The End!

Thank you all for stopping by & leaving your footprints.
I have run out of inspiration to keep this up anymore.
Sometimes, heart wrenching though it is, you need to say good bye when its time!

Numbed..

Read this.. The worst part is that after reading this our reaction is in all probability going to be.."India..it happens all the time.."
We are a country so full of armchair revolutionsits..yours truly included..who believe that something that has no chances of changing is not worth any attempt at getting our hands dirty..
Travelling is an eye opener i guess.. The view that was taken for granted after years of conditioning is now numbing.. human life..is worth all but a few thousand rupees..when it is invaluable!

From the Idiot Box..

From the time we wake up
to the time we go to bed
our mind is full of questions..
"is he the right one for me?"
"is it going to rain tomorrow?"
"will she make my life as bright as i hope?"
"will there be love again?"

When these questions are answered
by the answers that we hope for...
that is when Happiness begins!

You..

are everything
I am not..
but still
everything
I am

but then again..
you are
everything..

Justice?

Drawing away from what
he had done..
surveying the carnage
all around
the blood spattered walls
seemed to speak
of a new interpretation
to justice..

Post #150

..and I wait
to repeat
& be heady
again..

when my
eyes..speak
to yours

are you
me,or
me you?

Before Sunrise..again

What a movie! I am still all attention when i watch this movie.. I must have watched this so many times but it doesn't fail to hold my attention every single time..The minute detail in the movie are so amazing..the progression of topics that Jesse & Celine discuss..the way they start getting comfortable with each other..the way they start predicting how the other one will behave..The way they try to pretend that this night will not affect the rest of their lives & pale everything else..The cliches..The nuances in the body language..
Just wish L was here to watch it with me...

Far?

Waking in your memory
i realise..
divide us many a
thousand miles..

that cosy cafe..
not cosy anymore
inhabiting sugary
cooing twosomes

The familiar paths..
serve to remind
all the times
i want to rewind..again..

the many miles
now..trivial
sensing your vibes
keep pace with mine..

Sometimes..

Sometimes
just sometimes
the mask reveals
a softer inside

a mask?
Does it really need
a shelter away

maybe not a mask!
we do believe it
when so trained
& for so long..

a hint of moist
for all those
missed most..

the perfect man..

A perfect man shall never be
until the perfect she
knows all his chinks..

armour pierced
to none but one..

solace sought
in unpoken words
in a radiant smile
in a reassuring hug

A perfect man shall never be
until the perfect she
has covered all his chinks

Tere Bin..

Tere Bin Sanu Sonya
Koi Hor Naiyo Labhna ,
Jo Dekhu Ruh nu Sakun Chuke Cho jo Nakhra Mera...!!!

Ve mein sara khum ke vekhya
America Roos MalayasiaNai kite vi koi v pharak c,
Har kisi de koi sharat c,
Koi Mangda mere si sama, koi hunda soorat te fida,
koi mangda meri c wafa,
na koi mangda meri bala,
Tere bin hor na kise mangni Meri ya Bala....

Tere bin hor na kise karni dhup wich shaa.....
Tere Bin Sanu Sonya Koi Hor Naiyo Labhna,
Jo Dekhu Ruh nu Sakun Chuke Cho jo Nakhra Mera...

Jiven rukya c tu zara Nai yo bolna mein saari umar ,
Jiven ankhya c aankha chura
Roovenga sanu yaad kar
Hasya si mein ehsa ajeeb Par tu nai c hasya,
Dil Vich tere jo raaz c,
Menú tu kyu nai dasya

Tere bin sanu eh raaz Kise to naiyo dasna
Teri Bin peed da elaj Kise veid kolo lavan….
Tere Bin Sanu Sonya Koi Hor Naiyo Labhna,
Jo Dekhu Ruh nu Sakun Chuke Cho jo Nakhra Mera...
Milya c aaj menu tera ek patra
Likhya c jiste tu sher bardasht da Padke c usnu aanju ek dulya
Aankha ch band c eh raaz aaj khulya

Tere bin eh mere aanju kise to naiyo chunga
Tere bin eh mere aanju Mitti wich roolna....!!!
Tere Bin Sanu Sonya Koi Hor Naiyo Labhna,
Jo Dekhu Ruh nu Sakun Chuke Cho jo Nakhra Mera...!!!

Zapped??Now check out the translation below..

besides you my love
i shan't find another
who'll give peace to my soul
and indulge me

i have gone and seen it all
america, russia, malaysiana
there wasn't any difference
they all had some condition
some asked for my time
some were fascinated with my face
some demanded my fidelity
none wanted my demons

besides you no one else
wanted my demons
besides you no one else
shall shade me in the sun

(the) way you paused slightly
i shan't forget all my life
you said, looking away
"you shall weep in my memory"
i laughed a strange laugh
but you didn't

you had a secret in your heart
why didn't you tell me
besides you none shall tell this
secret to me
besides you what druid
has the cure to my ills

i found today
a note of yours
on which you had scribbeled
a varis shah couplet
upon reading which
a teardrop fell

what was locked in the eye
was revealed today
that other than you
these tears of mine
won't be kissed by
none else

that other than you
these tears of mine
will wither in the dust


Awesome isn't it? :)
It is such a joy to read such eloquent lyrics..

Mangalored...

Overnight Volvo journey..a very good friends marriage..morning walk in search for coffee..prolonged in search of breakfast..pre-marriage jitters..realization that it'll be my turn someday too!.. amazing lunch..parafet at Pabba's.. wearing a dhoti after eons.. stuffed after dinner.. wine & conversation.. super company..some serious talk & loads of laughter..
bus ride to the hometown.. walking around in the estate.. early morning dew..sweets galore.. those heavenly heavenly twisty roads..
sigghhh.. I want to go back.. & this time on my bike of course... :)

I finally found someone
That knocks me off my feet
I finally found the one
That makes me feel complete

It started over coffe
We started out as friends
It's funny how from simple things
The best things begin

This time is different
And it's all because of you
It's better than it's ever been
'Cause we can talk it though

My favouite line
was "Can I call you sometime"
It's all you had to say
To take my breath away

This is it,
oh I finally found someone
Someone to share my life
I finally found the one
To be with every night

'Cause whatever I do
It's just got to be you

My life has just begun
I finally found someone

Did I keep you waiting?
I didn't mind I apologise, baby that's fine
I would wait forever
just to know you were mine

You know I love your hair
Are you sure it looks right?
I love what you wear
Isn't it too tight?

You're exceptional
I can't wait for the rest of my life

This is it,
oh I finally found someone
Someone to share my life
I finally found the one
To be with every night
'Cause whatever I do
It's just got to be you
My life has just begun
I finally found someone

And whatever I do
It's just got to be you
My life has just begun
I finally found someone


Nothing else sums it up better.. Touchwood! :)

The Departed

Awseome movie..L & me had picked all the wrong movies recently.. movies where we wanted to run out midway..but didn't only because the tickets cost more than a meal..so after all the brain zapping movies it was such a relief to watch this kick-ass movie.. the background score..the dialogues..the tagline..the performances..all top notch..its an all start cast..you get to see martin sheen after a long time..there's Mark wahlberg..a superb performance as usual..a smaller role but meaty nonetheless..and he is superb every frame he is in..he gets to deliver some hard hitting dialogues too..literally..Leonardo..the look he has suits the role to a t..having done the irish immigrant roles before does help as you can see..he carries off the tormented mole part pretty well..Matt Damon..the cop working for the cartel..rendered as good as it comes..& the best player of them all..Jack Nicholson the kingpin..wine's not the only thing that gets better with age..
Scorsese is the perfect captain for this cops & criminals story..well shot..as always the play with words continued to thrill me no end as in all good gangster movies..
The story revolves around the Massachusetts state police & the irish gangster in town(nicholson) whom they been trying to nail for donkey's years now..matt damon is nicholson's mole inside the state police & leonardo gets to do the honours for the gangster club..Wahlberg & Sheen are the cops who recruit loeonardo for the covert act.. wahlberg is explosive in every scene he appears in..sheen as the composed older cop has underplayed his role to perfection..as fate would have it damon & leaonardo fall for the same woman..who ironically starts off being the shrink to one of them.. some of the scenes with the lady are the ones that have the best dialogues..& good background score too..imagine a pink floyd song in one of the steamier scenes..& the song has a cross reference to an earlier scene with nicholson..watch out..
The movie gets interesting when word is out that there are moles within the two organisations..& both the moles are now out to get the other's identity..who gets who first forms the rest of the fun which i shall leave you to find out..
a sampler of one of the dialogues: Jack nicholson meets leaonardo in a bar & asks him to come with him..when leaonardo stalls..he says"i'm not a cop..i'm not asking you"..subtle..& superb.. or maybe i'n not that hard to please:)

World trade Centre

Think WTC & what comes to your mind..the destruction..the mayhem.. the sheer magnitude of such an attack that put the spanner in the works of an entire populace..now if you want to make a movie of this..what do you want to show? obviously the above said stuff..but no.. the makers of WTC had different thoughts.. they picked 2 survivors & showed us what they went through..how they got buried while trying to go about their rescue work...& how they are rescued..filled in between by how they try & stay alive(which btw is not filled with inspiring lines at all )..the pain their families go through when they can't hear from them..the slow pace did not help at all..i am sure the same plot could have been dealt with more effectively with just half the running time..maybe it would have been more watchable then..
how can you make a movie on a disaster & not show the disaster..to give them credit they do show a couple of shots of the WTC going down..but all that was from footage that we already have seen a gazillion times from CNN to NDTV to i am sure some bizzare station in Timbuktu..
The story starts with our protagonists starting the day..ending up at WTC..obviously at the wrong time.. the building collapses & they are stuck in the rubble..pinned & at the mercy of fate..waiting for someone to rescue them..as you'd expect they do get rescued in the end..you see the WTC when they are going down & then when they are rescued you see the remains of the WTC as they are lifted out of it.. what happened in between is all left to your imagination.. what about the people who were stuck on the floors above?..what about the ones who jumped?.. none of that is shown..what about the other rescue people who went down? what about the impact of this on the city? I am sure that would have made for a more gripping tale..
i am sure the story as told now will tug at a few heartstrings.. but if only it was not such a narrowed down version of a huge story..
& there is a small last ditch attempt to garner some of the magnitude into the proceedings by scrolling some stats of the toll..if only they were more evident during the couple of hours i squirmed around in my seat..

The lake house

Before you go any furthur.. spoilers here.. so if you're planning to watch this movie..skip this..come back after watching the movie..
Now.. under normal circumstances would i watch this movie? most probably not.. but then here i am in korea..alone..its the weekend..i am done with all my work.. have absolutely nothing to do... so instead of vegetate i go out for a walk.. there is amultiplex close to the hotel..i walk in & the only english movie playng is..you guessed it..The lake house.. I am not in the modd to walk anymore.. or go back to the hotel & be aware of the lack of company again.. so i decide to watch the movie..
This is the story of Kate & Alex.. kate moves out of the lake house.. an absolutely wonderful structure.. its right on the edge of the lake..the whole house is built on stilts..& is made of glass & wood.. a house that lacks privacy!..but beautiful nonetheless..so..kate is movingout of this house..& she leaves a note in the mailbox for the next owner to forward any mails that she gets..
the catch is that the person who lives next in this house..is actually the previous one..ok that surely left you confused..
by some time warp thingie..the letter reaches Alex..2 years before Kate moves out..eh? yeah.. 2 years.. the idea os sort of ok.. all mushy mushy.. but then with this you tend to get a lot of loose ends..which ultimately is the downfall of this whole thing..
The time warped mailbox soon becomes the connection between the past & the future..between alex & kate.. they soon realise that they like each other but cannot meet..since they are 2 years apart!..
but then..they have met each other in alex's present...in kate's past.. the story keeps switching between alex & kate..the future & the present..or the past & the present..which every way you prefer:) as one the lines go..they are having a long distance relationship..
alls well until the ending of the movie..kate prevents alex from death... because she is in the future you see & she can tell him what is going on...& this experience is from one of the times before she has started her communication with him.. so that is where this whole idea takes a hit.. if she has intervened in his fate..then doesn't that change the fate of a lot of other people too?
too many loose ends in this theory.. She asks him to wait for 2 years so that they coud meet up.. but in between he was supposed to be dead..
ok this won't make any sense.. maybe you should watch the movie after all & then bash it yourself...
the future has always been an intriguing thing..if you can see the future. you should obviously not be able to change it.. if you can, then what you have seen is not the future.. right?

How wierd!

I've been tagged by shub.. so here goes..

I always save the best for last..in almost everything i do.. this is especially when i am eating.. actually i do this with the morning paper too.. i normally save the comic strips for the end.. When checking mails..i check the ones from good friends last..ok that does not necessarily mean that the last one in this list is going to be the wierdest one...

When on rides..i normally tend to ride somewhere in the front of the pack.. at almost every break i go.."hmm that was fast..maybe i should ride the next stretch slow".. & then go & overtake everybody.. I just can't go slow on highways..

If i have a CD/cassette & happen to love a couple of songs..then the cassette is bound to get rewound( or CD track repeated) umpteen number of times.. till i can't take the song anymore..

College exams..papers were for 100 marks.. but the syllabus was for 160... i never could be at peace if i had not studied for the whole 160.. even if it meant i would not get sleep for 2 days..even if it meant that i would have to show up on d-day all red-eyed.. even if it meant that i would have to get a lift to get back home..even if it meant that i had to miss food!!

never carried a bag after school..all through till i completed engineering.. tried lots of alternative stuff...used to keep them in the handlebar of the bike.. used to carry them around in my arms doing a balancing act.. remember once i had lent some books & all of them returned them on the same day.. boy did i have a tough time carrying them in the bus!! even tied up my books with a belt sometimes...& in winter would tied my sweater around my shoulder with books precariously balanced between sweater & shoulder!!

had a pair of jeans that i was crazy about.. so wore them for three straight months without a wash.. finally washed them when a friend "mentioned" that they "looked a little dirty"..and mom refused to wash them..or get it washed by the maid.. so had to do the honours myself..

A friend & i had this wierd passtime.. we would go to the bus terminus.. get onto a bus.. without looking where it was going.. and ask for tickets to the "last stop".. get down there & figure out how to get back home.. managed to get ourselves stranded a couple of times!! this was before the cellphone days.. so no easy help too...

hmm... weird enough i guess ..maybe if written during my college days this would definitely have been more intersting!!..

..now whom do i tag?.. i can think of 2..C & U... & maybe U2...

Gangster...

Finally managed to watch this last night..Courtesy C.. I like the way the movie was shot..
the locations were used well to blend in the story.. if not for the sub title we would not have too many clues that this was Seoul.. the local flavour has been kept out of the movie..normally a difficult thing to manage..
The movie starts with the last scene & is then told in a flashback mode through kangana( for the life of me I can't remember the name of her character in the movie)..Akash(Emraan) & Daya(Shiny Ahuja)... form the other ends of the triangle.. A good story with the twists in the right places keep you interested enough..
Shiny is great as usual.. he does not have to mouth many dialogues & doesn't actually need to when he emotes so well.. He plays the role of the gangster who is married to kangana but is away from her & is a fugitive..Emraan is the quiet lover who carves a place for himself in Kangana's life trying to protect her .. & Kangana dons the role of the lover trying to drown her life & guilt in liquor.. a good performance by her, but could have been better... her voice was one jarring experience.. not sure if she was trying to imitate Meena Kumari's drawl.. but it didn't sound good..
The famed kisser in action was sort of funny.. it looked like both were trying to chew the others lips rather than kissing.. trying to capture passion? didn't look like it!!
Somehow the best scenes were when the protanogists had to look hurt & let down.Shiny when he learns that he has been stabbed in the back.. the feeling of helplessness & being let down could not have been expressed any better..& even that of Kangana when she discovers the truth..
A good movie..worth a watch.. If only Kangana had a good voice..

Goa--the lazy Days..

After the draining ride..& an amazing dinner.. we slept like logs..i remember waking up in the middle of the night hearing some noise.. & it was raining.. cats & dogs.. & the thatched roof amplified the noise.. somehow i find rain very soothing.. drfited off to sleep.. only to wake up late in the morning....The best part about the resort is that the cell signal doesn't stretch so far.. so no calls to disturb us .. the laid back atmosphere enveloped us soon enough & we lost track of time..bliss..
As soon as all were awake we made plans to head out for lunch.. there was this restaurant on the beach.. more of a shack that i really liked in Arambol.. so we hoofed the 2km on the beach.. the sun was blazing..but wading through the cool surf was good enough compensation..the beaches in this part of Goa tend to be very quiet & devoid of people..which is a very good thing.. no crowds to dilute the experience.. and it was the time of the year when monsoons are around the corner..so the place was much quiter than normal.. this was not that great after all.. cause the shack i wanted to visit was closed down for the monsoons.. but luckily enough we found an alternative..
Seafood..looking out on the beach..the horizon..the myraid cloud formations.. all these have to be experience to understand the sense of satisfaction it fills you with.. lunch in these environs was an affair of a couple of hours at least.. Sourabh & Smitha just love canines.. & there was one around to soak in all their attention..
The long walk back to the resort was just in motion when the skies decided to open up..after an initial sprint we realised that we were not going to beat the rain.. so might as well enjoy it.. packed in our cell phones & wallets into Sourabhs waist pouch & made merry.. Dusk was setting in & we all headed out to the beach as soon as we hit the resort..
Sitting on a beach when it is raining is something i've wanted to do for a really long time.. & at last the wish came true.. an hour on the beach was enough to tire us all.. soon it was time for dinner & a game of cards.. & of course lots of beer.. we talked late into the night & it must have been around 1:00 or so when we finally called it a day..
The next day.. i woke up early & decided to go for a jog on the beach..A very refreshing experience.. & the weather was just perfect.. was back & found only Anush awake..We had breakfast & he took off to vasco to meet some relatives..
Sometime after noon Sourabh, Smitha & me headed to Panjim for lunch..We discovered that all the restaurants were closed.. that's the tune to which we had lost track of time.. by now my bike had guzzled a lot of oil.. so we tanked up & decided to head to Baga or Calangute..we would definitely find some food there.. some of the beach shacks are open 24 hours..
A lazy lunch at Sam's shack.. & loads of beer.. some time on the beach & it was dusk already..as luck would have it just as we were to leave the place the skies opened up & the rain was powerful.. enough to keep us holed up in the shack for the next few hours.. with nothing else to do.. we played some darts.. & boy was it fun..or was it fun..
Soon it was time to get back to the resort & call it a day..
The best part about Goa is that you are so absorbed in the laid backness.. that you can drink like a fish.. the beer just doesn't seem to kick in.. or so i thought.. & was to be proved wrong the next day..

Caste-divide!!!

Read this & this today..

Somehow the partial journalism is not very shocking as it should ideally have been..all this corruption that surrounds us has just dulled our ethical reflexes to such levels.. definitely not proud of it..
everywhere you turn around there's something happening that dents the "i-am-proud-of-my-country" feeling.. its is in the hands of people who just keep filling their coffers & emptying our's.. more taxes for what joy? same old roads...infrastructure development at a snail's pace.. snatching opportunities from the meritous..
how can you but not lose faith in the system when you read about this every single day..
how can you but not nurture thoughts of running away from it all..
On the other hand that would be escapism..
Any change that happens needs to be started at the grass root level.. every one of us has to change.. but with the lines already being drawn.. do we still stand a chance?