An Open letter to Raj Thackrey

Raj,

You may not know me, but I like a lot others do happen to know of your existence. Let me tell you, it was not a conscious decision though. It was mere coincidence. I happen to graduate from one of the most happening college of the town (I refer to YOUR town) - Mumbai! Like many of my peers I always kept a safe distance from Politics or anything political. But then in my final year, this sudden agitation forced all of us to get to know you better. I knew of the Shiv Sena but ofcourse in the most matter-of-fact way.
So you came charging into our lives, with the promise of a better Maharashtra.
I suddenly realized, I wasn't a Mumbaikar anymore..what I really was - was a non-maharashtrian.

Suddenly, many of my intelligent & modern friends, became 'more' maharashtrian. Things changed, harsh words were exchanged b/w a Bihari & a Marathi friend, there was no puran-poli or modaks tucked away in my friends lunch box to be relished anymore. As I thought things cant get uglier, the MNS activists took it upon themselves that they need to set the morales straight for college kids (a la VHS), baptize shops with Devanagari script (they didn't spare my Jesuit college either) and spreading terror through the entire of mumbai, of my bombay, of our bombay.

That was the year 2009. Now in 2012, you are back with a bang. That day I read in the papers that you managed to attract a crowd of 49,000! I wasn't surprised.

What surprised me was the agenda. Same old  rigmarole. The young potential that you are, I was very sure you will rise above others. I had faith in your creativity and smartness.
Bihar v/s Maharashtra is boring. Trust me Mumbaikars can take care of themselves. They need no saving, but the same can't be said for your political career.
You better step up the game! Its about time.

When the heart is heavier then the world

I have always wondered with a childish anxiety how the world be its normal self when I am going through  troubled times. If I am sad, how dare the world make merry! I am upset to the point that I can punch anyone and punch them so hard that they can audition for the next Vodafone ads, play second fiddle to curly haired 13 something now.
However, more the no of digits I add to pretty old me('wink wink'), I understand how important it is for the rest of the world to remain gay and happy. I can stay angry and aloof for days together but I will come around. It is essential that I do so in order to retain the handful of sanity left in me.

And If this reason is not good enough for you, if it still bothers how that particular bitch curls up your skin the moment she opens her mouth, or that dunce just cant get over his new phone, you know who is your real support system. And anyway, what goes around comes around, so just wait around because its their turn NEXT! 

The magic of Sunday Mornings!

Today I realize why Sunday's have been assigned the oh so important task of heading a week. It took me wrong sleeping hours and a never ending craving for junk to get me out of bed at 5 in the morn on a Sunday. But I guess I don't mind one bit. Armed with a bar of Mars and Kishore Kumar playing in the background..I try to awaken the Wordsworth in me.
Coming back to Sunday's .. I have always wondered why Monday's were never given the same honour. But the awesome Sunday morning convinces me that I never want to trade anything for this. The Moon bidding adieu on one side and the Sun welcoming a new day, just makes Kishore da more melodious.
This is a definitely a first though..not that I have never been up on Sunday mornings but today is different. Today I want to lap up all the hope and optimism that the morning dishes out. I know tomorrow will bring more challenges and frustrations but I want to stand strong.

And so, we need Sunday's to leader up- to wash away all the mistakes, guilt, worries of the past week, get over the Sat night hangover, set new goals, start afresh. A new opportunity..a new Beginning!

The Business of Right and Wrong!

How do we define what is right? More importantly how do we point at what is right? Who decides what is right! I am not addressing issues which have anything to do on moral or criminal lines. We have the society and the law for that. I am not even going into what and the way do things is right or not. I am part of this society and I need to bow down to certain rules even if they don't agree with me. Anyway the discussion will go way too long and I am neither well read or experienced to lecture on it. So, I stick to the problems life throws at me- the small insignificant ones!

I have often discovered myself doing what I perceive wrong. Why is it so? Because it is me, all me. I try to change, reform myself, raise myself above the obvious but fall in the same trap again. Do we all do the same? Something tells me yes. We don't get ruled by our brain but a much smaller and a more significant item in the body- the heart. And that pretty much sums it up for us. So, what is the purpose of defining the right and wrong. Why break our head over it, fight and find a reason in it? Just lay back relax and let the heart take over.

But when does life let you have it easy? Isn't it more fun- do all the running around, discuss, brood, realize what is wrong and then never use it, just drop everything and run in the exact opposite direction.

Is it really so then? If you look at the bigger picture, you would realize nah! you can use it. Whether you want to is the question! I don't know how others will make it work, but I intend to use it. Learn from it. If I don't I can still go living but on my own terms and that can get pretty lonely. I don't intend to compromise on my happiness and desires but I want to spend it with the people I love. Whoever says they life entirely on their terms, you are lying. If you have people you care for and love and want in your life, you have to respect their wishes and live life accordingly.

So go figure what is right for you and the one's you love, stop being an arrogant fool, give in sometimes to their demands. Pretty much life for you.

The phenomenon is called generation gap

That day while discussing our worldly affairs, I and one of my roomie stumbled upon the 'generation gap'. Basically how we view it and how much does tradition matter. It actually started with the moon. It was full, pretty and romantic. Then it went on to circulate around Amavas, Purnima, the Hindu calender, and how we know shit about them.
The difference arose when she told me it isn't important that we pass on traditions down the line. It ties you down, narrows your viewpoint, limits your sources and makes you appear crazy at the end of the day. I on the other hand thought, it is extremely important to tell the generation to come, why Ganesha looks different, why Durga Ma has 10 hands, why we fast on Karwa-Chauth, why do we celebrate Onam, or why are we stringently abstain from food on Roza. In fact small apparently insignificant ones like one should not step out of the house when anyone in their proximity sneezes or one shouldn't use the broom at night, makes up for amusing possessions to pass on to our kids. Yes what we should keep in mind is a healthy mix of a little of past and a little some of present. Our next generation should know what mistakes we made, how we learnt from it, follow on our elders' footsteps but not miss the needs of the present times.

PS- My last post was an excerpt from Tagore's Mayabono Biharini. It is an old classic and has recently been modeled into a new all girl band song. It doesn't sound bad at all. Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aGwOBgyWTo

Mayabono biharini

From afar shall I be enticing
Shall tie a bond in secrecy
The bond that is unseen
for no reason but pristine....

Kindled by the heavy monsoon breeze
Trickles down the heavenly euphony
The heart becomes restless
for no reason that is harmony...

-Tagore

The World is a Hypocrite and the world is full of hypocrites

Hi World,

Today I declare I don't like the people you throw up. Most of them. In fact, I cant stand 90pc of them. That would have been fine by me if I were the Mallyas but as the case stands, I come from a humble middle class family. The irony is, it is my upbringing which forces me to look at the world so harshly and judge each one who happen to cross my path daily. The good news is I have learnt to camouflage my emotions well and the sweet-ol smile is a 24*7*365 phenomenon. The problem arises with your close ones. The mask vanishes and all the hurt and worry comes rushing to you. The problems of the world weigh you down and you want to pass it on so badly to your dear mom/dad/bf/gf that you fail to admire the fat sack of problems they are heavying themselves down with.

A very sweet solution is that you ignore them, not worry what about it too much, drown yourself in the pleasures the world got to offer, lots of daru, a 3 week old bf, a discotheque every sat night to up your cool-quotient!
Why make it complicated with just chai for a drink, 3 year old bf(the same guy) and a book in your hands and Kishore Kumar for company over the entire weekend. Do I sound like a 40-something? Do I really need to be bothered? Does my age define what I find FUN or should I?

We live in a very scary complicated world. I wake up anxious, apprehensive and disturbed about the new questions that life is going to throw my way today. Do you too?

The Joy of Movies

Today I feel apprehensive about writing. The reasons are two
1. I had to think more than 2m33s to decide the subject and basically what I want to throw at the world today.
2. The subject is such.

I have liked watching movies since I was a kid. I don't claim to be ms know all critic. In fact I have seen very little compared to many. I generally prefer to stick to mindless entertainment(I am thinking of Govinda and not Akshay Kumar). Though I usually shy away from accepting so in public but near and dear ones know of my dirty secret. It is not that "serious-cinema" is not good enough for me but the fact of matter is that its 'serious' and too close to the real life. Why would I want to see Imran Khan run around in locals, sipping on chai and making omlettes, yes I want to see him romancing the the ladies on the streets of greece, beat down 20 bad men at a time and dance like Prabhudeva! Is that asking for so much? I think not.
But If anyone out there is listening, I have found a new genre for myself. I am into the 60' 70' and 80's Satyjit Ray mode currently. Most of the movies are in Bengali but the sheer simplicity just bowls me over. I never thought I would absolutely love to watch people do "normal everyday" stuff on-screen. I may have a hidden deep down desire to watch "serious" movies but the artsy intellectual display(say Dhobi Ghat) right in the end just kills the entire simplicity. Hence, the aversion I guess. Everyday I discover a new movie I realize there are so many more out there to watch and the fact that for every one good movie there are 20 bad ones just makes the number go boom boom boom. The solution? Keep Watchin! Keep Conquering! Yeeee

Reading what you dont like..

When we read, do we always like it? Then why do we read it? Lets keep the textbooks, office manuals out of the discussion. What about the rest? The question is strictly to people who harbor a love of reading. I have always tried to maintain a distance from the so called bestsellers because I have reason to believe(proven theory!)that my taste in books isn't matched by the majority's. So I stick to what I like, that means a lot of safe and in your comfort zone reading. I have found experimentation has led to horrible repercussions like leaving a book unfinished and that features on my list of things I simply hate to do! One disastrous example is the LOTR! Trust me I have nothing against fat volumes, I love them but this one is absolutely beyond my reach. Not that I will leave it alone, a long holiday is just what I need. But one stream of reading that I seldom dare to touch is non-fiction. I find them boring, preachy and lengthy. I don't see the point of learning from someone else's mistakes and experiences when I have so many to call my own. Anyway fighting all my inhibitions this time I have taken the plunge and chosen a safe option. The book that I am currently raeding is Vinod Mehta's autobiographical piece, A Lucknow Boy. I am through with a major portion of it and realize that the language used is simple(something I stressed on in my earlier posts)and incidents well cut and clean. If someone is not liked it is made absolutely clear. So I would like to say just go ahead and discover the joy of non-fiction raeding, cheers!

Travelling alone are you?

Is it a common thing to travel alone? If I go by my experience I will say no. I have travelled on my own a lot and I have always seen friends, couples, family paltan travelling all together. Is it fun? The train journeys, bus rides, ship sails and rikshaw hassles all by yourself? Yes and no. Yes, because you know that no one aage peechhe means you can do what you feel like, eat what you want to, roam aimlessly, stare shamelessly, ogle at the cute boys, giggle at stupid little thoughts that keep running through your head, eavesdrop, spend hours at the book thela gaadi/store without being rushed, etc etc...No I am not unbalanced its just a lot of fun. No, because you are your own coolie, eating alone is not fun one bit, woman alone is a letcher's dream come true and and and you have to strategize your loo trips. The last bit is pure harassment! What do you do? Leave your precious saman with some innocent looking aunty and try rush the nature's call or make loo visits accompanied with all the bojha? This question has always made me wonder, I have actually racked my brain time and again but nah! stone-walled every single time. Just one of life's sixty four thousand dollar question!