Wake up World !!

I get up in the morning at 730 on Thursday, to come across yet another blast news on front page in TOI, right in my face saying 91 dead in a powerful car bomb blast. I immediately think back and realize that its been a month that every alternate day I’ve been waking up to a similar news. That's not what I want to see when I get up in the morning. Not once have I smiled looking at my newspaper in the past couple of days. What’s going on man? Where are the peace forces or where are the forces. To a person like me it does not really matter where this happening is, be it Peshawar, Lahore, Assam or Colombo coz for me the world is one big place to live and have fun in. I want to be free !! this is really restricting me, my flight, my thought process. These 91 ppl dying were not Pakis only, they were humans, who while moving out of their homes did not know what lies ahead, just like us who move out for office, lunch or parties.

A war is a different story, but definitely not like this. This is not the life and not the death you and me would agree to. And believe me we can not afford to get ignorant. Like noted Guru Shiv Khera says 'If your neighbor is in trouble and u can sleep well, the next victim is you'. So I can completely see this Taliban thing proliferating. To India and ahead. And hey, why isn’t this being curtailed. Pak claims to have military enough to take on India, why is it letting Taliban take human life for granted. US forces all over the region are not taking a stand either. Peace keeping forces from UN and else where have always been utilized only in floods and quakes so no point expecting anything from them.

Is there a solution. . . Can we do anything about this at all? Because I’m so much not OK with no peace around and I’m sure many of you would second this thought. So I’m leaving this incomplete till I hear something better towards this or till I think of something better about this . . . .

My Friend says:

There’s nothing me and you can do about it

All I say:

Jaago Re !!

Sweet October Smell. . .

After spending a fairly long time on collecting my thoughts for the client discussions tomorrow, as I pass this lane near my house, this intoxicating smell again fills my mind with tickling sensations and I cant do nothing but smile.

This smell is very close to my heart as this is the first smell which I started loving rite when I was 2 ft tall. All over my school there were these trees with white flowers which blossomed only during the months of October and March. Very close relation with these flowers. Rishta isliye coz' these were the two months when we used to have exams . ..and study and frens place and while growing up spent most of the time in these groves. Fairly attached to these.

Lost some touch with this fragrance in college and then when I reached Pune I again came across this smell only in the elite societies and areas. Thats when I met this girl who had this tree rite before her home...Dunno what did I fall for first, well, she is no more with me and I just felt this smell back again. Seems she's following, I again can't help but smile, to mself. Its bin sometime that I have bin living all alone. ..

I'm but spoiled for choice. Have had multiple relations. . .3 hrs, 3 mths . . .. 3 yrs at all levels. In touch with most of them who are doing well and in good touch, but I just learn one thing. 'Love is so transient'. And yesterday, a virtual world's friend comes and says that it is wrong, there's love all around. True, I agree and thats exatly what makes me call it transient . . . .But just let it go.

This smell is making me realise, all that i need to do. . . . and at the same time . I want to write, and a lot more .. I'm terribly High and perhaps I'd return to you ...

my friends say...

'You need to understand people"

I say...

Aao milo chalo . . .

Cheers !!

समय सीमा समाप्त !!

.......I seldom hear people using this phrase "I'm just buying out time". Can some one please tell me how do u do that. I need to byee tonnes of it, bcoz today, all that I want is time. Its precious to me, far too valuable to trade for anything else. Money is passe'.
Help me buy out time so that I may get better proffessionaly, make presentations on time, send mails on time, save time in traffic and reach for that important meeting in time.
I want time to meet my friends, to go back home on weekends to see my folks well, i want time to read, to write the half done book, i want time to see places, I want time to find love.
I want time so that I get myself a dog, time to reach out and give back to the society, i want time to study more, time to share and implement my thoughts and ideas, time to eat slowly so that i stay healthy.......
......and hey, its not that I'm asking to be The One, I just want it to ease out, Relax ! Hate to hear that 'siddharth you need to get better at time mgmt'. Oh yeah I need to. But to manage i need to have some.

All I say : Time is an illusion !!

Another Expedition begins:Voicetap !!

Hi. Couldn't write for long: No excuses. Just, couldnt find time.
Updates: Many


Today marks one month that I landed in Delhi. the moment I set foot on the platform, I sent this message to my To be Boss: " सर ज़मीन-ऐ-दिल्ली को पाण्डेय का सलाम " and in the same filmi way I got a response " Voicetap तुम्हारा मज़हब, Voicetap तुम्हारा ईमान " | That day itself I got a feeling, that it is gonna be fun. No doubt, it has been quite a ride since then.

it wasn't easy at all to unroot from the set life in pune which had become my microcosm for some time. However it was very important to move out of that comfort zone to register some growth.
Delhi, is a big place. Well, I'm not in Delhi for that matter but Noida sounds and is a bit downmarket place to be in. There's nothing small in Delhi. Evrything is inflated to a couple of degrees at least. Huge Homes, Flamboyant cars, humungus malls and equally great babes all around. And to add to it, No one talks normal, again inflated by a couple of degrees. So for a straight talking assertive person like me it is quite a challenge to stay in peace with locales but have to.

Voicetap is where I'm now. Always wanted to come to delhi to maintain closeness to home. V gave me the idea, M gave me the opportunity and here I am; trying to become a 'सेलू बन्दा' [one who can sell easily in M's terms]. HR is done with, ops played with for some time and sales is something I'm experimenting with. Not going all that bad, but time is something which is creating problems. Not able to manage it. but would fall in place shortly. Team is good. Lot of learning coming my way. So happy.

Not able to gel with the place. No frends. Dont feel like coming back home. Fone's the only frend since many days... will be for some more.

Will keep posting stuff now on. ....Like I said, many updates.

In the end,

We Choose Our Own Place !!

CHEERS DELHI !! I'm here to stay .

Leaking Conscience: Racism

A leading brand for detergents says ' दाग अच्छे हैं ' . We [Indians] are totally in love with entire concept of it and practice the fact freely. How can we ever go out and work things around in OZ when we ourselves practice complete segregation based on caste, color, region and every other fact that distinguishes a man from another. It's gone into the blood and no matter what detergent u use, u wont get rid of it.

We found a table near the cash counter in a busy restaurant in the heart of the city today noon. A customary hello to the receptionist who new us as regular ones. After some time we hear this guy hurling abuses to our counter waala man. just inquisitive we try to figure out and get to know that there was some issue over the bill payment and the mistake was on part of the customer. Now this well educated person was in full flow in his native language and was cursing everyone that they speak with the outstation guys who come from delhi and north, so nicely and dont pay respect to the natives. 'काय झाला ज़र मी कमी दिला .... तुमि हे मुलाना hi hello कशाला म्हणतो '
The shopkeeper was all ready to get a few blows had we not spoken in local language and pacified him.

So what if Indians are a target in Australia. We practice the same in India, in our own 'motherland'.

Devotion Ridiculed...

Considering my longer than ever presence at home, to be ample proof of my worklessness [read: uselessness], dad ignored my religious sentiments [ Siddharth happens to be almost an athiest], and tagged me along in his never ending quest to meet the one who takes care of all his issues [read: GOD].

Trip dedicated to Lord Krishna at Mathura, Vrindavan etc. I expected a lot of pooja paath and all but what met the eye was entirely different. Or rather the way i look at it is pretty different. Lacs of people at one time at one place trying to move over the one ahead and reach out to the all powerful. What i hated most was that mom who's got a lot of pain in her knees coz of arthritis, and Grandpa who cant walk were a part of this maddening crowd. 

1. I dont understand the difference in practicing religion at one's home or within oneself and in a public display of one's religious inclination. Damn. whats the need.
You cant walk properly, there's security threat, and u cant stand inside the temple for morethan 3 sec.... for which u've travelled for 3 days,..... what the hell..

2. Why do we have to pull the other one down....[refer to the fig.]. Mathura janmbhoomi which is the third largest temple in India, has an adjacent wall to one of the biggest mosques in India. It can be seen from the temple itself. Now when my 4 yr young cousin innocently chirps to see the place, which is barren and looks haunted as compered to the crowd in the temple, my Mom tells her 'wahan nahi jaana , wahaan sirf musalmaan log jaate hain'. I hated it. With all due respect i confronted mom. Why do we have to sow these seeds.... Damn it. Grow up....

Evolve...!!

आरम्भ है प्रचंड..

One of the best motivational songs...


आरम्भ है प्रचंड बोले मस्तकों के झुंड
आज जंग की घडी , की तुम गुहार दो

आरम्भ है प्रचंड बोले मस्तकों के झुंड
आज जंग की घडी की तुम गुहार दो

आन बान शान या कि जान का हो दान
आज इक धनुष के बाण पे उतर दो

आरम्भ है प्रचंड

मन करे सो प्राण दे जो मन करे सो प्राण ले
वही तो एक सर्व शक्तिमान है

विश्व कि पुकार है ये
भागवत का सार है
कि युद्ध ही तो वीर का प्रमाण है

कौरवों की भीड़ हो या
पांडवों का नीड़ हो
जो लड़ सका है वो ही तो महान है

जीत की हवस नहीं किसी पे कोई वश नहीं
क्या ज़िन्दगी है ठोकरों पे मार दो

मौत अंत है नहीं तो मौत से भी क्यूँ दरें
ये जाके आसमान में दहाड़ दो

आरम्भ है प्रचंड बोले मस्तकों के झुंड
आज जंग कि घडी की तुम गुहार दो

आन बान शान या कि जान का हो दान
आज इक धनुष के बाण पे उतर दो

आरम्भ है प्रचंड …

हो दया का भावः या कि शौर्य का चुनाव
या कि हार का वो घाव तुम ये सोच लो
या कि पुरे भाल पे जला रहे
विजय का लाल लाल ये गुलाल तुम ये सोच लो

रंग केसरी हो या मृदंग केसरी हो
या कि केसरी हो ताल तुम ये सोच लो

जिस कवि की कल्पना में ज़िन्दगी हो प्रेम गीत
उस कवि को आज तुम नकार दो

भीगती नसों में आज
फूलती रगों में आज
आग की लपट का तुम बखार दो

आरम्भ है प्रचंड बोले मस्तकों के झुंड
आज जंग की घडी , की तुम गुहार दो

आन बान शान या कि जान का हो दान
आज इक धनुष के बाण पे उतर दो

आरम्भ है प्रचंड ....


- Gulaal 09

GULAAL

Expressive. Real. Mind boggling. If I have to define Passion, I'd refer you to K K Menon.Terrific work again. It seems I'm getting more and more drawn towards Anurag kashyap's works. His style is superb.

Gulaal deals with a rajasthani traditional backdrop where the underlying theme is Rajasthan for Rajputs. With all there gleam and glamour these guys display the true grit of Rajputana which is led by there able leader Dukki Banna. This movie shows you another part of India which is rather unscene and unknown till now and has a certain mystique charm about it.

The dialogues are really very strong and delivered equaly well. Folk music has never been so much in your face before.

It seems Anurag[like subhash ghai] also has moved on a talent hunt and produces a superb vamp in this story. Kalki koechlin, and now Ayesha Mohan comes up very strong in her just second flick.

No doubt, Anurag Kashyap is a master story teller. He’s perfect behind the camera and has got power to nurture all his characters according to his wish. As the story progresses promptly you are bound to stick to the chair waiting for another sensational shot by the director. The movie was written by Raj Singh Chaudhary, Aparna Chaturvedi and Anurag Kashyap itself. It’s a narration of an incident, as I said earlier that Anurag Kashyap is a master story teller, he never let break of the story apart from the end where it just ends abruptly. Leaves you asking....

However a good watch.

Paradox

Dodge this..

My Roommate says:

"Fate it seems, is not without a sense of irony"

I found this pic worth a mention. Is there a rational approach to this. Sometimes

"Unreason is better than reason"

Cheers !!

Displacement

... They say

"Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet them, than your acquaintances shall know you in ages"

with the clear intent of me leaving pune the coming friday, I recd this letter from my very close college friend. Would not be modest on my part to put this one on here, out in the open. But couldn't resist . I hope K2 doesn't mind much...

"A part of me parts with these lil drops of sense of parting..."

I write this for moment of surprising flash of affection for a friend who was there...n who wasnt...and now he won't...be there...
We've experienced almost ALL human emotions that could exist in human kind..
We were enemies... (not in a true sense though..we never tried to take each other's lives at least:P).
We'd been bitchy classmates...with all khunnas n all...
We studied (though v lil)...eating Maggie..
We discussed FEMALES!!! At the "Joint Cafe".... We STILL do!! Of College...out of College...Gives us a 'kick' u know!! Hehehehe!!
We wrote.... mails during the transition period from being bitchy enemies to starting something like 'frenz'...
We ate n roamed about on Marvel, Discover(with no brakes!!) n now Activa too...:-)
We'd flirted to the core...(still do :P)
We shared....stuff... (not the usual ones that two mushy opp sexes wud exchange)..but we shared some awesome time together...along with another leg of the tripod-Khan Saahab.
Funny enough to tell u, these guys never thought of me as a gal!!
They keep sayin! "Abbey tum toh dost ho bey!!" OR "Ladki?? Kaha hai ladki???"...when I'm with them... :)
We pulled...legs of the 'weaker sections of the society' :P...(we still do and will keep doing! :D)
We drove... like Street Hawk on the highway! (though the machines were not sport machines)
We laughed...hard...and these days...we laugh harder...to get more out of the time together...
And today...
I never thot i wud get those few drops of salty waters thru my eyes...(yeah i hate cryin! n i derisively call those 'salty waters')
This amazingly wundaful guy is a pack of surprises...with just this one thing in common ... talkin n talkin n talkin...
He can talk for hours at a stretch together...giving AWWWWL kinds of gyaan!
Put any kinda human creature in front of him n he'll get that person opened up n talkin...and well forget about the age,social stature n blah blah...
He has such leonine appeal(esp to target 'sensible'females)...that most of them get that 'cute-charmer' impression in the 1st meet!
N heyy! I guess I'm still a victim!! :P heheheh!
Abbey o Sid! Neend se jaago!! I'm not hitting on u!!! ;)
But one thing's for sure...
This guy has ALWAYS gone ONLY by his instincts...i just pray to God genuinely to bless him with specially chosen blessings...to give him strong reasons to STILL go by his instincts and gain that damn mental peace to his soul (which is called 'success' by other 'prajaatiz')
Luvya dude!
Wud just LUV to SEE you ANYTIME in life!!!
(ab please wo 'anytime' word ko mat khicho!! At least MERI toh mat khicho... :D )

Richard Bach says -

" Don't be dismayed at Good byes. A farewell is necessary before you meet again. And meeting again, after moments or after a life time is certain......but for those who are friends"

I'll miss u a lot K2. But Yes.........I'll be around....

Cheers !!

Of Coffee and Small Talk..

...Another Weekend. Perhaps my last in Pune for quite some time to come. Small Talks. Pep talks. Plans and pegs. Nothing outta the world but fun with friends. Lemon tea is getting me hooked to it. will it take over Whiskey sour. Difficult but necessary.

Will Slumdog win the academy. Is it worth it. Isn't it just because of a firang director. They've shown up the dirty India... and moral policing.... and rail budget.... and roadies.... and blah and blah and blah. Well, roadies yes, I hated Roop's departure. Wasn't fun at all. Dev the asshole was thrown out in the best way possible. But i think Roop will come back.. Such was the weekend !! Had a nice party as well. So theek hai.

Still have not finalised the name. Have a Guest speech at the Govt. College at 1400 hrs tomorrow with nothing prepared. I'm doomed for now.

But again.... Have to leave the coming Friday. The thought is the driver now. Everything else has taken a backseat. The next few days would just fly away. I haven't still decided where to start. Its crazy. I dunno whether I shall make it or not, but yes i need mobility now. I need displacement now. I need to be happy now.

Very few friends left. Remaining all is acquaintance. However close u get with them u would never get the warmth u get with this rare few of your frens. I've satrted recieving letters and mails from all ma frens and it is mind blowing. I feel loved. and then it feels i'm destined to explore and keep moving. I need Johnie Walker now. It says - Keep wallking.

I Think -

"In the path of our happiness shall we find the learning, for which we've chosen this lifetime"

The Buddhists say -

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"

I'm Waiting....


Cheers !!

Confusion & Innerwears

... same mental state contd...

was working on a lot of things till day before yesterday, but by now, the feeling is sinking in that I need to leave. Made a good place for my self and was almost a perfect fit in the arrangement around but then there are bigger games life makes us play. No worries, I'm ON. Top Form !!!
"The trouble with my life is that it's like a bra strap when you put your bra on wrong. So there's one part of the strap that's all twisted and sticking out under your T-shirt and you fix that, and then the part near the hook becomes tangled. Then, after you've struggled with it for a while, because you can't see so far down your back, and straightened it out, the bit near your front is all funny. So if I've got my career sorted, my love life magically vanishes and vice versa when the love front is perfectly taken care of..."

Another wonderful thought just flashed thru my mind that actually a good realtionship is again like an innerwear; starts with all mushy mushy fun, you feel good, hold hands, touch, every thing goes so damn well for the first six months just like a new innerwear[read bra]. but with time, the hooks wear off and the fabric grows thinner. every single time you try to put it on it creates problem coz the hooks have grown rusty, they refuse to settle down with each other.

But, the silver lining is that the fabric with every wash and every single use keeps on getting softer, it starts fitting your body like its own with time. and you get used to the hooks not getting along with each other. Something similar happens to us. Every single time u gotta make it for a party you enter into a feud on very very trivial issues...but then with time the comfort zone starts creeping in... ain't it..

So it settles down to a point where we need to settle down for a high quality fitting innerwear.... or rather a peaceful life .

My friend says...

"You choose your own place..."

& I say...

" Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there
What u choose to do with them is up to u.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world..the master calls a butterfly !!! "

Cheers !!

Outrage...

.....there are good times, there are bad times and then there's absurdity all around. Times when you don't know what next. There are times when you have a dozen ways and means rite in front of you and within a blink you are left in a zero with no where to go.

Risk at times however calculated it may be, becomes very subjective. There are people around who would support you to take chances all the while but rite at the moment would back up coz it involves risk. There would be people who would keep telling you to play stable shots but at the same time expect you to strike gold. But investing in stocks is lesser risk oriented than getting married, if you completely understand the perspective..

Its always difficult to cope up with change. [ Now a days they teach Change management in high profile trainings... I wonder the viability in a mental realm]. Change no doubt is inevitable, brings pain. But it is known, isn't it. The entire thing is getting very confusing. and thats exactly the kind of mental state I am in. Pretty Amusing, my sister sent me an offline chat today and asked ...

"aap ki bhi lyf na....

shayad kabhi, koi nahi samajh sakta

u know wat..

sometimes, wen i hv nthing els to do...i wonder on an interesting thing

Ur FUTURE??

nd guess wat comes to ma mind...

u dere??

. .. . . . "

You need to outgrow yourself. Rise up in Protest. Do your own thing and stand by it. Why grant someone else a power to rule your world and put constant values in your everchanging equations.

As Richard Bach says -

"...The sky is ever changing and ever beautiful. just like moving oceans.

A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed...
...it feels an impulsion - this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the patterns behind all clouds & YOU will know too when you'll lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons"

Cheers !!

DEV.D

Coke ...er, Thumsup....वोदका के साथ !!!

Cheers !!

One contemporary masterpiece by Anurag Kashyap. For the uninitiated, it's so simple that it just portrays the legendary sharaabi 'Devdas' in a present day scenario. The way he would drink, the way he would love, the way he would make love etc.. in a way one of us would.

a starcast that is an amazingly efficeient darkhorse...Kudos to Anurag and team.

Abhay deol, completely engrossed in a different kind of cinema altogether and making the most of it. absolutely hilarious.. A genre which he seems to be extremely comfortable with.Socha na tha, Ek chalis ki ..., Oye Lucky & now Dev.D . He just takes you along on his sharaab and shabaab filled sojourn.

Paro, Mahie gill, the debutant actor just fills in the space with such an ease that u almost fall for her[read: get high]. which she is meant to do. the rustic beauty and its transformation in a vivacious chic look, carved by anurag and mahie is not so visible in present day cinema. She truly represents the modern day girl coming out of tier II cities in a metro, who doesn't shy away from her affairs even when it fades away.

Chanda, Kalki Koechlin, the whore, the babe, the teenager, the love. all the hats donned with a finnesse. French lass speaking Hindi slangs just sweps you off your feet. I'm sure Anurag is blessed by her company.

Music takes you instantly in a different world wherein there's no reality. Trance that means trance with classy punjabi rock mix. Every no. is foot tapping and hummable. the rock version of Emotional attyachar is good along with the not so popular punjabi tracks which i'm sure must be making waves in north.

And to top it all, the film mocks at and brings out the hypocrisy so much instilled in our society pertainng to sex. It does not brand it a taboo subject, instead brings it out and loud in the open.
Truly appreciate the way it has been presented.

I envy our dude for his Father...the dialog goes...' तेरा टेस्ट change हो गया है ...whisky की जगह vodka पीटा है , चिक्केन की जगह फिश खाता है... अच्छी लड़कियों को छोड़ कर सूखी सूखी लड़कियों के पीछे भागता है ..." and then a BMW 7 Series .... mindboggling . भगवान् ऐसा बाप सबको दे !!!

But one concern.....So much Daaru..... Vodka neat.... and bottles by the hour... Unrealistic but fun

So ... get me a Coke ...er, Thumsup....वोदका के साथ !!!

JUST LIKE THAT

Cheers !!

Dosti - Just Like That !!

कोई कैसे कहे.... दोस्ती क्या है....

My best fren workng in mumbai got to know that I'm planning to move out of the town. 12:30 in the morning on a bright Tuesday. Was Moved when I heard her crying, unconsolably. And, lo, she was here on saturday afternoon.

Honestly, one of the best days in th past couple of months...A Relaxed Sunday completely. The way I love it. Wake up at 1030..... bread butter maggi at 1100 hrs.... and a nostalgic session of reviewing the hundreds of snaps filmed in the glorious 4 yrs[2001 -2005] of my college, rather engg life (coz it has hardly bin an engineer's life since then).

Never have I loved tea more than this day where I had 4 mugs of the 2nd favorite Ginger lemon black shot at Barista. 6 hrs at a stretch at a chair(and u thot i was unstable). Discussed every single thing that has happened, that is happening, or like a drunken astrologer, is about to happen. There are rare few times when you can be completely urself, cut loose and let go...
This was one of them ... three frens after a long time on a coffee meet , when one of them is leaving.....freakin good time.

My fren from mumbai is one who's seen me at all times, raw, in and out. she was the one i used to console when i joined my first job in pune and she was looking out.... and damn the tables turn so well.... we sat at the same bus stop exactly 3 yrs later... she's well settled with the top bank in India as a Biz Analyst, and im looking.....Like Nikhil says..'Fate, is not without a sense of irony' !!

So True. But then the best part is a Daaru and smoke with a Pizza parcel on a stranded bus stop at Fergusson College Road at late evenings... No where in India can you find peace to sit at a public place and booze with pizza. Unconcerned unsung unmourned life...one that we love.

We've grown irate with time. Living a loner for the past 8 yrs i've learned to make my peg myself[pun intended]. but when a b'tender makes a wrong combination , you tend to take case left rite center. A sound of mixer grinder at the coffee shop, maid banging the door suddenly, the bike ahead taking a sudden turn, call drop, baby of the guy in the seat ahead crying during the movie, socks disappearing in the morning..... anything is good enough to make ur BP soar by good 20 points and you end up banging your fist out and loud ..WHAT THE FUCK !!

And then, Shaadi, the much feared issue amongst all 5 of us. We fear shaadi like nothing else. Lived a free life all the while. then when we had everything and no money. now when we have money and nothing else. So now, when u talk shaadi, all we accomplished souls take a guard.... not that we fear responsibility, but then that we fear answerability somewhere or the else.... some one fears the unpredictability of life ahead, the other cries foul on sex, someone is not too sure whom to be with , to be or not to be is just another big question...and ME, a self proclaimed authority on relationships went on and on giving gyaan to these two poor souls, who lend me all the resources of confidence, unadulterated, unbiased, leaving no holes barred. ...

So dodging all of this, I've reached my den, as a ritual I've had my tonic... am feeling good. felt happy that i've got a few caring people around, that i can drink in peace. So I'm here reciting all the jazz to u.... so tht u dont have to complain ki 'bataya nahi'.

YANNI playing Until the last moment.... a couple of sips left....n I cant sleep...


JUST LIKE THAT ...