Sunday, 30 September 2012

The Art of Loneliness

There is something to be said about folks who have this innate ability to just live there life without bothering about whats happening in the next room forget about the next door. Have this friend of mine, she is so cool and happening, loves cats and nose rings and has this totally awesome attitude to life that I think comes from having studied in an Islamic institute in Delhi.  Well, not that I know her too well, having interacted with her only a few times, I do know that what she believes in she totally believes in.  Take for instance, cats, I had a disagreement of sought over whoever heard of people keeping cats in India.  Here its only dogs or chickens and that too because chicken make a fine meal. 

I know that wasn't funny but I have this mood off and on where I can't just keep my claws off anyone, be it an innocent chicken.  Well, so I had this disagreement of kinds and what came out was that there are a lots of people who adore cats.  Well good for them, and let it not be said that I don't love them but but but, I mean, what about me ?  Take for instance how many people love me and that figure is startlingly low right now, after all I have been such a downright uggghhhhhh that mostly people run away at the sight of me.  So why should I bother about the chicken, when I have me to bother about and that suffice to say is a huge responsibility.  If for instance, I didn't have me to bother about then all the cats in the world were welcome to my domain, I would feed them and take them out for walks, umm .. whoever heard of cats going for walks, they just go up a tree or drive you up it with their attitude.  So would humour them and even pet them, they love being scratched where all of us do. 

And so, with that in mind I came to the conclusion that I should be listening to what she is saying about cats provided she considered me a TOMCAT and adopted me.  So hey people I am up for adoption, any takers just say YO and I will consider it a deal.  I will allow you in all my docility to feed me, give me a bath once a week and pet me provided you are gentle.  In return for all this you may think I will cure you of this near fatal disease you seem to have contracted - Loneliness.  God bless and Amen
Wanted - a loyal and engaging companion

Saturday, 29 September 2012

Whats binary in Delhi is tertiary in Meerut

Never travelled much in UP except for the hill stations, and this happened last week, on a fine day and it was a thursday, I set off with a friend to the badlands of Meerut.  And believe me badlands is completely my mental makeup, nobody told me that it was so, my mind has always thought of Meerut as a city of thugs and crooks in every nook and cranny.  Its funny how mass media 'read movies influence our thought process, how print media too sometimes leaves remnants of its biases in our mind.  In any case as I stepped out of delhi driving, the first thing that came to me was do I have all the papers, after all stories of UP cops resound everywhere.  Fortunately I did have the papers and everything else to make this a legal trip.

Let me tell you about this friend of mine, a fine guy, with a sparkling brain.  He could make you believe that 2+2 could actually equal 1600 and not 4 and then who is to say that it wouldn't actually be 1601, so a firm believer in God and good company too, he spoke non-stop for good 2 hours.  Before we knew we stopped for breakfast midway for a quick cuppa and a small bite at a non to remarkable restaurant but still a reasonable bite.  There was this daughter - mother combo who we met at this place, they seemed to be searching for something and I almost offered them a ride to the next stop which was supposed to be Meerut, but my sharp friend refrained me from saying anything.  We wished them a good day and moved on.  All the drive to Meerut is littered with and literally littered with colleges - Medical, Dental, Engineering and Management.  This was supposed to be a business trip and the potential that I saw there was incredible.

Hit 4 colleges before Meerut, before catching up with two more friends, had lunch and started the journey back as phone calls from the office were corrupting the mobile landscape.   Made it back to work at 5 pm.  Chatted up with the boss and updated him on the trip.  He didn't quite get what had happened on this trip, but it had been a remarkable trip all the way and back. Tell you more about this later ... :-)
Got it .. yes man totally

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

End of Innocence

Last I was on the net, I had a dream that came crashing down.  Two days back, got into a chat room, I think Delhi - 1 and was seeing an increasing number of people writing about massage girls available for hire, or even people exchanging numbers of their girlfriends.  I was wondering what the heck is going on, I have always enjoyed chat rooms as a good source of entertainment but never have I exchanged girl friend numbers or tried out a number that offered massages with the implication of sex hidden behind all of the talk.  There was a guy called, Victor Shah who was offering massages by Indian, Russian and Kazakhistan girls.  Don't know what came into my mind, I called this guy up, and straight up the first question I asked him was whether he was a massage guy or somebody was maligning him by floating his number on the internet.  Pat, came the answer, sir, that is my number and I am offering massages by these various nationalities.  Genuine sir, and nothing else.

So, you may ask whats so surprising in this, isn't this what we see happening everywhere nowadays ?  Well, that might be true, but for me, as somebody who grew up in South of Delhi, what was surprising was that this network is being operated from the prime locality in Delhi of Hauz Khas.  Flats are rented and massages happen, and obviously more than an innocuous massage happen, right under the nose of the Delhi Police.  Hauz Khas for those of the folks unware of its location, is bang opposite IIT Delhi in South Delhi.  A very posh locality with even a ethinic village selling all kinds of handicrafts to its name, called Hauz Khas Village.  Some very popular designers, including M.F. Hussain, have their studios there.  M.F. Hussain before he died created controversy by depicting in the nude paintings of Hindu Goddesses, this work of his is supposed created at the Hauz Khas.  Therefore, in the light of these things it is fairly fictitious that this area of Delhi is used by the flesh traders.

Speaking of fiction,Prometheus, the movie hit town this friday and the public turned out in large numbers to see the  movie.  Remarkable movie, I am told, with the right sense of drama and mystery.  It is scary some people have suggested.  The last science fiction that I watched was sometime back, and it was the award winning "Avatar".  Though Avatar was also a 3-D movie, this one, Prometheus is even more remarkable.  Remember when I was a kid I used to read Isaac Asimov novels with glee, reading them page by page, cover by cover.  The Delhi Public Library had a fair number of these novels and later on the Chelmsford club library as well.  Science fiction is really in my blood, and by the time the famous Star Trek series began to be aired on television, color television came to India around this time, I was already on my way to becoming a Mr Spock.

When will the Delhi Police, wake up, or are they going to just sit and watch as the "worshippers of mammon" destroy one beautiful place after another.  Carnality leads to a complete demolition of mental faculty, mindless pursuit of the flesh and a cherubic disposition mildly mirrored by all the anti depression medicines.  When children wake up everyday to a world run by material world, where gross images and visuals distort their normal growth, the end of their childhood is hastened, they tend to grow up faster leading to larger psychological problems later on in their adult life.
Is this the end, End Of The Innocence.

End of the Innocence - II

Things are hard as they are and to fathom why somethings happen sometimes need us to visit the past not necessarily our own but just the [PAST].  Sometimes its prudent to avoid it and mostly just visit it to find a course of action best suited to the modern present need.  Take the instance of what happened this morning, a whole lot of messages went around informing us of a tragic mishap, I wondered and wondered, how this could be, that what we were seeing in the message was what had actually transpired.  It took me the whole morning of figuring out the do'es and don't of my mind, slow as it moves and leaps and bounds that it takes occassionally on getting the right signal, and finally I did know this to be a fact.  Was this really a nightmare I was living this morning or was something really happening that transcended the dull throb that a nightmare leaves you with.  It turned to be true and left me in tears as I comprehended the meaning of death when it touches us. Still in shock.
God be with the departed one on his final journey