KANK - Some lessons to be learnt...

Ok, don’t raise those eyebrows at me people!

I agree that the movie wasn’t a great effort on anyone’s part. Yes, AB Baby included.

But then there are certain very valid points this movie had to deliver. That, those points got sidetracked in the melodrama of a BOLLYWOOD dish out, is another matter altogether. I tried to recapitulate some of those:

1.) Patience has its own limits. When someone loves you, there is a certain degree of patience you can expect - Not endlessly though…



2.) The world is not responsible for all the problems you face. You are… Most importantly treat the ones you love with tender care and gratitude. They don’t deserve to be the punching bag for all your vented up emotions.



3.) Before taking any drastic steps in your relationships… STOP and THINK. What is it that you are losing in the process? Is it worth it?




4.) Elders DO know the best for you. And they DO know where you are erring. (All those times mom caught you in a tight spot? Well, it wasn’t by fluke buddy!)





5.) Sometimes when you have tried everything else and failed, its better to let go. Maybe it is just not worth it.





6.) Know what is the best way to communicate. Sometimes just talking things over doesn’t help. Understand the undercurrents. Understand the importance of physical intimacy.





7.) It is easier to err than to amend. Some heartaches take lifetimes to come to terms with. Some – Never ever!





8.) Its easier to move on in life when you know you tried your best and it still dint work.





9.) If you feel the need to keep it under wraps or to hide it – Yes, you are doing something wrong.





10.) MOST IMPORTANT – Never get into commitments you aren’t sure you can keep. It’s far simpler to stay single than to stay in a bad relationship or walk out of one.

Wow is the word...

There is something about music that is indecipherable... Pure and so very amazing.

All the people who know me will vouch for the importance of the music in my life. But these days music has moves me like never before. Songs have an amazing capability to take me another level altogether.

One such song I have heard in the recent times is “Leja leja” from the album “Ustad and the Divas”.

Now if you have heard this song, you will understand what I am saying. The song is just heavenly. Nothing else compares to it…

And if listening to the song was a divine experience in a way, the video was one of the most therapeutic things that has happened to me in quite some time now. Catharsis, no less! The first time I watched the video I found myself sobbing at the end, hair standing at its ends and all that…

The video album goes something like this – The girl(Nina Sarkar from namma bengalooru) is a bar dancer and the guy(Varun Toorkey from amchi mumbai) is a call-center employee. As expected, the girl’s life isn’t exactly a bed of roses. And almost all throughout the song she keeps on missing her bus. The main character in the whole song is a BILLBOARD. Initially it has a picture of a girl sitting on a bench. The first time the girl misses her bushes, she brandishes a marker pen and draws menacing clouds and big raindrops over the girl’s picture. Enter the knight the other day! He draws an umbrella over the girl! Day II – Someone tries to molest the girl in the bar. She runs away from the bar and comes to the stop JUST IN TIME to see the bus leave. Our cute guy is seated in the last seat. He doesn’t see her, she doesn’t see him… Tears in her eyes, she turns to the billboard where the “protected for & cared for” girl greets her. She draws this bus stepping into a pot-hole and splashing mud all over the girl in the picture. Our guy comes the next day, sees the picture, gives a damn cute smile and draws a guy BETWEEN the bus and the girl. The next morning on her way to work, our bar-dancer peeks at the billboard from the bus and sure enough the girl is again taken care of. A heart-warming smile lights up on her angelic face. She dances away to glory that night and makes in ON TIME to the bus-stop for the bus as well as the guy…

It’s such an amazing concept. I can’t just imagine how creative the geniuses behind this video must be… Ok granted, the girl being a bar-dancer is dressed in skimpy tops but still given what we have to endure with Rakhi Sawant and the likes of her, this girl still manages to stir up the feeling of love, sympathy and warmth in us. Most importantly, she carries of her attire with aplomb.

The album reminded me of a chance remark that Raviraj, one of my friends from Progeon, had once told me. “Bar girls”, he said, “aren’t any different from the likes of what you see on M.G.Road and other “hot” places. Just that they have to lead their lives in such ignominy seems so harsh.”

Then, I dint quite agree. But today, one song made the difference to my outlook. If it had such an impact, the word for it is definitely WOW, ain’t it?

Miss you sweetie!

Pets! The greatest stress-buster known to all mankind... The cutest of the pets, cats!

How much do I miss the joy of owning a cat! Or is it the other way round. I mean I miss the honor a cat owning me...

All those days of soft cuddly fur brushing across my face, the nights where you would waken up to find something rustling under the blanket and crack into a smile as you caught the cat sneaking up to you with a bright smile writ all over the face.

The dearest moments in life are the moments when you know you are loved. And you are never loved more by anyone else than your cat...

Time- the greatest leveler?

Ever wondered how important are those moments that tick by while we are wondering what’s happening in our lives? Ever wondered how important in life it is to be at the right place at the right time? Fate, destiny, wants, desires, passions, muses, peeves… all of them are functions of time which are in direct bearing with the story of our lives.

So many moments pass by in life when you wonder if it is too early to say or do something only to realize that it’s too late already. And how many times does it happen the other way round? When you realize it was better to have waited for a more appropriate time?

Life is a series of moments chained together. One leading to the next and following one… Time, I have realized is the greatest leveler. The greatest tormentor as well… Sometimes I have mourned for not letting go earlier and yet at some other for not being somewhere earlier.

There was this interesting article I read sometime earlier. According to the author if Devdas had met Chandramukhi earlier than Parvati, his life wouldn’t have been such a colossal tragedy. God only knows if that would have been the case but the idea is worth chewing on definitely.

Don’t know what to add on to this. Probably it’s the brevity of this thought that adds to the impact.

Hyderabad Bangalore Hyderabad Bangalore....

Anywhere you turn, people seem to be arguing which one is better, isn’t it? Most of these days, even I catch myself thinking the same too...

The two IT hubs have been my home by turns for the past three years. Whichever place I am at, I find myself missing the other one immensely.

Hyderabad - My hometown... Rather my home state. The place where people speak my tongue. The land of nawabs! The place that has given me nothing but royal treatment each time I am here.

After all, what’s my daily routine like when I am home? Wake up languorously at 7:30 or 8:00. Hog the breakfast mom makes, hang around with the newspaper while mom sweats it out in the kitchen preparing "dabba" for lunch. Leave for office, work (or pretend to work), come back home and voila! Mom has dinner set for me... Grab the remote and sit with the idiot box and dinner. Catch up a book later with the walkman plugged in firmly. While away the better part of the night. Set the book aside and doze off...

Bangalore - My karmabhoomi... Again my home state... (Check out the official records pals... Native place: Bangalore)...

This is the place that has taught me all the invaluable lessons I have learnt in life. This is the place where I experience independence for the first time. This is the place where I made some wonderful wonderful friends… Last and never the least… This is the place that taught me no matter what happens, “life goes on”. The place where I lost my naivety, sanity and stupidity by turns... The place where I knew if its 15th of a month it means I am broke!

Daily life at Bangalore! :) Wake up at 6:00. Prepare breakfast. Take care of the utensils... Make your own bed. Get to office in nerve-wracking traffic or mind-boggling jams... After a tired day at work, again face the same traffic woes. Get to the market. Buy the daily necessities, get home, and prepare dinner... Again get house in order. Ouch! Its 9 already!!! Call up Dad Mom and let them know that I haven’t yet managed to kill myself...

Funnily still my heart seems to pine more for Bangalore all the time. Ask my friends. Those in Bangalore can’t hide a smirk when I tell them I am fine at Hyderabad. All that they can manage is stifle a grin and ask,” So when are you coming back "home" da?" and they know my eyes will mist up...

Friends at Hyderabad can’t hide their irritation as well. “Ah! We aren’t just good enough for you, right? Bangalore Bangalore Bangalore it is all the time. Go screw up your finances, your sanity… Come back crying to Hyderabad in six months. When will you ever come out of this cycle? “

What is it that makes Bangalore what it means to me? And why don’t I seem to be able to resist it? I guess, the itinerary above is to be blamed for that. I know I am happy when I am taking care of myself.

Hyderabad pampers me; baby’s me, way beyond what I deserve. Life has been MORE than kind to me back home. My support system here is just awesome. Ma takes care of everything. Dad manages all the finances. Friends drive away all the blues. And there is no social life here worth its name. Thanks to the lazy stupor Hyderabad seems to arouse in me without fail. The fact that I don't have friends with whom I can hang out is another reason... (Although, this one time Hyderabad has been more generous to me in that aspect. The friendship and love that I thought I could find only at Bangalore? This time I managed to strike gold here at Hyderabad as well. I have made some really wonderful lifetime pals here. But still the charm of Bangalore doesn’t fade away...)

Back at Bangalore, I get a taste of freedom, adulthood as well as responsibility in healthy measures. The power of being responsible for your own life is heady people. Guess that's what Bangalore beats Hyderabad at.

It’s been four months since I have come back and I find myself pining for that life again. Sniff Bangalore, I miss you so much!