Hey DJ - Spin That Wheel ....

1725 : Pichle Saat Din Mein….

2012-01-08T07:38:00.001+05:30

I have seen three of my loved ones go through a lot of sickness. And the saga looks like it will continue for a few more weeks.

This has been a fucking start to a cracking new year .

1724 : Humbling experience

2012-01-08T07:29:00.001+05:30

Being in a hospital and seeing your loved one go through the rigours of disease and decay is always a very humbling experience. A good hospital (an extreme oxymoron ) is like a temple – it can remind you of all that life is supposed to be, and not supposed to be…..

A place that constantly flirts with death, can definitely teach you more than a thing or two

(Have been at an hospital foe the past 2 days )

1723 : Have you ever seen the rain pouring down on a sunny day?

2012-01-07T20:36:00.001+05:30

Its educational to watch perfectly sane adults run for cover when it begins to drizzle. And not just when they are in formal clothes or something….they seem to just bolt,when the pour begins.

Parents walking with children on the jogging track – bolt and so do the young ones in an ape mode.

An alien would look at this and go “ah…maybe poison rain!!”.

We, urban junkies not only seem to have lost the forests and animals, but now we seem to be losing the elements as well….sun, rain, wind and fire….all of them are considered harmful.

Me….well, when it rains, I love going for my jog. In my head, the fear of elements is akin to dying. Let the elements graze past, might make you a little more alive…and more so…encourage our little ones to not fear the forests, animals or elements.

1722 : Trust

2012-01-07T19:54:00.001+05:30

Trust is a very strange sentiment. You either have it or you don’t. Its the closest to a binary belief system.

Trust is also strange because its a bit like yeast. Two days to build up on a loaf of bread, with a sweet window of 2 hrs to bake it, if you dont manage to grab the moment, the bread is sour and cannot be saved….(almost akin to too much trust)….and if you bake sooner, the bread never gets the magical puff.

The best bakeries, have perfected the art of continuing their dough perpetually (sour dough or otherwise), by mixing parts of yesterday with today

One fun fact of trust is almost like the Heisenberg principle, you cannot measure it. The point you try and measure it and it destroys the sanctity of the object.

1721 : Welcome 2012 : Poem for 2011, From Europe by Tabish Khair

2012-01-06T22:42:00.001+05:30

I read this once and fell in love with it…..

Walking to ‘Bethlehem’ today I found
The bodies of three wise men by the road.
Around the lifeless neck of each was bound
A placard : ‘Nigger’, ‘Immigrant’, two said;
The third, ‘I shot the bastard;I was bored.’
Their precious gifts were gone; their wisdom dead.

When I finally reached the promised place
(It was not easy, for no star was out
And people slammed their doors in my face),
I was bewildered : It was smoking still,
And bombed to bits; no one answered my shout.
I could see something heavy had been dragged uphill.

1720 : On the Night

2011-12-11T01:12:00.001+05:30

I love “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits…but especially a version from their album called “On The Night”. I used to own two tapes of this, when I was growing up.

Some things only become more precious as time passes us by

There are so many different worlds,
so many different suns,
And we have just one world,
But we live in different ones…..

1719 : Kolaveri Virus

2011-12-11T00:40:00.001+05:30

I was watching the video of Kolaveri Di closely. There is a reason why this song is a monster hit – its not just a great freaky song – but the video conveys fun. Shruti, Aniruddh, Aishwarya and Dhanush especially seem to be having a ball recording this song.

Just that joie de vivre should make this a viral. In these times, who does not want to live a little vicariously

1718 : Meri Arzoo Kaminey

2011-12-11T00:25:00.001+05:30

I have posted many times about this song already. This is the title song from the movie Kaminey, composed and sung by Vishal Bharadwaj, lyrics by Gulzar.

Maybe it’s the litre of alchohol, or maybe it’s the poet in me, but I cannot just get over the beauty of this this para….it’s the work of an inspired genius.

Meri Dastaan….kaminey,
Mere Raaste…..kaminey
Ek Dil Si Dosti Thein, Yeh Hazoor bhi Kaminey

(A rough semantic transalation would read…..

my destiny and the story of my past are all screwed and completely waylaid….so is the future of the path that I am currently in….alas….eventually I fell in love with a beauty, and I thought things were eventually looking up (implied!!)…guess what….that was all fucked up as well!!)

1717 : Bhare Naina by Nandini Shrikar

2011-12-10T23:50:00.001+05:30

Bhare Naina from Ra.One is an unusual song – its classical and operatic tones are quite stand out – and Nandini’s vocals are awesome.

The song does get fucked by some English gibberish in the midst.

The Hindi lyrics are fairly to the grade, though it could do with a little more Jor, its unfair to Nandini. I would love a non-remixed version.

Will post a translation soon. I liked the song overall.

(Though I like Kolaveri Di more….I know its apples to papayas, but Kolaveri makes me smile )

1716 : Human Inspiration

2011-12-10T23:45:00.001+05:30

As I run circles in my complex, I pass by the tennis court – and quite often – I see this balding chap who comes along alone and is practicing his serve.

After he runs out of balls, he jumps to the other side and serves back – so he alternates sides….

But the practices alone

I find him to be an inspiration.

1715 : AA invited

2011-12-10T23:39:00.001+05:30

It’s a wild day so far. I ran 11km, and I also guzzled down over 1 litre of wine. I think I will need to sign up for AA soon

1714 : The art of advertising

2011-12-10T17:13:00.001+05:30

I have started looking at ads with a more keener eye, especially their accompanying graphics.

I must admit, half of the creative guys must be smoking coke – how else do you explain photos of appalling stupidity associated with big brands. E.g. the one from Raymond below.

Look hard. Relevance of this image to Raymond? Where is the girl with the camera focusing? (If I understand her Line of Sight correctly – she is focusing on none of the 3 others)? Why are the girls more prominent in a men’s clothing ad? (and not like they are in a attention grabbing bikini or something)

1713 : Tilt and shift

2011-12-10T12:45:00.001+05:30

I have been playing around with tilt and shift (perspective shift) images, and I am so thoroughly enjoying it

Not only does it evoke creative juices, some of the end products actually make you smile.

Have some fun snaps of the family in that, but I cant post that here…but here comes some landscapes

1712 :Jazz and 90s

2011-12-10T09:07:00.001+05:30

A little more searching revealed that there is also an album called Jazz and the 90s.

Listening to that as well now

1711 : Jazz and 80s

2011-12-10T09:03:00.001+05:30

One of the colleagues recommended an album called "Jazz and 80s” – a 2 CD collection of 80s hits reinterpreted by Jazz artistes.

I have been listening to this since yesterday night and its addictive and mesmerizing.

Thank you Nilesh bhai

1710 : The Pianist 2

2011-12-10T08:50:00.001+05:30

From the previous post….

One of the folks had a Grand Piano at his home which he had been playing for every day since he was 9. And the other one played the Fender Stratocaster (its guitar duboo!!)

Reminds me again, I should have learnt music while I could have

1709 : The pianist

2011-12-10T08:44:00.001+05:30

I spent yesterday evening guzzling bottles of Corona with a few of colleagues – who I had worked with for around 2 years, but hardly knew outside the office.

Somehow the conversation veered towards music, and blimey, I have never enjoyed a conversation so much (in recent memory).

They knew everything about 80s and 90s, and classical, and jazz. We spent most of the 3 hrs just reminiscing of what we grew up listening – and each of us was “going one up” on the other, by mentioning those tiny little things, which we all treasure – like someone spoke of Morrison’s An American Prayer, someone spoke of Pyromania, someone mentioned Purple Rain, someone else Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, and not to forget the infinite mentions of Dylan and Syd Barrett…… and lastly, we spoke of John Mayer too

Strangely, as I always feel in these circumstances, in addition to feeling very happy, I also had a weird longing to trudge back into my journey with music.

Looks like “The Zing Thing” is back – bring on the oranges

1708 : Gimme Hope

2011-12-10T08:29:00.001+05:30

I am probably the last person on this planet to listen to “Why This Kolaveri Di” which has almost become a cultural meme in times like today.

I must admit I listened to the song with trepidation, a sense of foreboding about being disappointed.

Guess what?

The song gives me hope. Every now and then comes along a song which reminds you that music was eventually about conveying an emotion – this song does just that – and how.

Take a bow Dhanush and Aniruddh.

Creativity is back, and we must celebrate the Kolaveris

1707 : I have seen God

2011-12-06T21:20:00.001+05:30

And she glides on skates. ???

In my complex we have two large basketball courts. Some evenings a girl of about 18-20, wears her skates ( the type with 4 wheels), plugs in her Ipod and she glides through the turf. She actually does gravity defying bends, almost a la ballet on ice.

Its mesmerising to see her. It suddenly gives me a feeling that anything is possible in life. It makes me want to do what I like. She inspires me, and she always always brings a smile in face and heart.

Now tell me, do you know who else but God can do all of the above.

1706 : A 1000 faces

2011-12-06T21:16:00.001+05:30

Now to illustrate my previous post, imagine this legendary National Geographic photo without the scarf. Would you focus on the face? (agreed the scarf is not black, but in my head any dark enough color would do!!)

1705 : The Black Sheep

2011-12-06T21:11:00.001+05:30

A black scarf can so irrefutably make someone’s face stand out….its actually a brilliant fashion motif.

A face (beautiful or otherwise in the eyes of the beholder) will always stand out when shrouded in black – and thats true for Caucasians and Mongolians both.

Using a black scarf to hide one’s modesty (especially when used in a way where the face is displayed) is such a bad ploy, and it needs to be re-examined, if that is the goal of the black shroud in cultures !!

1704 : That hairy bastard

2011-12-06T21:02:00.003+05:30

Folks who know me, know facial hair is not a style statement, its more of a social necessity in my “flintstonish” urban order.

I have always been told that babies hate facial hair.

I know a baby who not only likes my facial hair, but he plucks my beard hair one by one – almost like Chinese torture, and after each successful eviction, laughs aloud with delirium.

At othet times he just likes to play with the bristles as if it was some sort of beewax scrub that he uses to exfoliate himself.

Having said and done, I must say, I am certain without my beard, he would probably not even recognize me.

1703 : Beat that up, beat that down….beat it till it screams aloud !!

2011-12-06T21:02:00.001+05:30

Proprietary is a funny one. Its different from judgement/opinion.

When you walk along the street, and a fatass urban junkie kicks a stray dog just for the pleasure of seeing him wimp – if that sight makes your heart and blood pound a little faster – welcome to the world of proprietary. Its a world where things are in black and white – you pretty much know that the other person has fucked up.

When you walk along the street, and you see a hairy hoary uncle wearing a sleeveless ganji, ensuring his 5 inch long underarm hair is sticking out and there for all to see – you cringe, well thats a judgement.

In both cases, ideally you want to have the advantage of the person’s context. Why is the fatass kicking the dog? Maybe because his girlfriend kicks his balls similarly to wake him up. Why is the hoary guy parading his underarm hair….maybe because he is compensating for the lack of enough hair on his bald “airstrip” head….he thinks women will swoon for his fertile hairility.

Get the drift…context is most times everything.

I am still fine with the “judger” not having context….but the man with properietary, but no context is as dangerous a lunatic. Makes me wonder what makes some of us so very puerile

1702 : The city of a million deities

2011-12-06T21:01:00.001+05:30

I have been away from Bombay for only about 2 years now, but the cracks are beginning to show. As I was driving along the city during this visit, was amazed by how this city’s underbelly is gnawing at itself.

An example of this rabid degeneration of the city’s skylines and wall-lines. All across the city is littered with political posters of every ribald color (and don’t even get me started on political flags ). The depressing bit is that these posters are most tastelessly done, and the mug-shots – well someone needs to make those faces palatable. We all know most politico types are goons, but come on, don’t look like one, especially on a mug shot designed for your publicity.

And if you still don’t have a sense of how cancerous this malaise is, I suggest you walk any street on north of central mumbai and if you manage to find a 100 mt stretch without this nuisance, I shall be doggone.

And yes, we are on route to be a Shangai in 2015 …I so completely believe in that.

1701 : The black angel of death

2011-12-03T11:16:00.001+05:30

There is this passage in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children, which goes something to this effect :

As long as you allow the battle in your life to proceed, for you to have a desired goal, your life continues. The minute, we pause, we rest and we relax – we allow the Black Angel of Death to begin to leak in.

I could not agree more

1700 : Mine is bigger than yours

2011-12-03T11:05:00.001+05:30

In Bombay, I am seeing this recurrent theme of competition.The city uses its economic architecture as a metaphor for all of life and its all shows.

Everything is dog eat dog here…and I mean every single thing. No one place does it stand out more meanly than in the case of toddlers and their parents.

Everything is measured and quantified. “My kid is 5 and he is already reading”, “Your has already learnt 2 ragas”, “your daughter has her arangetram at 8??”, “your son weighs 25 kgs at 6??”…and the list continues.

If you ask these same parents to describe their child’s individuality – they will be very hard pressed, at least most of them will be.

Somewhere in this modern race, we have forgotten that one of the key responsibilities as parents is to forge out (tarashna in hindi) his/her individuality.

I am more in awe of parents who tell me that their son at 6 has a great interest in cosmology (as someone I know actually does), than in knowing that someone’s daughter at 8 has started reading Mills and Boons.

By the time we are all 15, the kid who learnt to read faster would have normalised and his advantage thoroughly neutralised….versus the kid whose parents encouraged him to invest in his interest on cosmology – would have one strong passion in his arsenal.

And passion is what keeps us alive !!

1699 : Advice to Bombayites

2011-12-03T10:34:00.001+05:30

I will sincerely advice those living in Bombay (currently), to go and have a a bite of a good Wada Pav daily. I promise you, once you are off this city, you will never ever find a good Bhaji Pav, Wada Pav combination.

Have a few every day, you never know when you have to leave this magical city

1698 : The rip off specialists

2011-12-03T10:25:00.001+05:30

We were housed at Fortis Hospitals for the past 9 days. I must say that modern hospitals are the most mercenary types – and are in urgent need of some soul searching.

Fortis in Mulund has a great ICU, some good doctors, but general wards, out patient and the nurses leave so much to be desired.

The nurses are in the ratio of 3 to 50 beds. If thats not appalling enough, spare a thought for the fact that most of these 50 beds are occupied and almost all of these have patients with one or the other serious ailments.

These hospitals charge for everything from spirit, handwash, gauge and even the old traditional mercury thermometer. Would these not make more sense, if they were shared. Who uses a bale of cotton or a whole wrap of gauge.

These are charged at MRP. In a day 5 doctors visit us, and each visit is charged – all he comes and asks us – “all ok?” and then runs off.

I felt as if I was in a shop where every inch of skin is on sale. And to believe these buggers all started with a Hippocrates oath

Sad state of affairs

1697 : Rarest of Rare

2011-12-03T09:27:00.001+05:30

There is a rendition of Todi by Kishori Amonkar (Begun Gun Gave….allah ke samne sabhi jaaye!!), thats only available on Navras/Sony records, but is usually never in stock.

I finally found this in a casual browsing in a music store and grabbed it by its lungs.

If you are thinking what all of this fuss is about, I recommend you listen to it, there is a chance, you might just meet your God !!

(The image is from a times music album – the todi version is slightly different from the Navras/Sony music).

1696 : From the fold of your fist

2011-12-03T09:14:00.001+05:30

For two days, we shared our ward with a raucous Sindhi mother-daughter duo. The hospital felt more like an auction house, than a place to rest and recuperate.

We sniggered and sneered at the loud garish ring tones, the intoned demands on the nurses and the always cringing kind of drone.

Then yesterday eventually we got chatting. It transpired that the daughter is 34 years old – she has a 7 year old daughter herself, and her husband who is 39 – had multiple renal failure about 6 weeks ago. Both his kidneys just went kaput.

After a short deliberation, and a protracted resistance from family, they decided that she would donate one of her kidneys to him.

The surgery happened on last Sun, about the same time when we had ours. The husband is still in the ICU.

My learning out of this, to have a big giant sized heart, couture is not a pre-requisite!!

(You can determine an approximate size of your heart by folding your fist!!)

1695 : Dear Mr. Bhatt

2011-12-03T08:14:00.001+05:30

(If you are prude, please stop reading beyond this point. Parental advisory . Prude? You? Maheshji – not you. We know you are the film-maker who has always crossed boundaries than respected any. The warning was meant for more well intentioned folks )

(In the one above, Mahesh Sir is staring hard at something unstoppable and immovable)

(In this one above, Mahesh Sir seals the deal on Big Boss 5. Mahesh Ji BTW, is the biggest boss!!)

Dear Mr. Bhatt, we now know you want to make a certain porn star called Sunny Leone star in Jism 2. For the dinosaur in the modern world, who missed this “breaking news”, it was all over googleland and lalaland.

To those who missed it, India TV also ran a story saying, “Sunny ne Mahesh se kaha, mujhe Arth 2 mein kaam karna hain…mein subtance wala role karna chahati hoon" – can you imagine Sunny in a reprise of Shabana. Really Yummy.

But those are minor distractions. My real point of this letter was to tell you, Mahesh Sir…why don’t we rope in Pamela Ji also onto the enterprise. And then instead of Jism 2, lets make a bilingual – English and Hindi….release both worldwide. Call the English one a very dickensian “Tale of Two Titties” and the Hindi one “Do Babloan ki hain yeh kahani”. (We can get either Asha to croon the title number for Hindi, and Workshop to do their Bunty and Bubli for the English one)

If you dont like the first set of titles, alternatively, we can call this enterprise, “The Titties of Angels” and “Do hoor aur aunke babloan ka guroor”.

If you need more help with titillating (oops!! I meant titling ), I will be readily fawning at your service. Who does not like Bhatt’s on his resume? I will work free for a great mind like yours. I shall change my name to Dinesh, if that helps. Together we shall form a crack tag team, something along the lines of Mahesh – Dinesh (your name should be first sir…always!!)….very soon people might forget Salim-Javed.

We can deliver the greatest tits (oops!! I mean hits) to the entertainment industry.

We can, and we will usher in social revolution. Move over Shabana, Sunny is here and she does have two big things which demand a lot of space

1694 : Object of consternation

2011-12-01T09:19:00.001+05:30

Folks are aghast when I tell them that my Tatasky subscription is past due date, and I have not seen active television in over 2 years now.

Some of them take pity on me, and try and explain to me – what I am possibly missing.

I am sure I missing a few good movies, I am missing my fav F1 races, I am missing Travel and Living….

But I made a lifestyle choice and not a philosophical choice. Which means, when I see a TV on, I join in, in flights I do grab 2-4 movies.

But….

I have figured that not having TV adds substantially more to my life than it takes away. Hence I plan to stick to it for some time. I don’t even feel like watching a movie or a show anymore.

Music, drives with Raavan, writing and photography keep me very busy in the little time I am out of my office cubicle

What turns me off, is when people think I am making a wrong choice. I am making a choice, right or wrong, time will tell….and I don’t even want to hear what it tells.

I don’t go around giving people grief for not blogging, I expect a similar respect for my choices

1693 : : Tick tock…tick tock

2011-12-01T08:57:00.001+05:30

To be sleeping in(near) a hospital’s icu and to have a large wall clock ticking loudly above your head – is kind of surreal.

Its poetic no doubt, but it is also humbling and mildly ironic.

What better place to remind us mortals – “The clock never stops – its arrow points in one direction only – always.”

1692 : The modern cuppa

2011-12-01T08:50:00.001+05:30

Picture this.

I am at this tea stall (a Bombayite would know what I mean), a decrepit run down excuse of a shop, and sipping tea at 630 in the morning.

A jogger comes along, and barks “Diet coke hai”.

I was for a minute aghast, diet coke and here ????

But then, I heard the shopkeeper, politely answer “Nahin sir, khatam ho gaya…sorry”.

The conversation speaks eons for mumbai and its ethos. In which other city in the world, would you get chai and diet coke served at 630 in the morning to yuppies like me, and to the day labourers….and also, where else would a person say sorry for running out of stock on a particular item.

I think its time we made “I love Bombay” tea(T) shirts soon

1691 : The perfect cup

2011-12-01T08:39:00.001+05:30

In which other city, you walk down at 630am in the morning from the ICU of a hospital (onto the streets), and perfect cup of steaming chai and hot wada pav’s are waiting for you.

I must be in the famed streets of Paradise that the seers promised

1690 : Beware of duplicate(s)

2011-12-01T07:07:00.001+05:30

All along the Bombay roadlines, I see this poster(and its equivalent in Hindi/Marathi), issued by Mumbai police :

BEWARE OF DUPLICATE POLICEMAN

Now I find the use of “duplicate” very uniquely Indian in this case. I would think “duplicate” means “making a copy by design” versus fake would mean “making a copy by rouge”.

This poster would make a lot of sense, if Mumbai police were itself making copies of policemen, and spreading them around to test its citizen, like some of first person action game.

1689 : I have been royally shafted

2011-11-30T09:51:00.001+05:30

In the hospital as I was walking around, there are lots of corner pillars – covered with a wood panel, with brown mica, and in black bold letters, its written

SHAFT

I thought it was the hospital’s way of pepping up folks by saying something equivalent of “NO FEAR”

Its only when I spoke to a security chap and asked him – what does this mean. He said that behind these pillars “computer cables” are running. Aha…network cables.

1688 : A tale of two cities

2011-11-30T09:27:00.001+05:30

As I landed in Bombay yesterday, after another hiatus of 3 odd months – it struck me (again!!) how much of this city is lost on me.

Unlike the others who come back to find this city filthy and unlikable – infact, thats what I like about this city - street food, feeling secure and the ability to move around and merge seamlessly – the anonymity of a large city in a rush –like NY, HK or London.

What I have realised staying away though, is that this city is applying the same degree of apathy to some of its human interactions, including schools, hospitals, workplaces – which though all of them might be punctual and super-efficient, they are essentially flawed in their machinist ways.

And thats beginning to show – especially to someone like me- who has been on the “inside outside in” – the sea of one-dimensional humans, the plight of a life thats only understood creed is the holy grail of money, the defense of this creed as if it were a cult, the inability to mentally expand….

(And by no means – Bangalore is utopian, but its a step in the right direction. To compare Bombay to Bangalore is a wrong comparison….to compare Bombay to New York – is plainly being blind sided)

Am I Bombay bashing? Yes and no. What I am saying more importantly is living away from this city for some time – and taking a bird’s eye view into it, helps me put this love of mine to the test.

1687 : Raavan’s gaffe

2011-11-30T08:22:00.001+05:30

Raavan(due to his misplaced geographical orientation), thinks it is cool to strain his eyes or blink folks as he is greeting them, either with a smile or a loud “Hi”.

In most audiences he woos them with his unconventional mannerisms.

Yesterday, he did the same with 2 Japanese folks.

So ???

Well, if you know the Japanese, you pretty much know that they do squint their eyes a bit while talking – almost in a dignified manner of being polite and human. When Raavan pulled his act on them, I pretty much figured from their conversation (and consternation) that they almost thought Raavan was imitating them

Now, given that he is Srilankan and burlesque as compared to those puny Japanese – clearly a tiny altercation had been avoided – else who knows

1686 : Sandals or flips flops were meant to breathe

2011-11-30T08:11:00.001+05:30

I think the very reason that sandals, sandaks, flip flops, crocs and the ilk were invented – it was to allow our feet to breathe, to feel semi naked.

I find the fashion statement of wearing a socks with these semi naked footwear simply appalling- a complete turn off to put it mildly.

1685 : The grandstand erupts

2011-11-30T08:06:00.001+05:30

It was this same ICU make shift bed ward (refer to previous post), that raucously applauded when India won in in their nailbiter against Windies.

I was fast asleep by then and was woken by up a rude jolt.

For a moment, disoriented that I was, I was unsure whether I was in the stadium or I was in the ICU of a hospital.

Cricket does seem to cross boundaries in India, even in a “dead silent” zone

1684 : The world is a big pyramid, and its a race to the top

2011-11-30T08:00:00.001+05:30

Picture this.

I am plonked outside the ICU ward of a hospital, where they have created make shift beds for us “patient companions” to sleep.

I could not help but notice that the person next to me (as in the bed next to me) – was reading a product guide to Amway as bedtime reading.

I am not here to judge or ridicule, but I would not have had an issue with this picture if he was had been browsing through Allen Stanford’s biography.

Its just Amway is so very infradig

1683 : Life is a mirror

2011-11-21T06:05:00.001+05:30

I was talking to someone the other day who spoke wistfully of a lost brother. He spoke of a difficult to fill hole, one that is at least 2 decades long.
He told me how losing him meant the loss of a clutch, one that he still sometimes feels the need for.
And a lot more.....
As I thought hard , it occurred to me, why movies appeal to such a diverse broad based set...most stories are essentially the same.

1682 : This thing called age creeps up on you :-)

2011-11-21T05:57:00.002+05:30

My back is visibly broken. My migraine seems no better....and some other ominous signs. Start of the mid ages :-)

1681 : A man called Veyron

2011-11-21T05:48:00.000+05:30

Raavan was telling me if he ever buys a car then it shall be an Audi. Why ? Because he thinks it sounds like his name :-)
“Really ?”. I would say, go figure :-)

1680 : Old fashioned

2011-11-21T05:42:00.000+05:30

Picture this. I was in the parking yesterday when another car parked alongside, and emerged a young teenage son in football gear, being helped to his feet by his mother.
As they limped to the basement elevator, I held the door open for them. They thanked me, the mom held a bunch of medical reports in her hand. It was clear that the son had had a sporting accident.
As the elevator started moving, the mother quite non-self-consciously told the kid, “I want to hug you”. The son smiled, said “thank you”, and then after a pause and a sheepish grin asked “why?”.
Meanwhile I got out of the lift, but as I did, I could not notice that I was feeling happy :-)

1679 : Older

2011-11-21T05:39:00.000+05:30

Picture this. In the apartment complex that I live, I see this old man (around 85 maybe) walk everyday with a back brace and a walker. He takes about 10 mins to cross 100 mts....reaches a bench...sits...looks around, toothlessly smiles, looking very frail and then walks to the next bench and the cycle continues.
It occurred to me, that I will be a very lonely man, if I ever grow old. My children, if any, might share very little of my world views, just like I did not see eye on eye with my parents’ view.
Older and wiser :-(

1678 : Man booker

2011-11-20T10:27:00.002+05:30

Three books I most definitely want to read soon :

1 The valley of masks by Tarun Tejpal

2 As though she were sleeping by Elias Khoury (was reminded of the book and the author by Manasi S http://manasis.blogspot.com/ )

3 The sense of an ending by Julian Barnes

1677 : Who is Rajni

2011-11-13T23:03:00.001+05:30

Some visiting firang was asking me "whats special about this chap called Rajni".
Very difficult to explain it to him. It occurred to me, I should have told him one of the more popular legends about Saar....
"RAJNI saar (even) knows Victoria's secret !!"

1676 : Painted by yoga and hair

2011-11-13T09:50:00.001+05:30

You have to see the meaning of Hairum . This is completely over the top.

1675 : How about issuing me a plain ticket?

2011-11-13T09:46:00.001+05:30

1674 : Worthy of worship

2011-11-13T09:41:00.001+05:30

From a recent edition of Bangalore Times

1673 : Gimme sum of that noise

2011-11-12T21:46:00.000+05:30

Noise and shor-sharaba is such an essential part of modern "celebrating". I see all these parents and children drowning in the deluge of sound and cacophony.

Maybe I am really a misfit into this urban world.

1672 : 5 parts of desire

2011-11-12T21:37:00.002+05:30

5 things that should have been part of my life:
1. Writing
2. Motorcycling
3. Photography
4. Music
5. Industrial design

1671 : Mother chord

2011-11-12T10:26:00.004+05:30

Americans seem obsessed with the sanitisation of the tongue !! Whoa.... What does that mean.
I meant the recent incident of Eddie murphy pulling out of oscars, because he and his director referred to gays in a slant way.

This American bent of mind (it's not afflicted as much of the euros yet) seem to entrench every part of our vocabulary. You don't fuck, you screw or get laid...you don't abuse, you cuss....you are differently abled not disabled....you don't stutter you have a slight speech disorder, you don't kiss you peck, you don't have an accident you have a situation, you don't die, you pass away....you don't have a drug addiction, you have a drug dependence....you don't masturbate (or have oral sex) you instead shag....you don't ingratiate, you suck up.....

Get the drift. This preponderance of making every aspect of speech less harsh is permeating the world...and quite fast. You can no longer make blonde jokes, gay jokes, Sardar jokes, irish jokes...and the ilk...

You cannot say fuck in public, and you cannot even call pink a girlie color.

Why because we must respect humans and diversity. Ahem....I am as diverse as diverse can be. Some of my friends used to be gays, I totally support my spouse as a partner, I work with some of the best lady workers at my work place, but this incessant tongue sanitation is taking the entire fun out of speech.

It's not that I want to call a black a nigger, but hell I do want to espouse my biases... I do want to crack jokes on iyers (like me), I do want to make gujju jokes (lets all goto macdoland and eat burgers :-))....

Get the drift.

It does not help Americans in their cause that they will eschew capitalism and create severe economic inequities, but when it comes to speech, all men and women are created equal and soft...so no hard talk please.

All this political corectness business does leave me in a fuck soup.

Folks who know me, will understand, that if there is any correctness I will aspire for, then that is in action and not in speech.

For now, if you do want to convert your tongue into a cesspit latrine, try saying the "subject title" of this post, exactly how a bongoli would....:-)....if you don't get it the first time, trying reading it in bappida's tone and as a single world...ignore the space :-)

1670 : For whom the bells toll

2011-11-12T06:42:00.000+05:30

I woke up at 535 today morning and the chanting in the temple next door had already started :-)

Ah....makes me feel so incomplete and lowly :-)

1669 : The "dinosaur with flapping wings" effect

2011-11-12T06:28:00.001+05:30

As I am growing older, I am realising how every single choice I made in shaping up my life is coming back in multiples to either haunt me, or to beef me up.

The former s more true than the latter.

And funnily we believe that destiny is random :-)

If there is a thing as random, it's probably our decision making process :-) If only I could rewind and choose again.

1668 : He stood alone with the bone of a trophy

2011-11-12T06:05:00.002+05:30

In recent times I have often wondered, “am I chasing a chimera”,am I committing to an ideal, to a journey, which I started years ago, but something, which could have lost relevance in recent times.

Happens with all of us, right....we head off to the market to buy a loaf of bread for breakfast, but get distracted, spend 4 hrs at a bookshop, it's 1 pm at noon...and now that you have finished with books, you continue on your quest for bread, without realising that bread is no longer needed....it's way past breakfast now.

Sounds philosophical or vague? Well, it's meant to be neither, its a real world dilemma, and I really sit and think, am I running behind a goal driven by my principles, but which is way out of sync with the reality of my universe? Where is all this taking? Further down a lonely decrepit road? Further down the path of mental isolation? Am I throwing too much good money after the rotten?

Questions ? Yes. Answers? No.

1667 : I am going to the land down under

2011-11-11T22:29:00.003+05:30

Contemplating moving to chennai. My wife thinks chennai blogs are so poetic and so very bloody cool :-) She thinks they are "sooouperrrr".

I am too tired and too old to fight this stupidity, but then.....its really never too late to loll in absurdity :-)

The wand of the inane looms over the land of troubled waters :-)

1666 : Desire knows no end...

2011-11-08T21:53:00.004+05:30

Continuing from my previous post....in addition to a long list of glasses that I crave to satisfy my insatiable lens lust, I also crave for a medium format hasselblad. Someday I really want to take up medium format photography seriously.
...and I want to pick up a pro range video camera with interchangeable 3d lenses.
When I do have both of these, I shall truly need to have that strong room in my home :-)
...and my plans for a second car would be sacrificed on the altar.

1665 : Whats a photograph, but a memory

2011-11-08T21:41:00.000+05:30

I now have enough photography equipment to buy a locker and store it in :-). Jokes apart, seriously, I have a fortune invested in this and unlike the naysayers, I use most of it very regularly. In fact I think my camera and my camcorder are probably the best investment I ever made in electronics in the last 3 years. These are used almost everyday

..but that's beside the point. When I look back, I think I could (can) safely own about 15 good prosumer cameras in the equivalent price of the equipment I have.

And yet, never once, have I regretted my decision to go amateur pro (if there is such a category).

Point of this rambling....well, goes back to my fav question - why would someone live with a compact (if you could indeed afford the real thing..and I don't mean coke in this case :-))

1664 : Looking back on life

2011-11-08T21:31:00.000+05:30

The third time my back has completely broken down this year...and I am have not hit my mid age crisis yet, or is this it :-)

1663 : I (too) have a dream

2011-11-07T21:13:00.000+05:30

This seems to be a season of remembering dreams. I have never, if at all, remembered any of my dreams. Like yesterday night, I dreamt that someone very special (and yet possibly estranged) was telling me that she will try and make her side of the equation work.

Now theres a great start. Albeit just a dream, at least the intent has been manifested.

Let the dream now bake its own shape. Till then.... waiting for happiness :-)

1662 : 36 is a sexy number (Travelogue–Bangalore Mysore Ooty Coonoor)

2011-11-07T20:01:00.001+05:30

Raavan has been cribbing that its over an year in India and all we have accompanied him is a measly trip to Mysore. Knowing him…and being egged by RA.One’s threat (it was still a factor a few weeks ago), he pushed us to doing Coonoor this time. Trip details

Date : 4th Nov 2011, evening 4pm to 6th Nov 2011, evening 630pm.
Drive : 630 km across this time.
Itinerary : 4th Drive from Bangalore to Mysore. Stay at Ginger.
5th and 6th – stay at Taj Coonoor
6th – Drive from Coonoor to Bangalore.
Route : Bangalore – Mysore (Via Nice) 150km – Coonoor (via Ooty) 149km – Mysore-Bangalore
Time : Bangalore – Mysore 4th – 4pm to 730pm. Mysore Coonoor 5th – 1015am to 215pm, Coonoor Bangalore 6th – 930am to 630pm
Ratings : Ginger 8/10 – Clean homely place, has cheap food and Café Coffee Day, and small clean rooms. For 2100 a night for 3, I felt it was a good economy motel.
Taj Coonoor 8/10– its an exotic place, really beautiful, an erstwhile building connected to the church which is now converted to a hotel. Its exactly like Munnar in terms of mountains, clouds, mist, fog and beauty. Taj is at their hospitable best. For 4750 a night you get a suite. Food is very expensive by that standards, almost 450 a dish, but I would swear by the local cuisine they cook. Its unbelievably yummy. They were kind enough to take special requests for Lankan cuisines for Raavan . Only catch – it gets dark, overbearing and depressing in the evening – if you and the hotel staff are the only ones around. Happened to us on Friday. Has a ghost town kind of feel for us Urban Junkies.

Key highlights (in no order):
1. The drive from Bangalore to Mysore on 4th – was one of the most difficult driving experiences ever (for me). It was torrential downpour for around 100km on the national highway with literally zero visibility, my wipers were at their fastest and yet for me the taillight ahead if any was just a blur. There were hardly any vehicles on the road. I was nervous through the journey, because I wanted Raavan to return to Lanka safe….I did not want an international homicide on my hands .

2. The McDonalds 65km from Bangalore towards Mysore, was 45 minutes well spent. It eased off all our nerves and I got the strength to nurse the car to Ginger, on a highway as deserted and dangerous as the Great Plague. Finally I understood what “I am loving it” meant.

3. The drive from Mysore to Coonoor via Ooty was another riot. It was torrential – expect that this time I was driving during the day.

4. The drive via Bandipur and Mudumalai (it’s the same – in Karnataka its called Bandipur and in TN its called Mudumalai) about 40km is lovely. You actually drive through a national forest, seeing tons of squirrels, elephants, deer and the ilk. No one ever sees a Tiger, though this is a Tiger reserve. On our way in, we drove through a deserted road, us being the only car on the road.

5. After Mudumalai, the road is treacherous in its incline, and has 36 taxing hair pin bends. Google tells me that this is one of the toughest real life terrain to drive in India. We did this in pouring rain, slippery roads and zero visibility – which made it very adventurous

6. On the point above, only later we realized that there is a broader and less treacherous route via Gudalur, a 22km extra drive to reach to Ooty. (We did not try that while coming back as well – the hotel folks told us – the “dangerous” route is better since it saves at least an 1 hr in commute)

7. Tea and Chocolates are good and easily available from the local market – either near the bus stop or from Bedford Circle. We bought tea from Vishal Marketing (run by a father son duo Parekh’s) near our hotel. Chocolates we bought from Tulsi Mall, which is near the Ooty Highway.

8. On our way back after KFC (70km from Bangalore), near Channa Patna (the wooden toy paradise), there was an agitation on the road by Silk Farmers (protesting against falling coocoon prices…can you believe it, you block a national highway for that!!….I mean what can I do to help their cause…but they did screw me and my car). It gave us our flat (later) and also added 2 hrs to our journey. We had to drive through an inner road for about 20 kms which was jammed all along and an complete offroader. Today in the newspaper I read the jam was 10 hrs long , so the option we took was better.

9. As we parked our car back into our garage at Bangalore, we realized that we had a terrible flat….and today, on analysis realized it’s a side flat – so cant we repaired. So now one of my tyres is a Tubed tyre

Would I do this again? Of course. In same conditions? Yes, why not. Should you do it? You should. Its like a drive not comparable to any I have done so far. Where else do you drive through a forest. What should I be worried about? Tyres and fuel and breakdown. You can’t have any of this on such a trip. Do a thorough check of the car on your way out and in.

Enjoy Maadi !!

1661 : …versus the Real Thing

2011-11-07T18:18:00.001+05:30

Raavan, when he first heard about RA.One, felt a little insecure - as if the rug could slide under his feet. As the conversation developed and he realized that this was a Shah Rukh movie about a Robot, he kind of cooled off. His expression was "a megalomaniac superstar who thinks he is a robot....bah!!, thats no match for the real biological conundrum of ten heads. RA.One sounds like a rotten child's play..Me..??I have to deal with Ram's presence all the time :-)"

1660 : Things beyond Caterpillar ....

2011-11-03T07:32:00.001+05:30

Faith can only move mountains, for a good rumble rush peristalsis, you definitely need a decent dose of fibre :-)

Location:Sarjapur Rd,Bengaluru,India

1659 : I loved this Nikon ad....superfuntabulous

2011-11-02T22:24:00.005+05:30

1658 : Those magnificent men in their looting machines

2011-11-02T21:59:00.001+05:30

It's kind of sad, but my dad knows very little of what I do....and being the ignoble son that I am, I have never taken the effort of educating him. (I have never had enough time for him....)

He casually told me yesterday, that “occupy wall street is good. Those bloody chors completely deserve it.”

He just summed up my life :-)

1657 : The God of false things

2011-11-02T21:49:00.000+05:30

Its easy to keep meditating on what could have been. The truth is you are jacked and stuck with what you are and what you have. The rest is just plain wish wash - your balls playing tricks on you.

Am reminded of lines from a pankaj udhas ghazal - “baaki khayal oh khwab hain, saach bolta hoon main “

1656 : Mumma said knock you out

2011-11-02T21:41:00.001+05:30

I want to learn boxing, seriously I do think it will be a great unwind to a long gruelling day.
Hail pugilists :-)

1655 : The soft pounder

2011-11-01T21:23:00.001+05:30

I keep saying this, but folks think I am losing my (remaining) bearings... But, yes, I sincerely believe Microsoft will bounce back in the next 2-5 years to pre-eminence in technology.

They are bring flogged, after their faltering steps in the last few years....but yes, you can always beat a down and deflated gorilla....

My view is - they are a great buy at the current stock price. Remember they might be down and out, but they are still the 500 pound gorilla in the room :-)

1654 : Designs on life

2011-11-01T21:11:00.001+05:30

Like all things in life, I have realised very late in my life that what moves me the most is design and visual arts.
I should have chosen that when life offered the tarts - now I am left holding the lemons :-)

1653 : The eggasaurus

2011-11-01T21:07:00.001+05:30

I am falling in love with the iyers and Jains who think - “my son can eat eggs, but he should not eat chicks and fish”. (for the record, I myself thought years ago that killing eggs were less violent than chicks)....

But that spaciousness is long in the past.

Now I just sit and marvel at folks who rationalise why their daughter loves egg yellow but should not that mutton ghost.

As for my kid, my rule will be he shall do exactly like his parents - either eat pomfret fry or drink tea with soy milk :-)

1652 : The lone ranger and the Temple of Gold

2011-11-01T15:29:00.001+05:30

I have been very keen to get back to motorcycling. Yesterday night I dreamt of doing the Golden Temple from bangalore - all alone on a Yamaha fz series.

I rarely if at all remember my dreams, but I recall this vividly including my blue mobike.

If life is all about dreaming, and then living it up, this surely should be construed as a sign :-)

1651 : Shock laga laga laga, shock laga

2011-11-01T15:19:00.001+05:30

Am I the only one seeing it, but I can't help notice well to do ladies from chennai all seem to straighten their hair. I can name at least 4 such folks.

Now, the fact that they look awful not withstanding, wonder am I missing a Style 101 here ?

Maybe a cultural subtext that I would not hook onto easily ?

That sort of hair looks right out of a lab, and very few, if any can carry it off. Got that straight ?

1650 : To give or to give up

2011-10-26T11:42:00.001+05:30

Yesterday - a colleague of mine was explaining passionately about parikrma schools (http://www.parikrmafoundation.org/) - a school for the underprivileged that believes even "they" should have access to the best.

For doing this, they do more for less - as in they would have a school just about comparable to a modern iconoclastic school - with less than 30 students per class...get the drift....versus a normal NGO “upliftment” school with 100 students per class and shabby loos, greasy food and the ilk.

The more I understood of parikrma the more I knew of what flavour of philanthropy I enjoy..which is?

For me, philanthropy has always been about “driving change” and not the more commonly understood “supply necessities”. Supplying what they need is still assuming that they are children of a lesser god who need a dole. “Change” on the other hand empowers them to fight against the grain of their circumstances. (Ponder on this philosophically, though this looks like a minor technicality - the devil as always is in the detail :-))

Both spousey and I have worked at NGOs in some informal capacity and based on what I have heard and seen so far - I nurture a deep omnipresent suspicion of everything in that space.

I hardly do any charity though I think I can afford to. I have instead for years consistently invested in rustic (and rural) art, have always bought fair trade products, and have always invested in organic for my own sake.

My view is if you invest in traditional arts, you will not just help grease the economy, you will do your child a favor by leaving a legacy and more importantly by keeping the art alive. (My biggest fear is we are going to create a world where our children only see urban monkeys dabbling with their steel caged toys.)

My view on this so far is - buy fair, encourage art, f@@k the ballsy NGOs....and the world will probably turn out very alright.

* if it is not clear, just to clarify, I like the idea of parikrma immensely. It's philosophical bearings are refreshingly right. Someday I definitely want to work in that space.

1649 : My tiny haiku

2011-10-26T10:19:00.001+05:30

Little weight on my chest,
Breathing in a silent harmonic rhythm,
Picture perfect peace.

1648 : Look ma no hands

2011-10-25T03:52:00.001+05:30

In the past 2 months my health has been steadily plagued by one problem after another - each of increasing complexity - almost as if it were a harbinger of something deeper uncle universe was trying to tell me.

When I do look back, I can always rationalise this - saying I can't remember a time in the past 10 odd years when my health was “all alright”, and hence this is just another chapter in that continuing saga...but but but....too many buts there.

In my head this could mean only one (or more) of the following:
1. This is age related entropy.
2. I am just having a bad run.
3. Always happens at bangalore in sep-oct :-)
4. There is a hole in my life that I am not plugging, and life conveniently is choosing to leak from there.

Time to do a Sean Maloney (from intel google it up) or Steve jobs on life :-)

1647 : Bhakti and the innocent hedonist

2011-10-22T06:26:00.001+05:30

(and hell no… Bhakti is not the name of a lady in this post )

I moved apartments a few months and my new neighbours, to put it very mildly are exaggerated in their demonstration of religious symbolism (prayer, idols, chanting, recorded singing…..you get the drift).

Their door is usually open in the morning, and when I peep in – its like staring into a freshly decorated altar. Their living room is where there are more idols and photos and flowers than a nearby temple…and this is every single day.

(When I speak to spousey, I always refer to this abode as “The Temple”).

No right and wrong in this business . I am sure they look at us with an equally “aghast” expression…..

“No idol….no prayer….no chanting….no flowers…..and loud pop(its dire straits or DMB) music in the morning….aiyo aiyo !! what is this….a chamiya dance bar…)”

The more I see them, I am very sure that of the three possible ways of “realizing” our inner being (dhyana-meditation, karma – actions, and bhakti – devotion) – the last one has the least charm for me.

A world in which symbols constantly mask the reality of being – I find it hard to be allured by such a promise.

And when my mom does ask me “did I go to the temple”, I now-a-days truthfully tell her, in Tamil, “yes mom, peeked into a temple, just this morning” !!

1646 : The word is mum

2011-10-16T23:13:00.001+05:30

Another day, another bout of writer's block. Gets weirder because I actually have so much to say.
Someday when the noise dies down I shall have a voice.

1645 : The coarseness of stupidity

2011-10-10T23:01:00.001+05:30

A wsj article speaks of Arundhati roy in the same breath as anna hazare...now that jarred my sensibilities.....Article here http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/10/07/weekend-panorama-the-din-of-absolutist-dissent/
But you know what....we all get what we deserve, Come September !!

1644 : On the death of an angel

2011-10-10T21:39:00.001+05:30

Someone who I did not know too well, but had shared some good times with died recently with cancer - my heart says a prayer ( an atheist's prayer) because I know he was a warm soul.

In recent years have seen so many survivors who eventually succumb to the big C - it does reinforce the Keynes belief that "eventually all of us will be dead :-)"

1643 : Fatigue and a broken back

2011-10-10T16:13:00.001+05:30

Have been fighting immense fatigue and a sore and broken back for the best part of 2 weeks now. The more I think of it, the more I am certain - it's not my body that is waning, it's the damned spirit that is leaking away.

Time to plug it with the same grit that the kid from holland used to plug the dyke :-)

1642 : The end of jobs...

2011-10-10T16:06:00.001+05:30

(I did not want to capitalize the J in Jobs for a variety of reasons....)

As the world mourns Raavan and I were fibbing yesterday about mr. Jobs and we decided that he wanted to have a blown up copy of this quote in his room....

Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?
A comment he made in persuading John Sculley to become Apple's CEO, as quoted in Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple: A Journey of Adventure, Ideas, and the Future (1987) by John Sculley and John A. Byrne

1641 : Ode to an year

2011-10-02T22:56:00.001+05:30

Raavan just finished an year in india..he has already had his first taste of red red wine and some spicy ginger tea (dumbo comes from Ceylon the land of dilmah but never drank the sweet poison...says mumma told him not to)

He seems to be loving bangalore...he is swalpa swalpa missing Bombay and Ceylon :-) though.

1640 : My blood is ....

2011-10-02T22:48:00.001+05:30

Picture this.

I need to pick up a few special medicines from the warehouse of a Swiss pharma giant. Why ? Because these are not available at a shop (with a prescription or otherwise....let's say they are like tic 20 :-)...at least they smell like that :-) ).

I am in one of oft repeated collar tees (polos for you Americans out there ) and my stoned jeans.

I reach this office, a 15 km distance from my home. As I enter, so do pptwo other men. They visibly look from a lower strata, they look Muslim to me. How ? Living in india you develop a nose for these things...but them being Muslim is just a social demographic commentary for purposes of this post.

There is a swell looking lady and 3 coarse looking gents behind the glass wall. I lean into the peep hole and tell them - "Hi, I am here for the medicines. Can you help?"

The lady looks at me - smiles and then waves me to wait. I take a seat. The two men walk up and stand at the peep hole. They don't know what to say....so they just wait.

The lady rudely asks, "kya chahiye"....shuddering these folks respond tentatively "Dava Lena tha"

She throws them a form from where she is sitting, quite literally. At the same time she calls me politely, "sir" ... Walks unto the counter and hands me the form.

I ask her for a pen, she hands me one. They ask and she leers " bharna aata hain?" before throwing a pen towards them.

Finally when the time comes to hand over the medicine....she hands them two boxes and throws a receipt and says "sign karo "...while they are fumbling a bit, she says "jaldi time Nahin hain" with irritation....

While with me...she hands me the receipt, I sign it wordlessly....take the boxes...thank all four of the staff and walk.

On the way out I chip my finger against the door knob. It bleeds and something green and Vulcan oozes out. That's when I wonder am I mr. Spock ?

1639 : So much to say

2011-10-02T09:22:00.001+05:30

Finally I have broadband working via Tata wimax. A hiatus of 2 months and the associated disfranchisement of my online life.
I am back, and no...I don't have children that I don't know of. :-)

1638 : Challakere Brothers

2011-09-11T20:31:00.001+05:30

I have been listening to Gayathri Mantra and Vishnu Sahasranamam by Challakere Brothers.

I have never heard such a fantastic rendition ever before…and I have heard MS croon Vishnu Sahasranamam all my life.

They have the long (technically correct) version of Gayathri Mantra…I was dying to find some version of that…and lo!! I found it.

The beauty of their rendition lies in faultless pronunciation, and pitch perfect step….to the T. Vedic Chanting done the old world style…the way it was always supposed to be.

1637 : In the times of Anna

2011-09-11T17:03:00.001+05:30

The Airtel chap wants a bribe to fix my connection, the Hometown chap is refusing to deliver my computer table unless I pay him out….and the Airtel Manager is using his power unfairly to further his sales incentive.

Airtel and Pantaloon Retail are premier organizations within India…Listed, run by self made entrepreneurs.

Will the delivery guy and the broadband repair chap be covered under Lokpal.

I know the answer….and that’s the sham of our modern lives.

Sunil Bharti Mittal and Kishor Biyani are building their empires on a foundation which is essentially diseased at its root. Why blame Raja alone for corruption?

1636 : I have no legs, but I can make you walk !!

2011-09-11T11:07:00.001+05:30

Picture this.

I was a at a book fair yesterday, picking up stuff for a little friend of mine. I finish shopping – clutching 6 bags containing around 30 books I trudge back to my car – which is parked in wilderness (about 200 mtrs away).

I open to boot, dump the books and am about to enter the car when a voice beckons me “Sir!!”.

I turn back startled… remember this is the middle of an empty space, so I am surprised someone could creep on me.

I see this young chap – say in his very early 20s, light beard, a good mooch…well combed hair, in a cycle for the disabled, with a twisted hand and polio infested legs.

My first reaction is “Run” – “this guy will hypnotize you and escape with your wallet” (yes you here these kind of stories in India all the time!!)

Instead I stare hard and see that the guy looks simple and innocuous, not crafty at all…so I wait.

He now knows that I have his attention – so he tells me – in very good English

“Sir, I want to be like you, but I cannot. But I want to continue to try. I have pools for children, will you buy?”

“What pools?”, I ask.

“Sir, you inflate this and your kid can play in the water.” As he says this he puts his hand in his bag and removes a tiny well packed box, almost the size of a small Pizza and hands it over to me. “The cost of this is 300, but I want 370 for it. I will use 70 to help myself”.

My first instinct is to open the box and check whether it really has a plastic pool or is it just full of plastic carry bags….but then my rational mind kicks in and says….it does not matter. I like his honesty so far.

“Sir, this will not only help me, but others like me….I part of a group that is full of disabled people.”

I pay him 400, tell him I don’t want 30 back – pick the pool, tell him a beaming thank you and move into my car.

As I am driving off, I wondered – he could speak good English, he was genuinely less abled, and was working hard in the afternoon sun to sell a few pools.

I know so many folks in my immediate life, who will not fight, who are fully abled but wont move an inch to “live” (instead we shall complain of the cramp, or the back pain, or the headache, or the carpel tunnel and use this excuse to sleep off in the afternoon) – this chap and his ilk should be the posterchild for the modern suburban world.

I don’t think I did him a favor (or charity) by buying the pool. I was paying him Guru dakshina for teaching me a few things which I will try and remember for my life. I don’t think I shall ever forget his face, and 400 was the price I was more than happy to pay for something as priceless as that

1635 : Trishangu

2011-09-11T10:51:00.001+05:30

I am travelling to Bombay the coming weekend, and strangely I have no palpable excitement…what I instead have is probably a bit of cautious trepidation.

Why?…No clear answers….maybe it’s the prospect of crashing into a chimera….

The world has most definitely changed, and Trishangu is here again

1634 : The hedonists

2011-09-11T10:43:00.001+05:30

My new apartment complex is a built a bit like a resort (yes!!)…it has three gigantic pools and quite a few seating zones around it…and some fantastic lighting at night.

Picture this.

There are about six thatches that house about 3 park benches each, laid all around the pool. In the mornings, a few groups aggrandize these seats regularly for their regular meets.

There is a Ramdev baba camp (the kind that huff and puff), there is a bunch of folks doing meditation elsewhere….

…but….the two thatches closest to my balconey….are monopolized by a set of older men (septuagenarians…I think)..each thatch occupied by about 8 to 10 men….

These two thatches are about 100 feet away from each other.

Now one bunch is occupied by a group of raucous older mean, with raging testosterones, they laugh aloud, scream and keep gossiping wildly….seriously!!…they seem like a bunch of girlfriends in a cat chat.

The other (which is housed 100 feet away), does prayer chanting in harmony. They look full of purpose and seriousness with their eyes closed and postures still.

Guess who is having more fun, will live longer and in general, seem the more healthy lot?

Guess which group I will join when I turn 60?

Livin la vida loca

1633 : Hey you

2011-09-11T10:27:00.001+05:30

If you are Pink Floyd fan, try and find David Palmer conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a album called Orchestral Maneuvers, conducting the version of “Wish you were here” and “Hey You” (and a host of other classics…I have just mentioned my favs)

I heard this album 15 years ago on a tape I owned….(and then I finally found a bootleg about a year ago…you can’t buy good stuff anymore…they don’t sell it…)

I can’t get over this album….its fantastic…..listen to it on your home theatre and you will fall in love with Floyd forever……the magic of some 50 odd instruments going in unison …melody and harmony walking in two steps

And did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

(from wish you were here)

1632 : I LOVE ANNA

2011-09-11T10:09:00.001+05:30

Yes I really do….Anna Nicole Smith, Anna Kournikova and the list continues.

1631 : Airtel is a big four letter word @ Bangalore

2011-09-11T10:06:00.001+05:30

Its been a bloody 28 days and my connection has not got shifted yet. The airtel folks just avoid talking about it.

And yes of course, they keep encouraging me to go in for a new connection.

And of course, they are F*ing monopoly in my complex.

And, I know at least quite a few yuppies who are equally disgruntled with Airtel to the point that they are moving to another provider…the movement is definitely gathering steam….a tad slower than the Anna movement.

But….

Sunil bhai, watch out….you are steadily losing customers on voice to Vodafone and on the dish to Tatasky(who seem to have got it perfect with customer service….their service is indeed world class).

Years ago (6 to be precise, I moved my phone from Airtel…because they fucked me up)…..

Its time to kiss them goodbye on broadband as well.

(The only silver lining…the infrastructure from airtel is good….so till it works, it works well….God forbid if you get on the side of a problem….)

Its time to short Bharti….they can only go south….feedback on the ground is usually the bell weather dipstick.

1630 : It was the 3rd of September…

2011-09-03T21:59:00.001+05:30

That day I shall always remember,
For that was the day that my daddy died.

(From Papa was a rolling stone/Killer by George Michael)

1629 : When the world ends

2011-09-02T22:16:00.001+05:30

Ok let me admit, I am usually a very peaceful and composed person – I have seen terrible accidents unravel in front of my eyes and I have been completely at ease with the way the moment has played out.

Through most of life I am in a Zen like state….and if this sounds immodest and like a personal drum roll…well so be it.

So am I Alan Watts? Up until a few days ago, even I deluded myself that I am getting there, my own anger problem notwithstanding.

In the past few days, it almost seems like all of that was a big bloody sham. My delusional self has caught up with the unwinding of the world around me. Its like someone made a dent into my wraith, and the Zen-ness is slowly leaking out. All I am left with is this is crummy angry bastard who is losing his calm over the tiniest of the provocations.

I am beginning to see how it is that a huge tower implodes. Once a tiny glass shatters, the resulting explosion sets in motion a few more, and these in turn sequentially a few more, until a point when your world seems to be caving into the black-hole called Nothing.

And thats when the wall caves in, and the singularity begins.

(If this post sounds like a babble, well, its my wires crossing into each other!!)

1628 : Two divided by nothing

2011-08-31T23:02:00.001+05:30

On a random muse, sometimes (not too often!!) I do read my own blog entries. (This blog is essentially not for you or for me, but it is my daughter (not born yet!!) to live through my fears and failures….for her to know that her dad was just another human being with more failings and leanings than Pisa).

And when I read stuff like http://spinningawheel.blogspot.com/2011/07/1532-dreams-are-made-of-chinks.html I can hardly believe I wrote it.

One, I think this piece is good, secondly I have no recollection of having written it.

Maybe I do have Bipolar disorder

1627 : Big Moose says I finished the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

2011-08-31T10:14:00.001+05:30

Who is Big Moose?

I finished the Zen and and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. My third read (end to end), and I have to say, the book left me feeling inadequete….at so many points the book got so dense that I had to pause and think, WTF is Robert Pirsig trying to say.

And then, you need to remember that I am big moose. I know so many folks who are fed on Chetan Bhagat diet, coming and telling me “Oh that motorcycle book…I tho baba absolutely loved it. After I finished the first few pages, I could not put it down.”

Now unless Grisham wrote a book with exactly the same title, I fail to see how this book is “un-down-puttable”….infact for me, I had to struggle to complete the book, this time around too.

Comments like the above, make me feel even more inadequate . Its a big drag on your (fragile) ego, when you know your intelligence is far lesser than the folk who read Chetan and Aarvind Adaiga.

1626 : The reluctant Zen Buddhist

2011-08-31T09:59:00.001+05:30

Contrary to what Zen says, my own view is, Anger gives you focus and energy. Its just that usually this is used by men to achieve ends which are perceived to be “negative” and thats perfectly understandable.

Is that a new age Zen thinker, or just an angry man justifying