Beautiful is an understatement on the Mandolin Sreenivas concert, I had the privilege to attend yesterday. 40 years of sadhana on the mandolin has given him such ease with that small instrument, he can create magic with it and enthrall an audience which included the Kanchi Kama Koti Peethadhipati Sri Jayendra Saraswati yesterday.Not for a second I felt his fingers should stop, as he started with, "Tatvamariya tarama" in the raga Reethigoula followed by "Panchashath peetha roopini (muttuswamy dikshithar)", "mokshamu galada(tyagaraja) ". He announced this song was very dear to Sri Jayendra Saraswati and I could see that as the sage sang along with the mandolin in a mode of bhakti that is rarely seen.
I particularly liked the song "Venkatachala Nilayam" (PurandarDas) in the Sindhu Bhairavi raaga. I enjoyed it as much as U.Sreenivas enjoyed playing it.
There are a few moments in life when you feel refreshed, free, spiritual, humbled, all at the same time. And if you don't have to pay for it, its bliss!

I suffer from short term memory loss. I vaguely remember 26th Nov. Some gunshots in CST, Leopold's, Nariman, Taj and Oberoi. Some dead and some alive. Then again, I can recall just a few glimpses of the 3rd Dec protest at the Gateway. A 35-something lady telling me not to forget anything. A 40-something man holding the Indian flag and yelling at everyone to come back on the 1st month anniversary. I can still hear his hoarse voice.
I was there at the Gateway on the 26th Dec, one month after the Mumbai attacks. I was one of the 30 odd fools, all of whom collectively suffer from short term memory loss, given the case that all of us forgot we were Indians and that at the end of the day, "khaana-peena-sona" is what matters the most for us.

On the 3rd Dec, as I still remember, albeit my mental condition, there were around 10-20 groups or organizations, all claiming to be working to bring the administration to books. Only one turned up a month later at the gateway.
Jaago Mumbai or Jaago India, they were not sure on the name.Its okie though, names really don't matter. When Jaish = Lashkar = Jamaat = ISI = Jihad, I don't care if Jaago India = Jaago Mumbai. At least they said they are trying to create an umbrella organization to support all individuals and groups fighting terrorism.

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Aamir Khan in making me so aware of STM. Or was it Dyslexia? Oh Memory loss at it again!!!

Quote a "Quote"

Very few people have the courage to do "only" what their conscience allows them to do. Rest only flow with the wind.
-Speaking Tree (TOI)

Thank God, we have stopped behaving like idiots. Pulled out of the cricket tour.
Some apathetic people who still believe cricket can do peace, need an urgent, complete neurological checkup. I've been listening to this cricket story from my childhood days, and its there for everybody to see how much it has eased the tension(which is more Indian in my case).
Why spend exorbitant amount of money on the cricketers' security? An Indian tour will generate a lot of money. Dawood will bet and become richer by multiple times and use the same money to do you know what.
Pak needs to revise its TO-DO list more than it needs an Indian Tour!

Neck Deep in trouble, we are. I have been waiting for a national address or at least a widely covered press conference from the PM, or the President assuring citizens, but that is not happening. Instead, we see a reluctant new Home Minister, saying there were lacunae in the security setup.
Thanks, Mr. Chidambaram for enlightening us.
What Next?
Where is the action plan?
How many days does it take to devise one?
How many more bodies will we count?
How many days after the Sept 11, did the US take to bomb terrorist outfits in Afghanistan?
And, did they take our permission?
How many times will we parade around the world with our proof of Pakistan involvement? Don't you know nobody cares?
Why demand Pakistan to take action? They cannot set their own house in order!
Why go to the UN? Who is the UN, by the way?
Why ban organizations? We banned LTTE, I can see how much that helped. The US banned Al-Qaeda. They must be laughing their asses off somewhere.
Come on, Mr. Chidambaram, you are one of the most learned men in the parliament, a Harvard alumni, We have our hopes, expectations.

Loved this article on rediff. http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/dec/10mumterror-8-
things-india-inc-govt-must-do-against-pakistan.htm


Here, in Mumbai, two people seem to be completely missing from the political picture. One is Raj Thackeray, and the other of course, is Bal Thackeray. Right after Babri Masjid was demolished, Thackeray, gave a provocative speech from his residence, Matoshree, calling for ethnic cleansing of Mumbai. This time, he is quiet, not because he is old, but because he knows and fears like all of us, if they can come to the Taj, Matoshree is not so far off!

I being a vegetarian, feel strongly against killing animals for consumption. Numerous arguments have been put forth by many non-vegetarians to convince me, most common of them being,
"khake tho dekho..you wont leave."
"without eating you cannot comment."
and of course, how can I forget the worst excuse I have ever heard of,
"what do you think your ancestors ate?"
"I love non-veg food", comes last most of the times, curiously.

So, today, on Eid-ul-Azha(the day of sacrifice), when religious groups debate on "what is the most 'humane' way of animal slaughter", I don't know where to hide. There are videos on YouTube showing animal sacrifice in the famed Kamakhya Devi temple in Assam.

Here's the difference between animal slaughter and animal sacrifice.

Animal Slaughter Or Halal :
A deep swift cut done instantaneously and quickly to the blood vessels of the neck (the two carotid arteries which carry blood to the brain and head, the two jugular veins which bring blood from the brain back to the heart), the trachea (windpipe) and the esophagus (gullet), but the central nervous system (the spinal cord) should be kept safe and intact (not cut).This deep, large cut through all the blood vessels of the neck causes acute blood loss and hemorrhagic shock.

Animal Sacrifice Or Jhatka:
There are Hindu temples in India as well as Nepal where goats and chickens are sacrificed. These sacrifices are mainly done at mandirs following the Shakti school of Hinduism where the female nature of Brahman is worshiped in the form of Kali Ma and Durga. There are lots of village temples in Tamilnadu where this kind of sacrifice takes place.Hindu way of animal sacrifice is called Jhatka where head of the animal is severed completely by a single blow of heavier sword. This is considered as the most merciful and painless death for the animal as the spinal chord and blood supply to brain are severed immediately.

Two completely different ways of killing animals in the name of religion, to reach heaven, to attain moksha.
On top of it debating which one is more "humane", to legitimize the act.I totally sympathize with the debating parties over the confusion in selecting the winner.

Gross. "Ethics" goes right into the gutter. Oh, did I forget, that never is an issue anyways, Naa?

6th Dec 2008

I want to discontinue writing on terrorism..I fear I will become an expert and obviously, this country doesn't care for any..

Some folks around here have used almost all of the 10% of brain capacity they are entitled to use, to give the less equipped junta, some more nightmares. For instance, look at this derivation, which is apparently being circulated via e-mail, with subject as "Next Blast".

13 May -------- JAIPUR

June -------------------

26 July------------ AHMEDABAD

August ---------------------------

13 September------------ DELHI

October -------------------------

26 November--------------- MUMBAI

December ----------------------------

13 January ----------------- Where Next?
Be Very Careful and Cautious.


Somebody applied software logic and arrived at this theory.No wonder we couldn't prevent 10 people from ravaging Mumbai.
Whoever this person is, has already assumed nothing is up next in December.

Brilliant..Can we please rise and emerge out of slumber and stop displaying our very "Own", very "cute", mob mentality..
Arrrgh!!!

More than the audacity of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai last week, it is the callousness of the people surrounding me, that irritates me like hell.

Like,
when I and a few of my friends came back from Gateway, after protesting, one of them asked me if I think this kind of protest will work. Don't you think most of the people there were more of a show-off? Everything will be forgotten, he quipped.

Why did you go then, if you were not sure?Can't you at least hope? I shouted at him. I said a lot of other things which I cannot write but, I stand anguished, period.

And like,
when in an open discussion at my workplace, regarding areas of improvement, I pointed out that it was important for every organization to ensure safety of employees and train them against terror attack and fire, I was snubbed aside, and was told that the terror situation in the world has become so gross that the onus lies on an individual to decide what to do in case of such a mishap.
I stand pained by this candid behavior, period.

How things would have been if those commandos had acted individually?
Well, what can I say...

Messages, Momentum, Movement..Mumbai on 3rd Dec, 2008

I am going to the Gateway of India today. I will take a train to Chatrapati Shivaji Terminal. And I don't want to imagine what I am likely to feel.

I am going, not because a lot of people will be going, but because I want to see what misinterpretation of religion and mindless hatred can result in.

I want to stand at each place and say a small prayer, that, though it is difficult to fight, because we are fighting nobody but minds of people who stand with clear conscience after doing such acts,
We will not give up! Join me and a lot many like me..

Enough 's enough..really?

2nd Dec 2008

Last night as I dined with my sis and her friend at Papa Pancho in Bandra, we hit upon the terror topic, again. I went on with the Enough is Enough song when my sis came up with something I didn't ponder upon so far.
She told me she thought I was over reacting because this time it was the "Taj" and the "Oberoi" and not some nondescript place like an institution of justice in Guwahati where scores of lawyers lost their lives barely 2 months back..
No one said enough is enough then..
She argued that it is the presence of foreigners including Israelis, among the dead, that has forced Rice, rush to India to calm down soaring temperatures.
The dead included employees of the Tata group and some of the highest tax payers in India, in fact, the entire area of south Mumbai which came under fire contributes to a chunk of taxes in India.

And so, enough is enough?

No one seems to be talking about Malegaon or Lumbini Park in Hyderabad or the local train blasts in Mumbai or my beloved Karol Bagh in Delhi anymore..Why? Have the perpetrators been caught?Those lives were inferior or unimportant or what? Aren't those places equally symbolic of our democratic values? If we had acted then, could we not have averted this?
From 1993 to 2008, does it take 15 good years to say enough is enough?

I could only manage a feeble.. u mm..m mm..yes dahling..you have a point ..

In the mean time, plugged into TV to watch Sanjay Dutt sharing his feelings about the attack and shameful scenes of our heroes(really??), the commandos being taken away in a BEST bus after the ordeal ended. And just how we reacted, blocked traffic when our cricket team won the 20-20 cup..Real heroes, who? Dhoni or Major Sandeep..Do we understand the difference?
Weep, my country, weep..there is no respite..

3WW?

This is India's WTC?..3rd World War?..

Last night a friend sent an SMS which had content like.. saluting the brave soldiers who died fighting the terrorists. Jai Hind! Pass on this message..At least we can do this much..

Yeah, we can forward a text message so that mobile operators can cash in on the SMSs sent.
At least we can do that..

We can allow businesses in most parts of the city to go on as usual, even in this situation, so that our clients elsewhere in the world do not get affected. We can later claim to be "the Mumbaiites", from a city that has an undying spirit..
At least we can do that..

We can allow news channels like India TV to show any crap they can get their hands on.Of course, we are a democracy, we can claim to have an independent media which can run after victims for bites on the terror they'd have faced..
At least we can do that..

We can create websites and portals for webbies to light virtual candles, to pray, for peace, for souls who lost their lives, for those who lost their loved ones..
At least we can do that..

Give me a break..
We need to grow up..At least we can do that..

27th Nov 2008

The other day..one of my neighbours wanted me to change the keeping place of my dustbin, and I fought for my space rights..I accused him of invading my privacy..After all I have the right to
decide where I keep my things and who's he? An outsider? Who gave him the authority?

Today, I feel helpless, restless, sleepless..

Yesterday, someone invaded my home.. "Mumbai" has been my home for three years now..Someone ruthlessly..killed my family, my friends, held captive my fellow citizens..snatched my peace of mind..trampled the serenity around me...took my freedom away....

I cried..but that does not make me feel any better..because thats so unlike me..I feel like holding each one who is responsible for this by their collar..okie frankly..by their hair..and beating them black and blue..till they say they wont dare to do this again to my country..to my India.

But..where do I go? whom do I accuse? The terrorists, who have ambiguous identities? or the politicians, who are more interested in Vada Pav business? The State police, who is not even equipped to fight what is actually, international terrorism? The Center, who calls an EMERGENCY CABINET MEET 14 hrs after the attack? The Maritime Security? The ATS?

Please tell me where should I go? Whom should I ask? Listen to?

Can anyone answer my questions, please?

Through all this mayhem, I remember a song I learnt during my schooling, ( Paloma Blanca was a country fighting from freedom)

Ooola Paloma Blanca....I am just a bird in the sky...
Ooola paloma blanca....over the mountains I fly..
NO ONE CAN TAKE MY FREEDOM AWAY.....

But,

Is anyone listening?

19th Nov 2008

Since last 1 week, I have hardly slept. Not that I watched a horror flick.

I had my encounters with the "genus rattus".
Of course, my roomie was party to the party.
One pretty moonlit-sunlit dawn was "rattled" by my roomie's scream.She was so convinced that a frog had just jumped over her leg and leaped to the other room. I, the brave one, was so convinced that she had a bad dream.
In any case, "the frog" had leaped to another room, we decided to close the door of our room and sleep.
Then, I saw the "genus rattus" right beside my clothes pile, and let out the most hysterical vocal noise one can produce, which scared the creature to death, and it refused to come out of the closet till morning!

Barely two days later, I was accused of suffering from hallucinations by my
roomie, for, from every eerie noise to a flutter of paper, I felt we were in for another encounter.
And yes!! there it was. Dancing merrily upon my CDs collection. This time
there was no screaming. We dealt the situation so professionally, called
the watchman and sent the creature away hastily.

Now, we keep the sliding doors, shut tight to suffocation to avoid any more disturbances. And I hate that so much!! I need some fresh air!!

17th Nov 2008

Here's an excerpt from an article published in the Guardian, and I am so disappointed with it.

"Democracy in India is too immature to produce a President Obama. Although the country has had a Muslim nuclear scientist as president, a Sikh economist as prime minister and a Roman Catholic woman as leader of the biggest party, these are merely outcomes of patronage. All were picked to be leaders, and only Sonia Gandhi enjoyed a popular mandate to be prime minister, one she could not accept, as the Hindu nationalist party threatened to campaign against her on the basis of religion. It would be like white American politicians saying they could not co-operate with Obama because he was black.

Indians love the symbolism of Obama, and many compare their impressive Dalit politician Mayawati with him. In politics, symbols are important. A black man in the White House is powerful stuff, just as a Dalit woman as prime minister would be in India."

I wish the writer had chosen a neater and better premise for comparisons between Obama and Mayawati.

Obama is a Harvard Law School pass out. Mayawati may be does not even know what Harvard is. He is fully qualified to lead an influential country such as the US.

Only being Black, for a change(that too after 200 years of independence) , or being a dalit is no qualification for ushering in a "Change".

ITC Dakshin

14th Nov 2008

Hey everyone..just in case you are hungry, just in case you feel a little southie in your tongue,..check out ITC Grand Maratha's restaurant "ITC Dakshin"..completely authentic south indian food..heaven!!!

Mr X and Me

13th Nov 2008

Long Long ago, once upon a time there was a Russian traveller. Forget about the name because we will take another century and high level hybrid genetic mutation to be able to spell that russian's name.
Lets call him "X".
So, this X landed in India to explore the country, at that time more densely populated with trees, tigers, leopards. Yet, India, minus the Cyber giant tag, intrigued him very much, or so he says. His account made him go into history books. So,what did he like about India?
Thats the point I tried to explore.

X was very fascinated by "Paan". He happened to meet an English lady whose husband was with East India Company. So he asked her, "What is this red-blood like thing that every man and woman seems to be chewing all the time?"
The lady explained, "It is 'the paan'. Its not red in colour. Its actually beetle leaf wrapped inwards 4-5 times with some nuts/tobacco, and some limestone to give the red colour". Very impressed with the description, X asked if he could have one.
The lady wrapped 2 paans and gave one to X. What he felt, in his own words, "My head jolted and swirled.It was spinning.My tongue felt dry, bitter. Everything around me zoomed. I felt nauseated and felt I would collapse."

I dont know what the English lady gave him, but this seems more like describing an indigestion problem. Ironically, paan is good for digestion.

Anyways, I too feel the same way about paan with a difference though. I feel the same way for the "paan spittle". My feelings are worse than X's. Sometimes I think all these spitters are an organization out to terrorize others who dont spit. On the face of it, schizophrenia is more serious than indigestion. Its time they put my name in current affairs.

Its a mystery why X did not include paan spittle in his account. May be, he got used to it. I will never buy the story that people did not spit in erstwhile India. Worse, may be he too started to spit. You know, be a roman in rome kind of stuff..

Next time somebody asks you what you are likely find in all corners if India, you can be safe from being labelled ignorant. Just say 'paan spittle'. Tell them, everywhere, from staircases to lifts, from buildings to monuments, from trains to train stations, from autos to buses, from every old hoarding to a new one, 'Spit' rules!! So much for our colourful culture and traditions!!

MTI

3rd Nov 2008
MTI
You know Engliss is a bhery dipphicult langubhage. Looks very Zimblle though.Should go to an
engliss medium isskool to learn it.It is the bijiness langubhage of the wurald.I am lerrning.Yee,Bee,Cee,Dee...Yen,Yum, yand all.BHat?? bhat did you say jest now? bhat is MTI?
MOTHER TONGUE INFLUENCE

Sporty Enough R U?

2nd Nov 2008
I was looking at this pic of this woman..Sarah Palin..and somebody was telling me she is a hockey mom.That set me thinking.
Mom who plays hockey..mom who can teach her kids how to play hockey..mom who watches hockey
on TV..mom who..ok..wow..

But,
what has hockey or mommys or hockey mommys got to do with elections? , I fail to understand.
But,
my being a so dumb will not affect the American Presidential Elections.Lucky guys they are
:-)

Back home in India, I found a serious problem. The President of India, Pratibha Patil's life
was under threat from some anti-national elements, while she was visiting Pune recently.
Aww, with all due respect to the Jai Maharashtra spirit, Pune is in Maharashtra and Pratibha
Patil is quite the Marathi Manoos, but thats a different story.

So, as I was reading this piece posted on a news website, I happened to scroll down to
comments section, where a reader cheekily commented, "Who knows her(Pratibha Patil)??
hahaha".
Well, of course, she is not cricket mom or crickety mom or whatever.

And then, may be Mrs Gandhi can be the "hide n seek mom", and Mr Raj Thakerey can be the
"Catch me if you can dad".
Mr Advani and Mr Chiranjeevi can be the "marathon (read Rath yatra) dads", although
Chiranjeevi needs some real practice.
Mr Somnath Chaterjee can be the "dog in the (wrong) bone dad". Mr Laloo can be the "cricket
dad", given the fact that he has the honour of having a cricket team right inside his house.
Mr Modi and Ms Banerjee can be the "Catch-Throw Dad-Mom" respectively.
Ms Mayawati can take the title of the "refree mom". I coudnt find anything else for her :-).
Add to this list we have a whole Lok Sabha of circus dads and moms.

One of my dear friends is pregnant and has me worried. She wants to be a "Tennis mom", and I
dont want her to be the next president !!!

Famous Five

13-Oct-2008

5 questions i dread !!


1. Where do you belong(Native place)?

I start mumbling, jumbling, fumbling, the moment this question is thrown at me. I think i am too open minded for this. I was born at a place, brought up at two other, i work somewhere else, and I have loved every place i have been to. I have thoroughly enjoyed the transition. I guess I look stupid when I answer back with a smile or a grin, or tell people that i dont know.

2. Aur batao.. Kya chal raha hai?

I hate it to the core. Its disgraceful and boring by all means. It has an advantage though..Ask me this n i will leave you alone .. :-)

3. Are you still working with 3i?
As if its sacrilege!!! ..Yes I am with 3i that is untill the next monday..

4. When are you getting married?
As if i would entertain you when i hook up with someone..

The last..

5. Hey..You are looking happy ..dont you think you have put on some..i mean a little weight recently..??
Pure terrorism i say.. I start running..in the opposite direction.

who d **** is alice..oooppsss...bhaujji???

10th Oct '08

Sorry guys..i had to write this..i have taken an enormous responsibility of "shristi ki raksha" from this disaster.. just saw this mother of all ****ing movie and cant wait to share some of the most innovative dialogues hindi cinema has ever produced..ok...so here we go... the opening line and the best.."yeh kahani us samay ki hai jab samay khud ek bachcha tha, infact samay tabhi paida hua tha" ..(oh yeah??)..
Next your super hero is treated with words like "pishach ki aulad"..the villian gets a better deal.. and is the "khoonkar asur"..(so i wondered ki fight kya hai !!.. )
..then there is priyanka who has been given one hell of an intro scene..yeah she drives in a stunning yellow ferrari to save the pishach ki aulad..ooops the super hero..and all steam becomes water when she opens her dialogue with .."bhaujji ne kaha tha.."...yaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwnnnnn
Not to mention the brilliant and multicoloured "woh raaz ..raazpur ke chauthi chattan ke basanti dvar ko laangh kar prapt kiya ja sakta hai"..tht deserves an oscar man...
and one for the villian..and by this time i really needed some help.."kabhi kabhi upar se sab kuch saaf nazar aata hai"..(what the **** is that suppose to mean???)
Then there is the perennial.."shrishti ki raksha ke liye"..
but on the whole i thought abhishek did a fanatstic job..he hardly spoke..thts the catch..a dumb superhero..got it?? the villian defended himself well..at least he kept saying "gustakhi maaf" throughout the torture..and bhaujji will agree with that.
:-)

Maine Gandhi ko nahi mara..

2nd Oct'08

Maine Gandhi ko nahi maara..

I am having a pizza. Something is not right but. I am feeling kinda sick. I am eating and thinking. So i dont know which one's the culprit. Bad.. cant sue the pizza outlet :-).

if you ask me what i dread the most right now..well, it is the US elections.how and why, you might question..it scares me when people around me discuss obama and palin more than gandhi..when questions like did gandhi die on oct 2nd hit me..i feel my stomach churning.

When i see enormous posters containing colorful prose in praise of raj thackerey as he goes about protecting the marathi manoos, against not a single poster of Gandhi, the pizza that i just ate, launches a desparate Quit Lalita movement..I gulp down some water and the use of "water force" crushes this uprising.

I hold Gandhi in high regard. His simplicity is his most endearing quality. Simplicity in thoughts, actions and appearance. His quest to get closer to god, his being a stickler for cleanliness, his struggle to find purity, his belief in truth, his struggle for ahimsa, his idea of satyagraha as a weapon, the value he gave to education, his detest for textbook knowledge, are all qualities, at least, i struggle to inculcate in myself.
So when people tell me gandhian ideals no longer relevant in today's contemporary society, the pizza does a "Nach Baliye" again.

I read his autobiography and was pleasantly amazed to find Gandhi ate nonveg food for a while and stole money for smoking. And he quit, only when it dawned upon him that it was doing no good to him. While today's "contemporary society" debates the ban on smoking so vehemently. And so he calls his autobiography "My Experiments with truth". How much more non preachy can anyone be? His transformation from a shy and gullible man into a strong, determined leader is truely inspiring. He spoke against every evil that exists even today.
Racism, Caste based violence, wars, socialism..give me a break, whats not relevant now? Infact, I think, the need to stand up and speak against all these issues is more so than ever before.

But strange are ways of this world..where any form of aggression gets media coverage. Only a heart breaking image of a man pleading for his life in the Gujarat riots can shake up this nation perhaps? How many movies do we have on Gandhi? On peace? On satyagraha? We have simply not understood the Mahatma.
When he says "Ahimsa is the farthest limit of humility","there is no god above truth", I am left intimidated by their meaning.

So on this Oct 2nd when my colleague tells me that the moment gandhi asked to show the other cheek to a person who slaps you, he almost ruined India, I rush for the washroom..the pizza's demand for independence is now out of control.

???

why am i here??

I am a self acclaimed lucky, young girl living in the fastest city in India-Mumbai. I have the freedom to do anything I want, good parents, good education, friends, ..decent job, money..phones, laptop..and other little things that are supposed to make life easy.

And yet, I feel incomplete, insecure, restless, a peculiar combination of feeling overworked and underworked at the same time..oxford does not have a word for that as of now..or may people call it "confusion". And to add this, sometimes i dont feel anything at all..There is no sense of accomplishment..no pride..nothing that would make you feel top of the world.
everyday i sleep restlessly with the knowledge that the day that has just passed..was just another day of running here and there, completing(or at least pretending to complete) tasks assigned to you, arguments, misunderstandings..
So what am I supposed to do? was i born to do these things day after day and one fine day pass the baton to my offspring and die(peacefully???) what exactly is the purpose?
where is life headed to? better jobs, fatter packages, bigger homes, more and more clothes, eventually marriage and childern..? what is that one thing that can make me feel complete, what is that one thing, which, when i achieve, i will stop complaining..??
where do i let out my energy, my ideas, hear my heart beat and feel the pulse in the air??
why is that i feel i can do so many things at a time and yet i am bound to my chair morning to evening?

Mumbai Meri Jaan

what a week it has been!!
Just the other week, I was feeling restless over having nothing "happening" in my life. To top it I watched the movie "Mumbai Meri Jaan" and ended the week on a rather introspective note.
I was blissfully unaware that up above somebody had scheduled a roller coaster, exhausting week for me and Sharada (my friend and room mate).
It all started nearly a month ago when both of us decided to shift our accomodation to a house of more comfortable size.
we informed our flatmate Anita about the same .I was happy that we finally made our mind to get rid of her. we consulted an estate agent, who showed us a house, and we fixed it immediately.
We paid him the "token" along with PDCs for deposit (dated for 1st of Sept) and
11 months rent. We spent the rest of the days (till 28 Aug) in nondescript activities which ultimately led to the "why am i here" writing the week before.

29 Aug - 1) I contact the estate agent. he assures me that every thing will go smoothly and we will be able to shift on 31st.
2) Anita tells us in the night that we will be required to pay 10 days rent for Sept, since we told her on the 10th of Aug. (Talk about logic!!)

30 Aug - 1) I start to call my agent to enquire about the vacation of the house, whitewash and other things promised to us. But this guy suddenly vanishes. We panic but reassure ourselves that there is time and he must have been busy.


31 Aug - 1) The bomb is dropped. I and sharada get the shock of our lives when the agent (who reappears as smoothly as he disappeared), tells us that the we will get possession of the house not before 3rd Sept. Various unbelievable bolywoodish reasons are supplied to us.

For the first time we come to know that there are 3 agents involved in this fiasco and that our agent is the dumbest of all!! (Talk about luck!!). All three of them were struggling to resolve their misunderstandings and rent the same flat to two (about to be poor) fellows.
2) Enter, an army guy, working with Reliance ( Talk about versatality!!), the tenant staying ( actually oversatying), in our much fought for "new flat". He explains that he has not yet received his deposit. He vows not to leave till the money enters his account. The owner vows not to give him the money till the army guy vacates the house and hands over the keys. ( Well, talk about deadlock!! Databases anybody??)


1 Sept - 1) The bomb is dropped again.Anita tells us in the night that she spoke to the owner of the house and he explained to her his logic of tenancy and that she wants us to pay the entire rent for Sept, whether we stay or not.(Talk about Illogic!!)
2) I and Sharada get abusive(sort of, we actually vowed to learn a few dirty
words and reserve them for the next time!!) with the agents, we get panicky as our cheques get deposited to the owner's a/c.
I mean picture this..We paid the money, we gave our "notice" or whatever it is to Anita, the rent agreement with Police NOC is ready and yet we dont get the house!! ( Talk about helplessness!! )
3) The night is spent explaining to Anita that she is acting mad and that we in the end will be forced act like her ( what ever that means!!)if she insists that we pay the whole rent for the old house. I could not help but remember the witty film Khosla ka Ghosla and that night I spend in making sinister plans to counter ANita's.

2 Sept - 1) We are literally after the lives of our "3" agents and the army man. We start to cook all sorts of stories in desperation and he finally relents. He vacates the flat (ooof!!!).At the end of the day, I am given a worn out key to a flat that is white washed at Guiness record speed.

So yes... we finally moved in on 3rd Sept, but the game is not over( read Anita). A lot has come out of this experience and a lot has been lost too.
1) Estate agents and house owners believe that money grows on the trees for Engineers(especially the unmarried lot).
Sure I and sharada earn handsomely, but does that mean any sum can be demanded from us? All your desparate pleas of not being able to afford does not make a difference to anybody.I dont know how, but there has to be an end to this menace.
2) Even if you have all documents in place, even if you are legally entitled to have a thing, nothing is guarenteed. You can still end up on the footpath.No body is reliable in Real Estate. They simply dont know fair deals.
3)Losing -- I and Sharada spent 2 sleepless nights wondering how could Anita be so rude to us despite the fact that we have never had a single altercation in 2.5 yrs.So we lost a lot of sleep and Anita lost her character and the little bit respect that Sharada had for her.With her act my ex room mate's education, morals, decency, etc has gone right out of the window. Its awful she cannot understand when and where not to apply software logic. I feel awful too because I still have to deal with her.

In the end, I cant help humming the song..zara hatke zara bachke ..yeh hai bambai meri jaan..

Soul soup

16-Sep-08
Human mind is biased, pretentious, easily influenced, masked, sometimes alarmingly negative.
The mind works in a routine way. I am saying this because most of the times my mind works that way and also because i hv observed people in this regard.I met this guy when he joined the infamous WebPDM team. I immediately labelled him a dud. My
analysis was pure.Simple.Very convenient. He looked like that!! I never treated him with an ounce of seriousness. He cannot hear well and I cared the least.
But life is strange. It plans well. It changes course when it feels enough is enough, this girl needs some lessons, needs to experience and learn from it. So i and this dud landed in the same sub team. i had to help him out in any technical
problem he faced, which made me cringe. Unfair, i thought, to make me sit with a sweaty, stinking fellow, who needs to be explained everything loudly and mutiple times over.And hence began our association, with me throwing tantrums, I showed hell of an attitude.I really dont know if he remembers this, because he never complained.Thank god he did'nt. I was assigned to deal with him, now when i look back it was pretty much the other way round, emotionally.
Over a period of time, I mellowed down. Listened to him more than before. I started to ask him to help me out in certain issues. Stopped cribbing (big deal!!). Its an amazing transformation. I no longer see his quiteness as a flaw. I find it refreshing sometimes.
I mustered enough courage to tell him that he should change his toothpaste and that he should consider using a deo. His response was "arrey tho pehle bolna tha naa". The readiness to correct one's flaws(physical or otherwise) is a damn tough thing to do and i really admire him for that.
He decided to tell me his story from the time he could remember.
Its a privelege, i would say. If one trusts you to an extent that one volunteers to share his/her innermost thoughts,feelings, difficulties, then you can go treat yourselves because you have been good to one fellow human being. Its a responsibility.
So one fine evening we met up at CCD and it took a good 3 hrs as he gave me his life's best kept secrets, feelings, insecurities, ups and downs. It is an unbelievable tale of sheer grit, determination, goodness, success, of faith in an image of god tht he found on a dusty road.
His life's account made me nervous because i dont know how i would have handled or if at all i could handle a physical disablity, a crunch in financial resources, all at a time.
It made me feel ashamed because the person I labelled a "dud" was actually an immensely responsible man. He has always kept an account of his expenses, to this day, which shows he has a calculative mind with the understanding of where he is required to divert his money.
It made me feel thankful to god, my parents for giving me a life as this.
It taught me to never evaluate a fellow human being solely on the basis of appearance and
tht there is a purpose behind every creation in this universe.
It made me realize tht each human being is born to do different things and their
personalities develop in accordance with tht. So it was unwise of me to expect him to revolt or shout or be aggressive at the drop of a hat.It is unwise of me to think he can behave like me.
It made me think of my perception of the human mind. The mind certainly does not deserve the adjectives i used when i started off. Its the environment around us, the education, the values, that are biased, pretentious, easily influenced, alarmingly negative.Once we tune our mind to break free from these hindrances, once we fight the fear, we will realize that the mind has the greatest power of all.

It made me feel small..he certainly towers over me.