Deep Inside of Me

Delhi Belly and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:52:00 +0000

This is yet another one of my small attempts to return to the blogging world after my engagement which was one 3rd July. Actually, unlike a few I am not online as I am writing this post. I am drafting this on my Dell Inspiron offline as my internet connection is wired to my desktop.

I dunno why I don’t feel like writing a post when I am online. I always browse a lot searching for some good stuff to read or watch. To me, writing is mainly a result of culmination of thoughts which have been going in my mind for some time or some incident which would have made me ponder a lot. The attempt to write a post is the result of me watching two movies in the last three weeks.

Delhi Belly: This movie had released on the Friday just after before my engagement. I did not expect this movie to do so well with the audiences, especially the Indian youth. To me, this movie helped a lot in knowing more about my fiancee and understanding her. I got mixed opinions about taking her along or not. Some said no as it was a bold adult comedy film with slang language and implicit and suggestive scenes. Some said its ok as today girls are very open minded. I was in a dilemma and as usual went wit my gut feeling and took her to the movie as I wanted to watch it badly after hearing its good reviews. Luckily, aal izz well as we both enjoyed the movie very much. The movie was a complete laugh riot due to its hilarious sit com scenes and the goofy characters. The dialogues made us go back to our college days. It’s a movie about what can happen when everything seems to go wrong and yet you still end up laughing.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: Saw this movie yesterday with my fiancee. This movie is about three friends who go on road trip through the beautiful landscapes of Spain as a part of the bachelor party for one of them who got recently engaged. The film shows their experiences as they go on which turn out which turn out to be life changing for them. I liked the dialogues which are filled with slapstick humour, the music and the songs which are beautifully penned down and meaningful. It speaks about seizing the moment and living to the fullest. The beautiful songs are what which have got me to try my hand at writing again. Hope this time it stays on.

Well, these posts were in my draft status in my Windows Live Writer until I connected the internet and posted them to my blog, thanks to my lazy bum and windows 7. Now, I can lazily write my posts when I m in the mood and later post them with back date…again thanks to windows 7. Till then, cheerio.

Inspired by Dell

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:21:00 +0000

It was when my father planned on going to Dubai, I had given him a wishlist of things to get from Dubai. Most important things were a Sony 36” LCD TV, Dell Laptop and 2 scotch whiskey bottles.

The poor guy got all of these stuff without any hassles and also got some chocolates, an Ipod touch (much to my surprise) and some dates, dry fruits,etc.

Let me tell you about my Dell Laptop which is an Inspiron 15 R. It has a Intel Core I5 processor with a speed of 2.67 Ghz, RAM of 4.00 GB (3.87 GB usable) and 500 GB Hard Disk Memory. It has twin SRS speakers which is fairly decent and a 15” display monitor for best viewing.

However, the best part is its OS which is Windows 7 Home premium with 64 bit processing speed. It has lot of features which you can use to personalise your computer to optimise your usability. I read about it a lot on the Microsoft website and started experimenting with it. I downloaded and installed Windows Live essential kit which has a Writer, Messenger and Email client. Right now I am using Writer for drafting this post which would be posted on my blog soon.

The only difficulty I am facing while using this laptop is its keyboard which I am trying to get used to. Thankfully, it has got a num key pad along with normal number keys.

I have a lot to work on my laptop like installing Microsoft Office, download movies, music and start using it more than my desktop. To make it literally a laptop, I have to first get a wireless router to enable my modem internet connection and make it into a wireless one so that I can access the Net without having to stick to my desk.

Well, I think I have written much after a long break and hope to put some serious stuff on my blog soon.

Heartbreak Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:28:00 +0000

Never had I seen a girl like her,
Innocent Eyes, beautiful smile and curly hair,
My heart skipped a beat when she smiled at me first,
My emotions churned inside like never before,
I realised that this was the girl I was waiting for.

My heartbeat grew stronger for her,
I wanted to just see her and be with her,
Before I knew it, I was deeply in love with her.

One fine day she spoke about her boyfriend,
My heart broke so loud that you could hear the cracking,
The sky fell upon me, the room started spinning,
My life seemed to go nowhere, I had met a dead end.

What followed was pure heartache,
The pain was too much to take,
I felt like I had hit rockbottom,
I thought I would break down.

They say, we need to learn from the past,
cuz this is not the first time and not the last,
There is only one remedy for the pain,
You gotta just start it all over again.

Pixology

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Reflections of a Cafe Floor

In a Cafe at Bangalore

Cloud 9

My Wings

Aerial view

Emotions of a Logical Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:06:00 +0000

Sometimes it so happens that all life incidents happen at a time and so fast that your life all of a sudden seems so hectic like never before. Your mind is in constant overdrive and if you are not used to it, you tend to push the panic button sooner than expected.

Earlier than these times, life was so slow, dull & boring such that you wished for something kick-ass to happen in your life. You wish that you could be in the fast lane like others. You would have all the time to while away and sometimes also kill. But, never would you have imagined that you could have used it to the best. But, it was not meant to happen, but you had the option to change it.

Sometimes you feel that it was in your destiny to undergo through what you have been through. But seldom, destiny has and always presented us an opportunity to choose for ourselves. But more than often, we let go of such chances and let destiny take its own course only to find us later cursing it.

Then we keep asking ourselves why did this happen to me and so on? Well, this happened because we failed to choose and act. But why did we fail to choose and act? Another tricky and important question. Was it destiny again? No.

We failed because our mind is always under a certain set of presumptions and beliefs. We always wanted to see or hear what we like instead of accepting the hard facts as they are. We always crave for the Feel Good factor (which are being used very well by the marketing and advertising firms). So we do not accept anything which do not conform to our beliefs or are not as per our likes.

But dislike for anything does not take away its existence or reality. So its presence always upsets us and we feel unhappy thinking about it.

However hard we try, human emotions always take over logic, sooner or later. And our emotions are never constant and are greatly influenced by our environment. If we try to and be receptive about everything around us and acknowledge its presence, it would be much easier for us to reduce our worries and live life to its fullest.

Return of the Story Teller

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:03:00 +0000

Days of the Writer's Bloc are over,
Its the Return of the Story Teller.
My heart's not mine anymore,
My mind's not in place anymore.

I am going through changes,
They say its just the beginning,
There's lot more to come,
And it's more pain than anything.

I am trying to play it down,
It only comes back harder and stronger.
It seems there is little I can do about it,
But to let it happen and go through it.

But hey, life is always about choices
You can take it as just another heartache,
Or you can take it as the Best Thing
and just sit back and enjoy the Joy Ride.

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:25:00 +0000

Jerky Bus ride

Temple in Manali

Just a Post

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Folks,

I was away from my blog as I had been busy with lots of other stuff happening in my life. Also, I was suffering from writer's block.

Well, I have seen and learned much in these recent times and grown wiser. All this will be put up here in due course of time.

Keep watching this space...

Letter from a Son to His Mother

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:24:00 +0000

Dear Mom,

I am writing this letter to share a few things about your son which you might not know and worse, never must have imagined in your life. But you know what, life is full of surprises and we have no imagination what those surprises can be.

Mom, I know you have always loved me more than anything else in your life. I have been like a pearl in your eye, flawless and clear. You have always held me in high esteem and prided yourself that your son is not like other children, arrogant and egoistic. For you I was like what Lord Krishna was to Yashodha Maiyya.

I have always followed what you always taught me, until a few years ago. But Mom, as I grew up away from your motherly care and shelter I have grown up to become human and like most humans have flaws and am vulnerable. I have become like what others are. I am no more the Perfect Son you always wanted me to be.

I have done what you have always forebaden me to do. I have had alcohol, smoked cigarettes and slept with women. I remember how much u disliked Dad's smoking habits and always told me not to do it. I also remember how you were upset when you learnt about your brother's drinking habits led to his car accident, though he was safe!

You had always the dreamt what every mother wishes for her son, a good house, a happy marriage and a dutiful daughter-in-law and beautiful grandchildren. But Mom, I have planned something else for myself. I am afraid I wont be able to fulfill your dreams for a lifetime. I have met this guy who works with me in my office. We know each other for 3 years and understand each other very well. He has what one seeks in a life partner, a good companionship and great understanding for each other.

Mom, please do not get upset for what I have done. And please do not cry. I hate to see tears in your eyes and thats precisely the reason I had hidden these things from you all the time. But now, I feel that you need to understand your son and accept me as I am. Also please do not blame yourself and your fate for this. There has been no shortcomings in your love and upbringing.

As time passed away and I saw the world I have learnt that in this world, nothing is right or wrong what you do in life. Its all about your convictions your beliefs and most importantly, yout perspective. After all, its all about one's life and what one wants to do to be happy in his life. I firmly believe that God who has created us has also given each one of us the right and sense to see and do in life what he thinks is right for himself. This right cannot be taken from us by anyone, not even our close and loved ones.

With this letter, I want to say that your son has grown up and is mature and sensible enough to do what makes him happy in life. Please do not feel embarrassed for what I am. I have done none of any those sins that others have done, and I have not hurt anybody by doing this. I have just chosen to be myself.

But, do not forget I will always and forever by your loving Kanha.

Your always lovingly,
'Perfect' Son

The Shoe-Thrower

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:37:00 +0000

It all started with the shoe-throwing incident at a press conference held in Iraq. The victim was the much hated American ex-President George W Bush and the attacker was a furious Iraqi journalist. Then the shoe-throwing was an act of anger and disgust against Bush for what he had done of Iraq and its citizens. The attack was a quickfire of both the shoes but Bush was fast enough to avoid them.. a sign of his fitness.

The shoe-throwing rage soon spread to India like all western stuff do. We soon saw the news channels relaying stories of Indian politicians like Chidambaram and Advani being tested for their skills at dodging the shoes. This must have reminded them of their dodgeball games played in their childhood.

Soon I see shoe-throwing developing from being a sign of protest to a full-fledgeded profession. Soon there will be trained professionals who will throw shoes and yet not hit the target. Their skills will be judged by how close the shoes were to the target. There will be awards for the best achievements in this field. There will be institutes and coaching classes who will train aspirants to become professional shoe-throwers.

Soon there will be movies based on shoe-throwing like "Bend it like Footham" and "Shoes of Fury". We will have our Rajni style of shoe-throwing which will involve his shoe leaving his foot and kicking each of his villain's ass without falling to the ground and returning to his foot devotedly like Sudarshan Chakra returning to Lord Krishna's forefinger.

Shoe-throwing can evolve into professional sports which will be played like clubs like Adidas Untied or Unreal Nike. We wiil have our own Indian Chappal League tournament also.

The Shoe-thrower journalist might not have even dreamed of it when he threw his footwear at Bush that he would be starting a global trend soon. Strange are the ways of the world for we adopt anything new and catchy and turn it into a fad. But I love my shoes dearly and I pray to my shoes not to leave my feet ever.

The V-Day

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:26:00 +0000

The V-day has finally come...No, no I am not talking about Valentine Day..I am talking about the Voting Day for the Lok Sabha Assembly Constituency. Yes, its about who we choose to rule us..Strange, isnt it ? We call ourselves a democracy but we choose our representatives to the government but they turn out to be our rulers and make their own representations. They fill their pockets as if this is a once in a lifetime oppurtunity to do so. Well, we need some fresh and clear minds with young blood to change the system. But guess, it wont happen for a long time to come.

Thats because the most craved thing in life by man is not love, money or sex. Its power, sheer power !! Man would do anything to get power in life..Its the greatest feeling man has ever experienced. So politicians will do anything to remain in power. The power to rule, the power to change and write other's lives.

Now stopping myself from getting preachy, I want to share my funny experience of voting I went through. First and foremost, I did not get a voting slip. So I had to search for my name in the scrolls maintained with the government volunteers who were seated near the voting booths under huge umbrellas. I finally found out my name and went to vote with my voter card. The voting venue was kept in a school nearby.

I went to the room against which my name was mentioned. There were few people in the room, one lady was seated for verifying the names, another man was seated for applying ink as a mark of voting done. First I went to the lady for getting my name checked and showed her my Voter Card. She went through the scroll of pages and found out my name by looking up the Voter Card Identity Number. I was glad my name was there, but as I looked closer I found to my surprise that the photo against my name belonged to someone else !!

I showed this to the lady who also checked the same. She checked other informaion available like my complete name, age and my I Card Number and they all matched....but the photo was a mismacth and was far from mine. She asked her colleagues about this and they all had a hearty laugh about this. I was surprised because I thought I would not be allowed to vote or further checking would be done. But nothing of that sort happened and I went and voted.

Nowadays the voting system has become electronic thanks to technology. I looked at the voting pad and it had the names of all contestents with their names and symbols together. I recognised the popular ones like the The Palm, The Bow and Arrow and the Lotus. There were a lot other symbols which belong to independent contestors like a pressure coooker, bicycle, a train engine, spectacles, house, and other unimaginable things. I wa musing to myself that atleast the symbol should be a good and attractive one. Nevertheless, I went and pressed the button thus submitting my Vote.

Another amusing thing I found that the Election Commission has chosen the Middle finger of the left hand for applying ink..What made them to think that way Heaven only knows ! But for the youth, it means only one thing we care a damn about your attititude !!

But we do care about who we elect and vote for. Its our country and we need to run it in the right way.

Why do men look at women ??

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:31:00 +0000

This is a question which goes on in the minds of all the women on earth. Yes all ! Well , to put it simply we have eyes and all normal males of all species use their eyes to look at the opposite sex..Aint it natural ?? I mean we are hardwired that way.

Well to be more specific, most of the women get bothered by the fact that their man looks at other women when she is with him or without him. Yes they do.. They will not tolerate their man eyeing other women...They believe in total commitment and loyalty to their partner. you will find very few women going astray in search for other men. They are not hardwired that way.

But its different in the case of men. The male species are programmed to go around with many female partners as they can because they are coded to increase their kind everywhere. They want their individualistic traits to be present everywhere. you observe animals you will find the males going around with many females all over. In the case of human beings though we are animals too we are bound by the rules of society and code of ethics. So its not acceptable for humans to go hunting to spread around his lineage.

To cut the long story short u can say that males are predators and females are selectors.

The weekend I spent

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:56:00 +0000

This weekend went very good for me..It came after a long time. I wanted to go on a drinking binge since a long time but my desire was thwarted by something or the other. This weekend I had gone to my cousins place where four of us cousins met up and had a good time.

At first we were like pulling each other's leg and doing lots of tp...then we opened up the bottles and poured the beer down our thirsty throats..We slowly let the beer settle down...First we finished the stock lying in the house...Then we went to a shop and got around 6 more beer bottles and a vodka...In the meanwhile we had ordered for some food too.

After finishing the food first we took our bottles and and settled down to watch movies on my bro's lappie..He has a good collection i must say..he has movies which i never heard of or saw.. we watched 'Next' first starring Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel. The movie was abot the protagonist having a supernatural power to sense what the future has in store for a person or object he looks at. Through that he was able to foresee many events and took preventive steps and changed his destiny....wow ! wish i had summin like that i could have took the right decsions...but then that kills the thrill or the uncertainty of life which makes ur life worthwhile.

The next movie we saw was 'Wanted'...Its a complete action movie which had two known faces the sexy Angelina Jolie and the talented Morgan Freeman. It was basically about a guy who gets trained to be a dangerous assasin and hone his inborn skills inherited from his killed father.

As the second movie finished I started feeling sleepy. I was already three bottles down...This time I made a unique cocktail. I mixed 30 ml vodka with 30 ml beer and apprx 60 ml sprite... and i tasted real good. We slept at around 3.30 am in the night or early morning as u can say.

The next morning we all woke up post 10. We made tea and were just watching tv or fiddling with the lappie. After sometime I had a shower and got ready to go home..Well this was how i wanted to spend my time really !! Well we decided we to meet up more often.

Blog Post from gmail id

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:24:00 +0000

Lets see how the post on my blog looks if i send an email from my gmail id....sorry folks i m too experimenting too much..but cant help it.

Staying Connected

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:56:00 +0000

It seems that the earlier post-mails sent from email ids carry their in built signature which most of the times is an ad of the email service provider asking the readers to sign up for their free email services. So till the time i devise a way it seems that i will have to follow the traditional way of blogging.

Of late the 'Twitter' networking service has grown on me. I had signed for their service long time back but never found it attractive to use. Also there were very few of my friends on Twitter. But gradually I have learnt more about how to use Twitter as an widget on my blog and am also planning to add it to my Facebook profile. Since then I have started liking it and am on the verge of getting addicted to it. The best part (or the worst part) is that it is accessible in my office too.

Social networking tools have developed as a result of gradual dying out of our ability to communicate our thoughts or to express ourself directly...Earlier during our grandpa's days we had no such means of communication...We simply used letters or the telephone after it came into existence. Gone are the days when teenage girls and women used to chatter for long hours on the telephone about every second going on in their lives. But today all we see is punching ourselves on our laptops to make our presence felt in the big world.

Conversely it can be argued that these tools and services have evolved as a result of our desire to search the world and reach out to people of similar tastes and likes. It makes us feel as a part of a larger group or community. The need to socialise with others and the need to be in touch has spawned innumerable networking sites all over. We always want to show the world what we are upto.

Just yesterday I made my close friend feel that she has been telling every damn thing she does everyday.....and I was having my sadistic pleasure of it.. She has decided not to share every damn piece of information with me....Today she has not called me till now and I am like feeling a bit of void in my life.....But I needed my peace..her overdose of her life has left me me thinking about nothing else but her, which I dont want to happen. If she doesnt call me the entire day I would term it as a small achievement in itself.

Second blog post through email

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Since my first email blog post was from my office id it carried the below tag which goes in every email we send to spread awareness about saving paper and eventually trees . This got published in my post too and it looks hialrious.

"Print this mail only if absolutely necessary. Save Paper. Save Trees."

"This e-mail message may contain confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information. It should not be used by anyone who is not the original intended recipient. If you have erroneously received this message, please delete it immediately and notify the sender. The recipient acknowledges that ICICI Bank or its subsidiaries and associated companies, (collectively "ICICI Group"), are unable to exercise control or ensure or guarantee the integrity of/over the contents of the information contained in e-mail transmissions and further acknowledges that any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and no binding nature of the message shall be implied or assumed unless the sender does so expressly with due authority of ICICI Group.Before opening any attachments please check them for viruses and defects."

This has made me create an alternative email id which is not blocked by our company's internet security policy. So this is the second email blog post from a new email id. Lets see if this works fine ( it should) ....The only difficulty in using this email id frequenetly is that sooner or later this mail id might blocked by our internet security policy makers...But till then let the posts come....

Dear shyam.24682.shyamz! Get Yourself a cool, short @in.com Email ID now!

First Blog through email

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:38:00 +0000

I was going through http://draft.blogger.com and found that there was a feature which enables me to publish posts by sending emails to a blogger email id generated by blogger. This feature was available for quite some time ago but I was ignorant about its specialty or how to use it. (Stupid me ! ) Now since I have found it I am using to publish or rather email my posts directly from the leisures of my workdesk. ( You might be thinking I dont have any work to do but thats not the case..The fact is the year has just ended and now everybody is on a relax mode).. If this thing works than my blogspace is gonna be flooded with my writings very often....So testing 1....2....3 and this email goes....! --- "Print this mail only if absolutely necessary. Save Paper. Save Trees." "This e-mail message may contain confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information. It should not be used by anyone who is not the original intended recipient. If you have erroneously received this message, please delete it immediately and notify the sender. The recipient acknowledges that ICICI Bank or its subsidiaries and associated companies, (collectively "ICICI Group"), are unable to exercise control or ensure or guarantee the integrity of/over the contents of the information contained in e-mail transmissions and further acknowledges that any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and no binding nature of the message shall be implied or assumed unless the sender does so expressly with due authority of ICICI Group. Before opening any attachments please check them for viruses and defects."

"Print this mail only if absolutely necessary. Save Paper. Save Trees."

'HIPOCRACY' and 'rubist'-ness

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:10:00 +0000

Recently my writings are being hated....why? thats because it is felt that I critcise girls in my writings...and I am called a 'HIPOCRATE' and my writings are found as 'utter rubist'. I replied by saying I am just stating the generic truth. Well my posts were taken too personally i guess...they say the truth is hard to digest. But I think it was too hard even for a bite.. let alone digest it .
For all of my few readers my writings are meant to be read in a way as one would leisurely read a newspaper or a magazine article.

Life gives us numerous reasons to smile .. i must say...But we hold on to our worries and anxieties so much that we do not look around and lose an opportunity to have a good laugh. Recently a funny incident happened with my friend. She has become all of marriageable age and has started receiving marriage proposals by word of mouth or through matrimonial sites.

Recently she was browsing through a proposal from a guy in Bangalore and thought of having a conversation on the phone just to know the person. Now these conversations interestingly are more of a questionnaire sessions with the girl and boy asking each other a pre-thought set of questions of which some turn out to be silly and some embarrassing. One of the questions the guy asked my friend was unimaginable !! It was “Do you have a boyfriend?”. My friend felt like reaching Bangalore on the spot using the mobile network and giving the guy a neat “ulte haath ka laffa”. Why the hell would she be talking to him and discussing marriage anyway if she had a well set boyfriend in her kitty. I was laughing uncontrollably when she told me this.

But my friend has also her own pre-conceived set of questions which are more like police interrogations, you can say. I find one of them very personal and sometimes embarrassing. Guys may not expect a girl to even ask them this question, let alone think about it. I am curious to know how they react to it and handle it. I will definitely request her to capture their expressions when she asks them this question.

If you readers have anything funny to share with me please be my guest. It would be great to have a good laugh...u know !

Follow your Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 06:59:00 +0000

Many a times we feel that we are going against our heart's wishes. We hear something from within saying us not to do it but we still push ourselves as hard as we can to do it. The reason most of the time for doing such acts are that we want to keep others happy and portray ourselves as a Good Samaritan. The truth is, we are killing ourselves slowly and steadily.

We do not know how to say 'No' to others. It takes a lot of courage to say 'No'. We think yaar what will the he/she think of me and we succumb to the pressure of being a good guy.

As I had thought I had put to rest the mindless turmoil of my confused friend I was proved wrong. The saga continues like the "Kyunki ..........." serial. Well she is my friend and I need to help her as long as I can. (Here too I am unable to say 'No'..... this is an example. )

Yesterday I met a friend who I hadnt met for quite some time. We had a good chat with Bacardi rum flowing inside us. In fact I narrated to him my friend's dilemma and asked him what did he think of it. Well he being married knows quite well how women think. He said it is very necessary for women to know the man , his family and his enivronment where she is going to live her life. He also today's women are well matured than us men and think before going for any relationship. He says we men are emotional fools because we do not know how to control or express our emotions. It often happens that men waste their time, money and energy on girls who just smile at them or talk sweetly with them.

Girls on the other hand, just talk to us how much they want to without any strings attached and just leave it at that only. Thats because they know what is right for them and they always do what keeps them secure and happy. Its us men only who run in search of the perfect one.

But the truth is, there is no perfect one. In fact, none of us are perfect and that is what adds meaning and spice to our lives.

2 Minutes of Silence

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 07:40:00 +0000

Friday the 13th turned out to be a cursed day for me. It has been believed to be an unlucky day and rather ominous one for many . It forebodes evil, trouble, misery and death. This day has been associated with ghosts, evil spirits, witchcraft and the devil. For me it has brought a big loss in my life.

It was in the month of July 2008 my N73 ME edition came to life. She had a great black smooth and sleek body. Her face was pretty and charming. She donned lots of shades which it had in her kitty. She was fun to play with and was a comfort to my fingers. She had lots of qualities and tools to suit my moods, my fav being the radio and the music player. She had a great voice which was like heavenly music to my ears. She was my companion and soulmate from whom I never could part with. But fate had planned something else for me.

She lost her life in the damned crowded trains of Mumbai where she breathed her last. Her loss was a shock to me and it took me two minutes to realise that I had lost a dear one. I could not speak a word. I called out to her but she was already far away from me.

I only realised how important she was for me only after her heavenbound departure. Dear readers, let us all maintain two minutes of silence to remember her memories and mourn her absence. May her soul rest in peace !

Of Marriage and Love

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Of late I am playing Agony Aunt to a friend of mine. She has been going through a turmoil of sorts these days. She has reached her marriageable age and she is feeling peer pressure as all her friends are getting married sooner or later. Now this is what I dont like in India. You do things because others are doing it and not because you want to do it. Its more of a custom or tradition here. If the girl trys to postpone by citing career or higher education as reasons parents take the pressure and start sulking and make the girls feel guilty for it.

Now the question is why do we marry? Is marriage really necessary for us to survive ? Do we marry because we want to or we have to ? Thats a question of which the answer varies from individual to individual.

Now coming to love, thats an emotion which is unexplanable and can only be expressed in many innovative ways. It has spawned innumerable incidents in the history of mankind and created legends, myths and has been the backbone of many songs composed by musicians all over the world.

Now mixing love with marriage it has happened many times that we do not marry the person we love or do not love the person we marry. Love has been cited as the primary reason for marriage. But what if he/she does not loves you as much as you do... what do we do? We stop loving him/her, most of the times, dont we ? Now isnt that conditional love?

Now my friend is in a fix. She loves a guy she was in touch very much but is not able bring it to its destination. They broke off after a hot argument involving meeting the parents. Eventually they went their separate ways and started seeing someone else. But they were still in touch. Later she came to know that the parents of the girl whom the guy was seeing after the break up disapproved of their marriage. Wow ! She became happier than she thought...Though she has been checking guys she has not been able to get over her longing for the earlier guy. Once I simply asked her what if the first guy had been married off and settled down? She replied she would have got over it easily and move on. Now what kind of love is that ?

I have always wondered what goes on in a woman's mind. I Think I have found enough !!

8th March: Women's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:49:00 +0000

8th March is celebrated as International Women's Day all over the world. It started in America in 1909. It started with women from the garment and textile factories in New York fighting for their rights and better working conditions. The entire history and more can be read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day .

But in modern times it is a celebration for women and a day to rejoice over their rights and to look over their newly acquired status as of today. Truly, that is commendable. In most of the European and post Russia countries it is observed as a public holiday. Women have fought and equaled with their male counterparts in all fields ranging from corporate world to the sports world as well as politics. The contribution of women to what we have achieved today cannot be forgotten or sidelined.

For me women have always been held in high esteem, thanks to my childhood upbringing strongly influenced by my mother. For me they are a fascinating and mysterious lot. So mysterious that cannot be solved by the Almighty Himself. After creating Eve He must have pondered where did the hell did I goof up !!?? That is still a mystery which has been left to us mortals to unravel. Hence, they have since times immemorial been a source of all kinds of complex emotions and made men to do actons irrational and unexplained.

Men have ended their lives in trying to find out what women eventually want. Their efforts has resulted in lot of creative writings, mournful love songs, heart breaking love stories, dramas, movies and mysteries et al. Their endless beauty have and will be a part of our art and literature the world over. I would like to add here a song by Shaggy which always me of what a woman is. The link is http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/shaggy/strengthofawoman.html .

This small post is a tribute to the Women of Today for making the World a worthy place to live. Kudos to ye Women !

The Mind of a Confused Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:35:00 +0000

I wanted to write this as a poem. But I find myself short of words especially rhyming ones. Then it turns out to be a “shitty poem” (my blog-a-friend thinks so!) and ends up in serious blogging. Well I have not yet been able to find what it really means. So let me just narrate it as it is.

Some unusual incidents are happening with me these days. I have turned into an agony saint, courtesy one of my close friends. In fact the agony has brought us closer than before. I have become a patient listener now and am able to hear out worries, feel pains (ouch!), and lend a shoulder to lean upon and wipe tears and a running nose. That gives me an entrepreneurial idea of starting a tissue providing firm as it has myriad uses. (This will be covered in one of my later posts).

Trying not to deviate from the subject I have never seen anyone so confused in life or about one's life. In order to avoid naming anyone, we will name the character as “X”. It happened such that “X” met “Y” and as usual, their feelings grew stronger and stronger. Then one fine day, a silly fight broke up their relationship and they were never to become one again.

Their stupid bloated egos prevented all attempts of reconciliation and they drifted apart , though they remained in touch daily. But X, unable to let go of its feelings for Y is finding it hard to see any other A, B, C, D........ It was at its wits end as to what would be the right decision, whether to hold on or let go ? It was tormenting itself (and me too!) with this question.

Little does it know that you need to think whatever you have decided is the right thing no matter what others say. You should not keep on questioning yourself is this the right or wrong thing? You will only drive yourself and....others crazy. Somehow I have tried to pacify her but a dog's tail is never straight. It is back to square one and the questions are back in my life. May God help me with the answers..

A lie in time is always fine.

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:01:00 +0000

Its always a good thing to lie if the truth is a bit too harsh or if the lie is harmless. The lie can help to cushion the hit from the truth..In the Mahabharata even Dharmaraj Yudhisthir, the ever truthful one spoke a lie when circumstances warranted. Atleast we can lie for someone's good.

Dance Bars : A Man's Paradise ?

noreply@blogger.com (Shyam D) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:25:00 +0000

We all have seen it in the Hindi movies, right from the melodic 60's to the youthful 90's. Dance Bars have been used by Bollywood filmmakers time and again to glamourise the film or add some spice or to just be the background act for an upcoming action scene in the movie. The bar would either be a five star hotel or some desi taadi-maadi. The bar dancer would be in most of the cases the movie vamp who either assists the villain in all his acts of crime or justs warms up his lap as his arm candy.

Till not too recently there was some resemblance with the dance bar in the movies. But in the recent times, the real scenario is a far cry , courtesy the moral vendetta of our political leaders. These places all have moved from the plush suburbs of Andheri (West) , Vile Parle to the far-fetched outskirts of Navi Mumbai.

At these places, imaginatively shady, you would find long sedans and mid size cars all lined up in its parking alley. The doorman greets you with a warm smile and an open door to an another world seemingly unreal from the one you live in. The loud Hindi film music synchronizes your heartbeats with its own. Your eyes trying to believe for itself, makes you wonder and pinch yourself, mentally, to check is this real or a Bollywood setup?

The waiters, all well dressed in suits, usher you warmly to a table from where one can have a bird's view of the entire hall. You glance around scouting for the best one. You think you wanna have it all but........the fear of the unknown grips you. If in doubt, the waiters are always at your assistance for making the 'right choice aa-haa' . Finally after some prying and negotiating the choice is made....you hope it goes well...Hope the money is not wasted....Hope you dont get infected !

After some sweet whisperings you are taken to her room which has a double bed with a blanket, towel , soap and most importantly, PROTECTION. You heave a sigh of relief....Okay now what? you think. What to do? But your worries are put to rest by her who is adept at her art or profession as you may term it. You are transported to a different world by her talks, her touch, her presence and her everything; you dont wanna come back at all.

But as they say, there is an end to everything. You have spent your time, had your fun. Now's the time to leave, baby she says. You are back to where you came from. You land with a thud on ground reality from cloud number 666. Now you start thinking about what have you done? Have you lost your dignity, your self respect ? Have you cheated your parents, your wife, your loved ones, yourself? Have you sinned in life ? Will they forgive me for my deeds ? Will God forgive me for what I have done ?

Well, these temples of pleasure created by us men have been in existence since the times of our holy Indian Gods and the adonic Greek Gods. Our Hindu mythology has innumerable references to what is in practice now. Well they were called nymphs or in sanskrit called apsara. The names Urvashi, Menaka, Rambha may ring a faint bell in your mind. Our ancient emperors too were a lecherous lot. They had numerous wives stocked up all over their huge palaces.....looks like as if they get lost somewhere they would at least have company for the night. Their network grew with their empires. No wonder India is humongously populated by people of all races and faces.

Sometimes you wonder if the gods can fall we are still mere mortals. It is fine to be imperfect but owning up for your deeds (and misdeeds) instead of whining and regretting would make your long path much simpler and easier to tread on.