escape

Often times, when the mind is tired, i wish for it to rain or i get fleeting glimpses of moments from my childhood behind shut eyes; mostly about rain or storms or amidst nature. Perhaps because it gives a sense of coziness, you know how it is like when you are younger/child. Maybe it is so, because other side is always greener? When we are younger we cant wait to grow up and get it all under our control, be the masters of our destiny and escape the drudgery of school and studies. And then we grow up and life serves us few punches, some that we can handle, a few which are tougher, yet most of us manage. So, at times a few of us reminisce with pink goggles.
Escape.

I was about to sleep and i closed my eyes and these moments from my younger years floated. Delhi is not really known for its rains, yet i remember this once, eons back when it poured. It must have rained plenty times after that, but this imagery remains with me, when waves of water poured and washed down the roads. I used to love the rare occurance of what we used to call 'shila brishti', something like bits of snow (?) with rain. And i do miss the typhoons and storms of HK when all i could hear was the roar of wind outside and all i could see was the tall palms sway. Funny how nature in turmoil can make one feel snug and cozy.

Escape.

Which reminds me, i was watching the rerun of yesterdays episode of KBC tonight. So this person on being teased by SRK about how he gets away with daydreaming about gopis (women) replies how its easier to think/daydream of things as compared to doing them in real life. Fo example, you can walk on the moon, land on mars in your dreams, achieving that in real life in material terms is another ballgame... similarly you can think of as many gopis in your mind as you want as long as you dont go ahead and try turn your dream into reality.
Makes sense? :P

Its late, goodnight you all... sweet dreams! :)

tears in heaven

Ferry to Bintan. Indonesia.

Mujhe raat din. Sangharsh.

I have been listening to 'Mujhe raat din' since morning. And despite work, romance managed to seep in through the cracks. I love this song and find it incredibly romantic. Theres something so sexy about 'waiting', 'stolen glances', passion that seethes beneath, and the eyes... i remember the eyes most, when that someone would seek and crave for you through his eyes, because everything else is unspoken.

karoon kya mujhe tum bataati nahin ho
chupaati ho mujhse yeh tumhaari khataa hai...

What's gotten into me!

And then when the couch potato takes over after a hard days work, i come across this long forgotten song on American Idol and there you go, that feeling seeps in again.

there's a kind of hush
all over the world tonight
all over the world
you can hear the sounds of lovers in love
you know what I mean

just the two of us
and nobody else in sight
there's nobody else and I'm feeling good
just holding you tight...

And that set me thinking, yes i have been told that i think too much, a trait that i accuse my mother of yet cannot seem to shrug off myself. But let me not digress. Coming back to my train of thoughts, this was different, there was familiarity here; comfortable and cozy. Then again, does comfort kill longing? Can familiarity and want co-exist? Don't we want love and lust in equal share? But then, romance and trust go hand in hand for some and trust takes some time. And with time and trust comes comfort which is oh so beautiful... so what does one do? Hmmm...

On a different note, one more couch potato pick from the series Earl. And many i know would vouch for this one:
Quitting smoking is stressful and when i am stressed, i smoke.

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

I remember your eyes baby... the most...

ermmm

So i watched Eklavya today. Aside the fact that i could see everything in doubles... (no it wasn't alcohol, it was the focus... duh!) and that it marred the stunning visuals, i had one question. For those of you who have seen the movie, you will probably know what i am talking about.

It's a post independence story; the backdrop being the fast fading power of the Rajwaras. An assumption reiterated by one of the dialogues Sanjay Dutt's character mouths - something on the lines of 'ab democracy hai' (translated: its democracy now). Note the emphasis on 'Ab'.

And if that is the case, how do you explain Jimmy Shergill's character watching Parinda minutes before being killed by Amitabh Bachchan?

Hmmm...

since... hence... :p

Since i don't exercise culinary skills often.
Since my latest guinea pigs survived my experiments.

Hence... ;-)

Chicken. Paneer. Aaloo subzi. And some colours! Pics taken by turquoisebleu.

Have a good week ahead you all. :)

WTF!!!!

Arrrrrrrrrrggghhhh!!

Am in for some password trouble. Have been trying to log onto my Flickr account... it wouldn't let me!! Wrong ID or Password it says... how so?? I have been logging in with this password forever. And i tried all the passwords that i use and i have a set of passwords that i use, its not as if this one is out of the ordinary or some godforsaken word/number combo that i wouldn't remember otherwise!!

Am so effing pissed off, the 'forgot password' help is no help either... it asks me for my b'day information AND Postal code!!! What if i DON'T remember the postal code i fed in... what if i fed-in the postal code when i was in Timbuktu and not there anymore and hence dont remember it. Isn't technology supposed to make our life easier??? Why the eff retrieving my password so effing difficult!!!

All i wanted to do was upload some pics on Flickr... sigh...

Oh the other day i realised my Haloscan account for the poetry blog has vanished. Just like that!! :O

Damn!!

knock. knock!

Daman. Sunset. Dec 2006.

It's a new beginning; quite literally for me. This year the sun finally sets on things i have left behind... shores left long past, that dim in the distance as i watch the faint lines blur and disappear into the blushing horizon. And somehow, the sunset brings a sense of relief and an urgency to move forward, move on and let go of anything that wasn't mine. Indeed there is an immense sense of relief. Perhaps because i am watching the sunset from a distance, on this gold sprinkled sandy beach of new beginnings, new associations, hope and love... And as i sit amidst the wind; the salt in the wind that has dried the salt that welled in my eyes in not such a distant past, a distant shore though, i feel it even more... that nothing is ever the end until you are dead.


The New Year was ushered-in amongst new friendships; some wonderful people who welcomed me with warmth. Hyderabad, Mumbai and Daman. Bottles & Chimney; getting drunk, driving (not me!), Mocha; some more drinking (coffee this time), Biryani, some more driving on Hyderabad roads (not me again), Go Karting (that's the only 'driving' that i managed. Baah!).

Much has changed in Hyderabad in the 7yrs since my last visit. The part of the city that was still at a nascent stage wore a crowded look. Unfortunately i couldn't visit the old city; the plate was full. On our way to Mumbai from Hyderabad, I was surprised at the number of Budget Airlines that have cropped up - Go Air, Spice Air, Kingfisher to name a few. The best part, no auntijis as airhostesses. Sometimes while traveling on Air India, one feels like a school kid what with air-hostess auntijis ordering you around like school teachers. Almost makes me nostalgic. :p

It was amchi Mumbai after Hyderabad. After about 20yrs! A night drive on empty Mumbai roads and a tete-a-tete with Mumbai Police as we parked at Nariman Point in the dead of the night. It didn't help that we drove through and parked on the wrong side of the road. Well, they didn't know that we were all high on beer as well! Not much was seen of Mumbai, but what made an impression on me was the sense-of-humour Mumbai autowallahs possess, something that their brethrens in Delhi are in severe need of. While we were driving through Mumbai roads at night, a friend noticed one of those 'drunk driving messages' only much more inspiring this time. It said, 'Jeeyoge nahi toh peeyoge kaise?' Translated it means, how will you drink if you don't live? See! Not preachy at all, lots of sense... and humour. Damn good life-funda i thought.

After our one-night-stand with Mumbai, a stopover at a dhaba for aaloo-parantha and some yummy creamy dahi later, we were driving through the Western Express Highway to Daman (again moi driving. Not!). I love endless roads and endless drives with the window open. I like the wind on my face. Something that i don't get to do in the AC cabs here. Someday i would like to stand and smoke at the train door, while villages and green fields rush past me, you know like they show in the movies? :)

Daman was a different experience. A sleepy town that was a Portuguese colony not so long back. Unlike other beaches that i have seen till now, the sand here was dark grey. I thought dirt at first, but was told it's because of the rocks they are coloured so. We walked through the slush and mud of the sea in an attempt to see how far the water had receded during the day and we sat on the rocks in the evening only to realise that the water had filled in and surrounded us. We spent time sitting on the beach, gulping down beer, munching on fried pomfret and prawns - fresh catch we were told, playing dumb-charades. Evenings were spent watching enthusiastic junta dancing to latest Bollywood chart-busters and even more enthusiastic Gujjus dancing to Gujju tunes that seemed to go on and on and on. All courtesy the local 'Power DJ'. :) And amidst these moments, 2007 came knocking at our door. We welcomed it with a bottle of Champagne. (Pronounced cham-paag-ne. Yes i used to do that as well; helped my English. My spellings were almost always correct ;D)

It's back to the grind, back to same old same old new.

Moral of the story/life lesson learnt:
Jeeyoge nahi toh peeyoge kaise?
*And i sit with my glass of Johnnie Walker Black Label as i write this* ;-)

Wish you all a very Happy New Year. Hope that all you wished for, craved for, prayed for comes true this year. :)

rain rain pour again!

It rained cats and dogs and rhinos and some more almost all of yesterday. Well, one of the worst ever in 75 yrs as the newspapers reported. And I loved it! Even though getting up in the morning and dragging yourself to work while its pours outside is a task in itself. It rained and thundered and rained and poured and rained and thundered on and on and on and... and of course I loved it! :p

I have always loved the rain. Especially when it rains at night while I comfortably snuggle up in my bed, look out of the window at the downpour. I feel very content for some reason then, as if the downpour washes away all the worries along with it.

Anyway, not enough time to write a longish post. Will come back later and add-in something. But before I go, the holidays will be spent in Hyderabad and Daman mostly. So hopefully will have some pictures in the new year. Which is a good thing, since I haven't been a shutter happy for sometime now.

Ciao all! Be good. :)

P.S: In case I don't come back to add anything else before the end of the year, Merry Christmas and a very very Happy New Year to all! :)