Dance Pe Chance

Hat tip to Prem Panicker for this video. Guaranteed to make the nostalgic bug in you smile.

Being YOU

Sometimes in life, you gotta follow your intuition.

I don't think life can be completely based in cold, hard logic. Of course, there are times when these are necessary (some would argue that this is necessary almost all the time). Sometimes, it is the same bull-headed cold logic needed to drive an idea to fruition that was based out of an intuitive initiative.

But, boy oh boy, there are times when you just need to let everything go and just follow your heart. It might seem foolish, it might seem idiotic. Trust me, nine times out of ten, in the near future you'll look back and smile at what a crazy thing you did.

But at least you did what you felt what you knew had to be done. And that is what matters.

And doing what you think is right is what ultimately matters. Not because a greater percentage of humanity doesn't believe in doing what others say is right. Not because there is an entire world out there ready to shout down your thoughts and opinions with their own. Not because the few people in your life who matter the most at times decide to step away when you are looking at them for support.

It matters because only when you follow your instinct, you know you've taken another step towards being YOU.

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become."

As my fingers gently tap on the keyboard...

Yeah, Twitter really has made me ignore my blog.

And I hate that.

But sometimes, 140 characters are just not enough.

Twitter vs. Blog.

T20 cricket vs. Test Match cricket.

McVeggie (extra cheese) & McFries vs. Dhokla, Puri, Shaak, Dal, Bhaat, Kadhi, Aam Ka Achaar, Shrikhand and Chaash.

Hmm.. I think I might be back to blogging.

An Ode To Beer

Beer.

The very mention of it makes you roll your tongue. Thirst suddenly hits you.

Beer was the first alcoholic drink that I ever had. The thrill of breaking the "good boy's code" who don't drink was first broken when we had a swig from a glassful of beer.

We were in school then, and in our innocence, even a single glass of beer was equivalent to more than just a drink... it was an expression of freedom; of breaking the rules... of setting off and taking our very first steps towards manhood (something we'd seen our dads do) and that was... to have an drink. "That's how you know you're now a grown up... you can drink !!"

Ever since then, you've had the most amazing of memories associated with that magical drink. Of course, some other friends have joined mid-way; there's the rum & coke, there's the ill-fated "too many vodkas in one night", there's the whisky which you hated the taste of initially...

But there's always been beer... and thank goodness for that!!

Of your most special memories (since you turned 18, that is), quite a few are those when you held a tinted bottle of beer in your hand. There was that late Friday evening when you wished to greet the beginning of a weekend with a couple of pints at the local watering hole with your closest buddies, there was the fine silent night when you wished to drown the pain of being separated from your loved one with a bottle of the finest brewed and then there was the night when you celebrated with ordering for a bottle of beer for each of your friends.

There's also nationality involved here. On my recent trip to Goa, it was an Australian I met up with who loved his cricket and his "Foster's" (completely different matter that he was showering more heaps of praise on Bishen Singh Bedi than Shane Warne before we were through). And that is how we made friends...out of our love for beer. He loved his Foster's and I just would NOT give up praising my beloved Kingfisher.

You might love all the different types of liquor my friend, but if what you're looking for is a good ol' friend from your college times... someone like the first love you ever had... it's a bottle of beer that you're looking for.

Main Khush Hun Aaj... Kha-ma-kha

Yes. I know it has been long since I've blogged.

Also, it has been ages when I've woken up in the morning...and smiled at the ceiling wall.

Why?

Just like that. I felt like it. No particular reason.

Go on... do it. You owe it to yourself. Just... smile... for absolutely no reason at all. You deserve it.

Be a rock

I came across this astounding bit while reading 'Siddhartha' by Herman Hesse.

When you throw a rock into the water, it will speed on the fastest course to the bottom of the water. This is how it is when Siddhartha has a goal, a resolution. Siddhartha does nothing, he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he passes through the things of the world like a rock through water, without doing anything, without stirring; he is drawn, he lets himself fall. His goal attracts him, because he doesn't let anything enter his soul which might oppose the goal... This is what fools call magic and which they think is effected by demons. Nothing is effected by demons, there are no demons. Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast.

Aila !!

Hataa saawan ki ghata, yeh raha Aila !! Rafi Ahmed Kidwai road on Monday afternoon.

In your dreams

The moment my eyes opened today morning, I shut them tightly so that I might grasp at the last bits of the dream that I was having. However, as is the norm, the moment was gone and so was the dream.... ~sigh~

Reluctantly, I stepped out of bed, stretched, looked at the sleepy world coming to life... and smiled a broad smile to myself. I couldn't stop gushing...

Why??

Well, what else do you do when you realise that you were dating somebody who looks like this...

Morning image

How is this for a sight first thing in the morning everyday when you wake up? :)))

To the forbidden land

You've seen stuff like this on TV and you've always wondered "How I wish..."

How I wish I was on a bike...

How I wish I was on a cross-country trip...

How I wish I would be riding along with a gang who shared my passion...

Wake Up !!!

Get off that chair... and get onto a bike. Turn the ignition on and set off on a journey.

Click here.

Long before...

Part 1: Long before a buck-toothed Darsheel did a 'Taare Zameen Par' at the behest of an actor-turned-director Aamir Khan, Master Raju had done a film titled 'Kitaab' at the behest of a brilliant writer/director Gulzar.

And though there was no Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy around at the time, there still was the brilliance of R.D.Burman who made background music out of banging wooden school-tables together. The result? "A-aa-e-ee... a-aa-e-ee... master-ji ki aa gayi chitthi".

Note, this was also long before 'Pass-Pass mouth freshener' appeared in Subhash Ghai's 'Yaadein'. Although un-intended, 'VIP underwear-baniyaan' got a free in-product placement in the song. Enjoy.




Part 2: Long before one particular Mr. Shahrukh Khan showed us the dancing styles of actors of yesteryears while swaying to 'Hum hain raahi pyaar ke... phir milenge chalte chalte', there was a Kishore Kumar (or Swami Kishoreanandam, if he had his way) who went "Guni jano...bhakt jano". Have some patience and watch the clip post the 3:40 mark where, in his words, Kishore Kumar "chal-chitram ki katha sunaaye".

Note: There isn't even a mention of Amitabh in the song, 'coz of course, its only 1970, 3 years before 'Zanjeer' hits the big screen. :D





Hat-tip: Diptakirti's blog for the video links.

I am a Gujju-Bong

Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Here he goes again, the Gujju chokro who often disguises himself as a self-confessed Bengali bhadralok."

No, but I'm serious. I actually identified with most of the bullet points in these "You must be a Gujju/Bong if..." lists. Have a look (and a laugh), the lists are actually pretty well compiled.

If you're a Bong, click here.

If you're a Gujju, click here.

And if you're neither...well, what the heck; click both the links anyway.

Who goes there?

An innocent looking "kya haal" scrap from a friend on Orkut led to this as a reply from me...

I roam the forest
I know not what I'm looking for
And along my journey
I meet fairies and demons
Friends and foe..
Halt!! Who goes there??

~shrugs~ Don't ask me what inspired me to write that.... It just happened. ~grins~

A really cool Hindi film trailer

Apologies for not posting anything here for a while. Have been terribly caught up. I had come up with a few posts but they, unfortunately, remain as drafts on my dashboard.

In the meantime, here's one kicka*** trailer of 'Dev D'.

The marketplace

I know the last couple of posts have become dedicated either to quotes or couplets, but trust me, it is not so by design.

Take for example this post. All I want to do is to share what happened yesterday.

I was walking back home yesterday evening when, from absolutely nowhere, a doha (couplet) of Sant Kabir (Saint Kabir) came back to me from my school-going days and just repeated itself over and over in my mind. The doha goes:

Kabira khada bazaar mein, maange sabki khair
Na kahu se dosti, na kahu se bair

Sayesha translates it well on her blog in this post:

Kabir stands in the marketplace, and wishes for everyone's well-being. He doesn't seek anyone's friendship, nor anyone's enmity.

[P.S. Ok, so I did make a mistake and message the doha to a couple of close friends saying that it was a doha by Rahim instead of Kabir. But so what, cool doha nonetheless.]

Discipline

Read this somewhere a long time ago:

Make discipline your friend, not your enemy.

A long delayed post

For the last couple of days, the mind has been in a state of turmoil. It can be guessed by this post that I'd written on the 15th of last month but has been in my 'drafts' folder till now. Trust me, the thoughts running through my head are still more or less the same.

---------------------------

My mind is full of so many thoughts right now that I feel it might be a good idea to jot some things down before I hit the sack.

I have just come back from Horse's reception. Feels nice to know that friends and family are now slowly settling down to the humdrum of "family-life". We as a generation are rapidly advancing towards the end of our bachelorhood days and life ahead seems both, exciting and challenging.

Work-wise I think we're quickly entering into the most productive phases of our careers. We're young, have a lot of energy and can introduce new ideas to the workplace. A decade or two down the line, where we end up (professionally speaking) will depend a lot on today's learnings.

Socially, this is one of the trickiest periods of our lives. Our parents still treat us as little children (do they ever stop?) and yet expect us to behave like adults. Work-life permits little or no time for any kind of a social life (I've just learnt that the more you try and make space for your work-life, it just expands itself and dumps a little more work on you). And souls like me who from time to time need to spend time with friends just so that I can hear myself speak and get some clarity of thought keep getting frustrated at the apparent lack of personal time.

Here...We.....GO !!

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain"

Baap(u) of all ironies

Maheep puts the idea across succinctly in 26 words:

It takes a flamboyant liquor baron to buy the memorials of the man who believed in simplicity, and in whose name liquor is prohibited in India.

A nice man to know

(image courtesy: www.wildmind.org)

Like a friend once told me: Sometimes, just sometimes, it isn't a bad idea to read testimonials people wrote for you on Orkut.

Childish? Impractical?

Maybe, but I guess from time to time we all need to remind ourselves that we're more or less decent folks.