because i then went on to dream about becoming the President of the Unites States.
Gagan ki baansuri se hain
Pavan ki guftgu se hain
Sooraj ki roshni se hain
They make me want to fly, these words.
Daraaein daraarein hain maathe pe maula
Marramat mukkadar ki kar do maula
Did you see how beautifully he just called Him a mechanic?
Thoda sa resham, tu humdum
thoda sa kurdura
kabhi daud ja ya lad ja
ya khusboo se bhara
Tujhe badalna na chahoon ratti bhar bhi sanam
Bina sajawat, milawat, na jayada na hi kam
I earlier heard bina sajawat as tera sajawat. I liked it better then. Even your imperfections are perfect.
And, zari wala neela aasman. Sigh.
If i can create something that beautiful once, i'll quietly go.
I did briefly fantasize out loud about becoming a writer a couple of days ago. In it i alternate between writing goosebumps-inducing poetry and lol comedies like TBBT. People around me soon bought me back to reality. Didnt exactly help because i then went on to dream about becoming the President of the Unites States.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Conversations, imagined or otherwise
"There is no running away from it, we are all connected" he says."Remember those Venn diagrams we used to draw in school? With the hatched portions where A meets B? Why do you run away from the intersections?"
"The intersections are never me", she says. "A meets me, but its always more A than me. I'm not saying A does it on purpose. But i just make it so easy."
"It doesnt have to be that way, you know? Their lives are as connected to yours as yours are to theirs. Look at the intersections as a means to spreading your influence, to getting what you want while still staying connected. Its not a battleground where only one can survive. Not always."
"I dont know", she says with a confused shake, "its been a while since i've seen the positives of caring or being cared for."
"The intersections are never me", she says. "A meets me, but its always more A than me. I'm not saying A does it on purpose. But i just make it so easy."
"It doesnt have to be that way, you know? Their lives are as connected to yours as yours are to theirs. Look at the intersections as a means to spreading your influence, to getting what you want while still staying connected. Its not a battleground where only one can survive. Not always."
"I dont know", she says with a confused shake, "its been a while since i've seen the positives of caring or being cared for."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Growth
Seems like just yesterday that i helped that little kid open an email account. Today, he tells me about torrent sites that work better than the ones i frequent. Watching someone grow up is supposed to be bittersweet, but i dont see it in this. (As long as i get my fix of illegal entertainment, i suppose...).
What is bittersweet is first proudly watching parents from another generation brilliantly incorporate the Internet into their everyday lives. From Solitaire to Yahoo Messenger to online share trading to blogs. And then watch them use it to research illnesses that plague them and the ones around them. For a generation that is bought up to see doctors as the last resort, someone you go to with one kidney hanging out, i'm not sure this empowerment will do much good.
What is bittersweet is first proudly watching parents from another generation brilliantly incorporate the Internet into their everyday lives. From Solitaire to Yahoo Messenger to online share trading to blogs. And then watch them use it to research illnesses that plague them and the ones around them. For a generation that is bought up to see doctors as the last resort, someone you go to with one kidney hanging out, i'm not sure this empowerment will do much good.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Coming soon to a multiplex near you
If you live in Maharashtra, that is. Yes, i acted in a move!! My debut film! How cool is that? So what if its a regional one, Maharashtra is a pretty big region. Before i get into the business of crowing about it, here is the scene.
Version 1:
(aka Mahabharata as told through the eyes of the cockroach that lived on kurukshetra grounds)
Atul Kulkarni and some heroine open the glass door and enter the hall, talking. The camera is on them, but doesnt seem particularly interested. It wanders around, taking in the background. And then, it sees me! And two others, walking the perfect walk (okayed in one take, okay?) Torn between staying faithful to the principal characters and following the more interesting ones, the camera totters for a bit. Convention wins, and the camera settles on the principle characters with an audible sigh.
Version 2:
(aka Mahabharta, the official version)
Atul kulkarni and the heroine open the glass door and enter the hall, talking. General people walk around in the background. One of them is me.
I had decided, after the shoot, to be all calm and mature and indifferent about it. But it wasnt much fun. Now i dream of me on the movie poster, me getting my big break because some director watching the movie notices my face in the crowd (a friend put this one in my head, yes, i have friends like that), me in filmfare interviews...
Some highlights (because i'm too bored to join sentences)
- out of the 5 chosen ones, only 1 or 3 were Maharashtrians depending on how you define the term. So the assistant would describe our role (there was a whole lot of describing going on, given that all we had to do was walk) and would not have walked two steps when the one non-Maharashtrian-no-matter-how-you-describe-the-term would pipe up - Kya bole usne? I was sure there would be some MNS types around who'd get us all kicked out, insisting on Marathi crowd in a Marathi film.
- Reliable sources report that the one non-Maharashtrian-no-matter-how-you-describe-the-term is the current favourite for the best debut by a non Marathi actress in a Marathi movie award. Yay! Another party!
Almost forgot. Its Mukti. If we make it to the finals, i will insist you watch.
Version 1:
(aka Mahabharata as told through the eyes of the cockroach that lived on kurukshetra grounds)
Atul Kulkarni and some heroine open the glass door and enter the hall, talking. The camera is on them, but doesnt seem particularly interested. It wanders around, taking in the background. And then, it sees me! And two others, walking the perfect walk (okayed in one take, okay?) Torn between staying faithful to the principal characters and following the more interesting ones, the camera totters for a bit. Convention wins, and the camera settles on the principle characters with an audible sigh.
Version 2:
(aka Mahabharta, the official version)
Atul kulkarni and the heroine open the glass door and enter the hall, talking. General people walk around in the background. One of them is me.
I had decided, after the shoot, to be all calm and mature and indifferent about it. But it wasnt much fun. Now i dream of me on the movie poster, me getting my big break because some director watching the movie notices my face in the crowd (a friend put this one in my head, yes, i have friends like that), me in filmfare interviews...
Some highlights (because i'm too bored to join sentences)
- out of the 5 chosen ones, only 1 or 3 were Maharashtrians depending on how you define the term. So the assistant would describe our role (there was a whole lot of describing going on, given that all we had to do was walk) and would not have walked two steps when the one non-Maharashtrian-no-matter-how-you-describe-the-term would pipe up - Kya bole usne? I was sure there would be some MNS types around who'd get us all kicked out, insisting on Marathi crowd in a Marathi film.
- Reliable sources report that the one non-Maharashtrian-no-matter-how-you-describe-the-term is the current favourite for the best debut by a non Marathi actress in a Marathi movie award. Yay! Another party!
Almost forgot. Its Mukti. If we make it to the finals, i will insist you watch.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Which version wins?
A teeny tiny funny thing happened yesterday. And since nothing feels really real until i tell my blog about it, here i am. (Which reminds me, i havent yet told you i acted in a movie, have i? It be coming right up!) Only, inspired by people i told it to, my head made up two versions of what happened. I couldnt pick one, so i present to you,
Sunny side up
She leaves at the end of a long, exhausting, not particularly fruitful day, bike keys in one hand and the phone in the other. In the parking lot, she puts the keys in her ear and looks for the opening in the bike where the phone goes in.
And here is where it becomes really inexplicable, she turns the keys.
Dark matter
She leaves at the end of a long, exhausting, not particularly fruitful day, bike keys in one hand and the phone in the other. In the parking lot, she puts the keys to her ear and looks for an opening in the bike where the phone can be inserted. She turns the keys in her ear, hoping she wont have to resort to kick starting. She tries the key a few times, but it seems stuck. She tries jamming it in. There is blood, but it doesnt quite register. She is just trying to start the bike, why would there be blood? She falls over, wondering where all the pain is coming from. Just as she passes out, the phone begins to ring...
Sunny side up
She leaves at the end of a long, exhausting, not particularly fruitful day, bike keys in one hand and the phone in the other. In the parking lot, she puts the keys in her ear and looks for the opening in the bike where the phone goes in.
And here is where it becomes really inexplicable, she turns the keys.
Dark matter
She leaves at the end of a long, exhausting, not particularly fruitful day, bike keys in one hand and the phone in the other. In the parking lot, she puts the keys to her ear and looks for an opening in the bike where the phone can be inserted. She turns the keys in her ear, hoping she wont have to resort to kick starting. She tries the key a few times, but it seems stuck. She tries jamming it in. There is blood, but it doesnt quite register. She is just trying to start the bike, why would there be blood? She falls over, wondering where all the pain is coming from. Just as she passes out, the phone begins to ring...
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Happy new year and other nonsense
One glimpse of your own mortality is all it takes to stop making fun of the old.
No, that wasnt about death. But about empathy. So from today, i'll stop with the jokes. At least for today. I dont think i can control what comes out of my mouth very well any more. Strange, i always saw myself as one of the quieter ones, as one who had to make efforts to speak, not make efforts to shut up.
More such discoveries about myself are leading me to believe that i havent been stress tested enough. While my behaviour during normal times is well defined, there is no saying where the bugs will come out from once you bring on the stress.
Happy new year was celebrated with the discovery of not a bug in my code, but a monster.
No, that wasnt about death. But about empathy. So from today, i'll stop with the jokes. At least for today. I dont think i can control what comes out of my mouth very well any more. Strange, i always saw myself as one of the quieter ones, as one who had to make efforts to speak, not make efforts to shut up.
More such discoveries about myself are leading me to believe that i havent been stress tested enough. While my behaviour during normal times is well defined, there is no saying where the bugs will come out from once you bring on the stress.
Happy new year was celebrated with the discovery of not a bug in my code, but a monster.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
