Didn't I Spot You Around the Corner

Its been a year of ups and downs, and as it comes to a close, I dare say a year of private victories more than anything else, there is a staunch acceptance of the future and an understanding of life's purposes.  I am at peace brother with what I have come to accept, and that is what I deserve too.  Its been hardwork too, I think mostly its been the thought of getting from point A to Point C without giving it too much of thought and of course remember there are enough destinations in life where one has to take a detour too.  The purpose of life becomes much clearer as we dwell on what could have been and what is, mostly about where we are going to be headed, and as the purpose becomes much clearer there is without a doubt absolutely a finality that at the end of the day there will be something that would have been achieved.

My dreams are my own, no one can take those away, even today, the world that I create for myself is my own and I can fairly easily say that we have to build on our thoughts and carry them to successful completion.  Life is about personal touches and applying them to business may be a touch harder, however we always begin with the personal touch.  Businesswise its been a good year as well, come to think of it, if there was a better year it was in 2001, so all in all a fairly comprehensive year.
Thunder and Lightening, Showers and Rain, No gain without Pain.

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The Rewards of Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat

My eyes are opening wider and wider as I read the newspapers today.  Its almost as if the new world we all dreamt of is almost upon us, from the coffee shops to the bookworms around the world with travellers with laptops writing, reading, talking and interacting, we are entering a new age of transparency and around the world. The do's and don'ts of the world are being redefined, nothing we do or say is beyond the law, we are the law onto ourselves and therefore most importantly we are the people who decide where one takes a big step towards more free flowing information.  In a free world neither money nor power will decide what information is available to the people, the innate honesty of folks who decide our thoughts and destiny will be up for everyone to see, we shall be in a position to see them and applaud them.

We always get what we deserve in life, didn't I tell you about the shoe thrower in Iraq who got gifts and all kinds of monetary benefits for having done that.  What however is a little known fact is that he was also jailed for a little while and a term behind bars can spoil any ones life.  There are various aspects that one has to understand, when such an event occurs in a oppressed country to a visiting president, there will be thoughts of whether to reward or to suppress this very thought process and information, well we know that this would have never happened in a country which is free.

Take for instance our own very nation, as an honest citizen of this country, I know for sure it would never take place here, there is no way that we would tolerate such an incident and therefore it is safe to presume that it doesn't happen in India.  There are a variety of factors that go into this process, one for instance the law of the land is so above anywhere else, we have systems in place and take pride in following them.  This surely is a country where ordinary citizens like me can work, talk and progress.  Honesty is much appreciated and the only source that is rewarded.  The other day I walked down the road and saw this group of people fighting, it was election time, and there was a huge queue to find the ballot boxes, people were fighting to cast their votes, I was so proud of my nation right there and then.
Seen behind a scooter spare - Mera Bharat Mahaan

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Crazy Night to Behold

This might be what you are looking for, see I got into this lovely car and it had all the makings of a mystery story, I was looking at these two people who are beautiful and talented, one a little older than the other, actually a  lot older she is a teacher in school and the other somebody just into college.  Both women looked stunning that night, it was a night to behold, Diwali night is always just awesome, the place is lit up and the night shines like bejewelled bride in darkness.  There are so many stars to compliment the bride, like the thoughts of soothsayer saying go milady, your destiny has been re-written by the best there is, forget your past and enjoy a night like never before.

The older lady stayed just a couple of doorsteps away and she was a singer and a superb one at that, voice of a nightingale and rhythm of a piano.  She handles the strings so well it was a sight to behold, I wished for her to stay in my life forever, she was a wife to me, and just that, my emotional needs were taken care of whenever she was around.  The younger one, like a daughter who stayed a little further away, that anyone would dream of having, loving and emotionally intelligent and most of all a loyal companion through sorrow and joy.  The best combination I could ever have that night, and this was the night that people spoke of as the homecoming of the hero King Rama and his wife Sita to their beloved kingdom.

The car moved on and I looked from one to the other and said to myself, do I even know them, they look just the same, like Taj being seen from far at midnight, but do I even know what must have happened in their lives, the mystery still continues...................
I shall be back when the time is right.

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Poetry in Motion

Isn't there something about the way that Ferrari does its design, as a matter of fact isn't there something in all of Italian designs? Me think yes, there is something to be said about them, it probably runs in their blood, ever see an Italian women walk down the street, even the sweeper lady or just a vagabond would be dressed to perfection sporting high heels and perfumes, even for a stint to the grocer.  I find that fantastic, for instance, if I had to go to the medicine shop I d probably be in my sneakers and shorts with unkempt hair.  Its all in the design I am told, if you are made in a certain way then you stay that way for your life.  Think about it, when I say that without intervention the whole world would be just the way it is.

The soul just bleeds when its world is taken away, as a matter of fact any illness or life changing events lead to this.  Take for instance this person on the flight to North East the other day, he was undergoing the torture of a lifetime, I was with him till Guwahati, and the journey was a tear jerker all the way.  I know how mean a comment that was, I was wondering for somebody who had been working for an NGO, he looked very strict.  It so happened the demeanour can be misleading, within a few minutes on to the flight he was talking about his life, the work that he did and how much sorrow it gave him.

He didn't tell me in as many words but I knew instantly that he was God fearing person, from the teeka on his forehead to the amrut around his wrist and the tears were all real, the air hostess kept bringing him tissue and I kept telling her change my seat, flight was full so I hung around till it landed. I would normally have coz. I didn't have a parachute, otherwise I was on my way down within the first half hour.  All this godly talk made me a little weary and I started looking at the air hostess, she was a beautiful lady, marbled out of albaster, which I don't particularly like, but this one was a beauty.  There must have been 60 people she and a companion were serving and took me all but 5 minutes to get her attention, asked for tea and she served it and asked me whether I wanted lunch.  I obviously said yes.  The tea was absolutely fantastic and before you knew it my companion was already on the chapter where he had picked up this dead kid from the road and taken it to a burial and how much the parents had been crying.  I would have loved it if she was sitting besides me and not him but that was OK.
Sometimes you get what you think you don't want, so stop thinking

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Did I put some Tea on the Stove

I am a big admirer of Sir Winston Churchill, there was a time that there was an anti Churchill movement, and the movement was tempered by the so called orthodox nationalist who believed that we must criticise everything British, Amongst the points put against him included, he was an abuser of alcohol and died of syphilis.  All this though refuted logical 'read the "Their Finest Hour", it still begs to be seen when the Indians are going to accept him for what he was.  Most of his legends are based over the ocean, since those days Brittany was the queen of the sea, as its warships and submarines and mariners soared to their highest glories, he continued to write and wrote some really superb articles that elucidated his thoughts to the fullest.

Here was one of his best pieces, called "I d drink Poison"

Lady Astor : If I married you I d put poison in your coffee.
Reply         : If I was married to you I d drink it.

Quick witted and a master strategist, he had a reply to everything that was thrown at him. When he became the prime minister in 1940, the famous speech that he gave in the house of commons is still legendary.  "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat reverberates to the hearts of many even today.  "Never Surrender" another one of his classics, I could go on and on about the man, he was a gem and a patriot.
Of Men and Brave hearts

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Twenty Ten - The year of the Lab

I  moved into a new house the august of 2007, fabulous place with lots of area and great terrace space, sprawling lawns and large rooms, all the house was marbled and the kitchen was just fabulous.  When we move into a new house there are so many things to do, including furnishing it, designing equipment and all the other paraphernalia that goes around a sparkling new place.  I can't believe that I am actually staying here now, I have seen so many of these places that when I see a good house I know its for keeps.

Houses are like people, we play for keeps, unless its like a friend of mine who keeps changing things because he likes doing so, new cars every other month, new phones, new girlfriends, do you think he is got the Midas touch ? And Midas touch it must be, I love this philosophy of life, to live by the day.  Three years into this new house, which probably wasn't as new after 3 years, there is still the smell of leather chairs and what looks to be absolutely new carpet, the dining tables and the chairs have the mahogany polish feel to it, and the marble as usual sparkling new.  What has faded is the paint and the walls, they tend to wear off, there are cracks in some of the walls and what seemed to be a largish staircase is run down by the constant movement of furniture up and down.

I was an interior designer in my past life, my knowledge of how things fit into the place still exists with me in this life, there is probably no better person who understands perspectives and views as me.  I stand on the terrace ruminating right now of what life will bring the next two years, whatever it will be I am ready for it and there is acceptance, almost fatalistic, but knowing myself I tend to believe a trust in myself and the people who I have come to accept as my own now.

Too many people sometimes has life cluttered and that in itself might not be a bad idea if I was for instance to believe that I was depressed, however I just don't like talking too much now, am at peace with myself and my thoughts are overpowering my own insecurities.  I might say that I am comfortable with myself and what it will bring.
Two years is what I have given myself, see you in 2012.

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Bright Shiny Objects

"Good artists copy," said Pablo Picasso, "Great Artists Steal"

Now here lies the root to all creation.  This would obviously imply that God himself was a thief, after all him being the biggest creator or all times.  There is artistry in every  one of his creations, I was the other day at the National Museum and saw such beautiful creations of the human mind, that I couldn't believe that there was anything more beautiful God could have created than the mind.  Combined with the neurological sensor he gave us, and we have the ability to put into shape what our brains can only design.

Nothing better than good design to followup a thought process.  Its all in the design, if I wanted to sell software, then the first process would be a great design methodology followed up by a set of developers who would create the software.  Its all in the design my friend, and what better way to highlight than giving an example of what happened to the other day.

A group of people writing code are developers and a set of people designing software are called architects.  Meet Prabhu, one of the developers I work with, intricately detailed and meticulous person, very thoughtful about his software and everything in his life.  His hobbies were supposed to be geeky gifts, however this guy is an ardent reader and photographer.  Phenomenally gifted I would dare say he would benefit any organisation.

Deciding how to design has never been a problem, but remember the first time you tried to play Sudoku, getting all the parts together to fit, well, was it easy ?  For me it was, I did everything in the first go, I played the Rubik cube and all the mathematical puzzles, was in the maths Olympiad and won a medal.  My point being, so did that qualify me for Designer title.  Actually weirdly enough, if I had continued in the same vein, probably be a scientist at the Bhabha Atomic Centre.  What got me to this stage is the artist in me, I am poet and writer, I have seen life closely and though I believe that "life can never be a part of a systematic design", I see design in life.   For instance, the other day, I spoke to a team member with a drastically reduced productivity, so instead of analysing this the way a team manager would, I decided to do the one thing that nobody wanted to do.  I volunteered to visit the person at their house to see if all was well.

Thinking of the times that I have done things that I didn't want to, actually things nobody wanted to touch, is uncountable.  All my life seems to have gone into doing things that nobody has wanted to do.  Think of the time, when my sister was pregnant, I took care of her baby, or the time they wanted somebody in the house and all of them went partying, I was the one who did it, remember the time we took the kids partying and I stayed behind in the lawns to clean up the place.  Its always been me who does the dirty job.

Stable relationships could be a sign of either a near perfect loop or an infinite redundancy.  Check for instance what they did with Princess Diane, gave her a life of riches and a time to die.  She was probably the best there was amongst the monarchy - classy, royal, accessible and time limited.  Can you see me smirk in sarcasm at the last word there, I wish for people like her to be limitless, but their very usefulness makes them wear out soon.
Our time here is limited, make it count.

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The Break of Dawn

There is something going on around these parts, people are just not sane, take for instance this morning, somebody woke me up at 4:49am, the door bell rang and by the time I got to the door the person had already left.  Left my mind in a quandary, not that I don't get up early, I am a morning person and am up and running at around 5am or thereabouts.  Its getting colder around these parts and the cold has everything to do with wanting to sleep just a little bit longer, that last wink out of the twenty winks a day is the sweetest one.  The blankets are adequate to cover for the cold, in a few days I will be slipping under the duvets forgetting about my summer life and preparing myself for new tests ahead.

Speaking of tests I have been wondering what I could be doing come November, been writing to my hearts content for a while now and by the looks of it will continue to do so, writing is something that has given me immense pleasure, be it winter or summer I have continued in the same vein.  People have been criticising me for writing things that make them get up and take notice, friend of mine believes that I need to be more critical of myself and find out where my skills are as a storyteller.

Jarring noises are hard to fix in the morning, like a blaring horn or the sound of loud music can be disconcerting almost like the crow with the chatter of the myna bird and butterfly.  Butterflies I haven't seen for a while, I wonder where they disappeared to, though I hear the myna everyday.  When the sun is out and the green leaves have flowers overlying them, the butterflies used to make their appearance thoroughly surprising the on lookers.  The red and orange coloured ones as also the yellow ones with their small curvy wings flapping till they disappeared amongst the foliage probably to hover over another flower.

I have angels watching over me, and this ones particularly kind to me,  I live in a border town where the sound of shelling wakes us all up everyday and then it goes on through out the night.  The lull of the late night only gives way to more of it towards the early morning.  Romance is going out of my life listening to these sounds day in day out, almost like a thumb that sticks out they barge into our lives without any respect for the privacy.  Miss my friends now, in this place there is nothing to do except write, I am seeing a new facet of life, and it saddens me.
She laughs at me, God, you have to tell her she is mine.

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Straight From the Heart

Speaking of Khap Panchayats, what is the basic tenet behind the system, does the Panchayat require the sanctity of the villages or village elders before it can decide on the fate of a runaway couple.  Take for incidence, the logic behind the statement that came out a few days back that blamed the eating of Chowmein behind the incidences of rape, what came to me instantly was that Chowmein carts and alcohol go hand in hand and therefore it possibly means that when young guys, not to say that sexual misdemeanour is restricted to young men, have the aforesaid savoury they are bound to have alcohol and that would give them heightened sex related activity in their brains.  Its also been heard that Chowmein causes imbalance in the harmones, now all this may not be logical but there has to be reason why folks would malign this fantastic Chinese delicacy.

In all my life as a youngster in Delhi, friend of mine introduced me to Chowmein, remember the cart that used to be on the streets of South Extension, in fact there were two of them.  We would hop on to a bus everyday and take a 20 minutes ride to it, and share a plate of the now infamous Chowmein, a little bit of vinegar added for flavour and we would hog on the delicacy, everyday the same routine, dinner has been served and you shall have only Chowmein.  The cart owner was very magnanimous since he saw these two young guys coming in everyday, he would give us an extra serving on our plate and both of us would talk about his generosity on our way back in the bus.  The feel of Delhi of those days, especially in the winters was simply amazing and leaves me with a bitter sweet taste even today, bitter because I miss those days and sweet because I am proud to be associated with this city of those days.

Now going back to Chowmein and its non beneficial affects, I have a feeling that this has majorly to do with that yellow sauce they serve with it, it has a very sour taste and gives a very pungent smell almost of the kinds of gutter water, and the old folks who throng the cart especially like this sauce, if I dare suggest that you are old, not in the wrong way old, but old category,  you might want to try this sauce, and the correct way to do this is to go ahead take a spoonful and put the dip in your plate then using your fore fingers take a wholesome bit into your mouth, the smell should be slightly pungent and you should feel oddly uplifted and energised.  Then put your helping of the thin or thick long strings of the food that you are eating and sprinkle the sauce adequately all over, this should now energise your groins as well and you could be well on your way to the Khap misadventure.
Mind It, We Sell Poison too.

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Love Doesn't Come Easy

Delhi University has an amazing affect on ones psyche, the thoughts and patterns are unique to whoever has studied there.  Remember distinctly when I was there for a few months, everyone thought that Prince was the name of a dog and that Michael Jordan was no different from the famous MJ.  Speaking of MJ, Santana comes to Delhi or rather Noida, Delhi is too staid for any musician.  All we do here is just sleep and snore, no thunder and no roar.  Hey, doesn't that rhyme, isn't that what I was looking for all day today, the rhyme.  In the beginning there was the university and then came the faculty.  Once the faculty, consisted of some be-speckled and very traditional looking gentlemen and women, but looks are always deceptive and each of them had a story to tell.

Chemistry was never my favourite subject till I turned 16, and then the bells began to ring in my head, telling me all the formulas and bonds.  Didn't the valence bond of a carbon atom consist of 4 bonds formed with hydrogen atoms, or didn't Carbon Monoxide cause respiratory problems in creatures.  Chemistry, chemistry and chemistry was all that there was there in my mind till I saw the light of the day, it wasn't as much fun in reading as it was understanding it, I could fail the exams and yet still form bonds with the hydrogen atom.  These are the bonds that are most stable when under natural conditions.  Now take the example of the Hindu, a religion of compassion and tolerance, what happens when the average Hindu is pitted against the die hard enthusiasts, well he becomes immune to all that they bring into his life, the hardliners and the thrusters, because he/she himself is a go getter and that is not to take away from the basic tenets that say that "thou shalth compete when your own is at stake".

Now taking you away from chemistry and the philosophies of the average Hindu, and this would bring us to a friend of mine Stephen who is a Christian but like most modern men has no qualms of mingling with the other communities, of course there lies a condition that "thou shall inherit what I bequeath you", so if I brought along with me an apple pie, you must share it and say the Gods name Jesus.  Stephen doesn't believe in too much in God as he believes in sharing wine and Rum cakes, his thoughts like most Christians of his age in India is that he is above it all, as his brothers and sisters have seen it all in the West and also because of the literature that he reads he has this "Know it All" attitude.

The only reason that I speak of the Hindu and Christian is because I dare not drag you to the wars of the Khap panchayats of Haryana, my thoughts are restricted to what I see in my world and no more.  The Khap panchayats may actually ask for the head be shaved off a women for mixing with the opposite sex that the panchayat doesn't approve or perhaps even restrict young girls from skirts to schools and as always annul weddings that do not find its sanction and send out a dictat against the runaway couple.  Death doesn't come easy if you run against the Khap, they are perpetually on your tail and I fear I have spoken longer than I normally do and on topics that I might not know too much.  After who am I, just an ordinary citizen of the largest democracy in the world.
All is not well now, take care buddy

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Cake for the lady and a bouquet of flowers please

In so much as they would like to say, we are what are love make us.  I have been privileged to have known love and that to closely enough with a number of women.  By choice or otherwise, when the time is right, we just go ahead and wipe the slate clean, which is to say, I go ahead and forget my past heartbreak and look for a new love.  The last this happened to me was about less than a week, I was getting tired of my life, was looking for something to spice up life, thats when I spotted this smart young lady, talented, compassionate and very pretty to say the least.  It was just a matter of time before the past was forgotten, all my thoughts were wiped clean, and before long came this thought that this women by the looks of it could influence my life.

They come and they go as they please, care not for the hearts they break, it is just important for her today to feel loved.  And who am I to deny that, I will just go on falling in love again and again till the birds come home to roost and beyond that maybe to. Isn't it funny how well we know each other, despite that the fact that we have known each other only for a week.  In all matters of heart, infact I would say, in all matters go with your heart, walk with your heart over your head and you are going to be fine.

Where is this all leading to ? .. Isn't there anything called true love, true love exists in my dreams and thats where this is all leading to.  My dreams undeniably pull me towards them, everytime I relive a moment my mind pulls me inexorably to the thought, the gesture, the wish or the moment that just made the world look so real.  This is it, and truly speaking the moment of truth when you know that there is love after love.
Moments, and then some brother, you got some to share with me ?

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The Makings of a Modern Man

Haven't been as crazy as I was since I was growing up, and thinking about it, as friends of mine would testify there was nothing I didn't attempt.  I was stark raving mad!!!   I often wonder what made my mind tick, and as anyone would admit, it was a scary proposition to be the apprentice to people from different backgrounds, as scary as the confusion epitomised by "too many cooks spoil the bath".  So if S S Sharma ji would ask me to write novels and short stories, this other older friend of mine Juhi, a neighbour, would probably push me into maths, and my hockey coach Pargat Singh, wanted me to be a forward despite the fact that I told him I didn't run that much.  So caught between the trichotomy or maybe even a sought of a slumgullion of things, I chose a few things I was proud of doing.  So I chose physics over everything else and of course played cricket since I was told that I would be good at hockey.

Going back to hockey, it is a fine game, with twenty two men running and when I say running I really mean literally running against each other.  It is by far the hardest game I have played, has the roughness and toughness, and slick and sophisticated as well.  Having received some stick wounds on my knees and chin I know how rough it can get, even with a referee around, and I used to get thirsty as hell, running for 70 minutes non stop is fairly easy for somebody like me, but I believe playing hockey in those days may have turned me into a lazy bum.  Play at school and then just sit at home. Something I still follow today, work hard at work and come home and play the dead man.  I am emotionally too tired once I get back from work and no amounting of cajoling and coaxing makes me make a move.  I realise this may be only my mental block but it is something I enjoy.

An apprentice typically goes through a crisis often because of a direct confrontation with the master, is it true would you admit that if the apprentice is a good learner, may out pass the teacher in his / her chosen field.  Speaking of choices I would chose love over everything else.  Where and what has this love given me, probably nothing if you think about it, a poor lonely man trying to make it sound glamorous or chivalrous, or maybe if you think about it, gave me my world and continuous to gives me every time I fall in and out of love.  Women, they are just fantastic in their in the make up, is it the glasses of water that they drink that makes them cry so much or do they cry to get an emotional advantage over men, whatever it might be, I just love it today .... mmmmmmmmm
Sleep brother, because I got it all covered today.

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A Love Called Peace

When I take you on a ride,
Hang on to it with your life,

For I believe what sets
must come up the next morning

My son, I believe you are the one
who will take this bandwagon on the shores of glory

Trojan I have seen many
purpose they solve and methods they use
Only us today know where Cleopatra is
I will get her once my karma is done

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