tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26753619239346826322024-03-08T00:58:05.707-08:00_______________rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-68757918868401373572009-09-01T08:33:00.000-07:002009-09-05T09:06:12.097-07:00What mattersWe are constantly judging others, on the basis of what they wear, say, behave. While judging itself is vain and stupid, judging someone on the basis of what they are wearing or how they look is outright foolish. Our friends circle consists of people who dress like us or are at least close unknowingly limiting our social network. There is story about Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.. how he was deinied entry to a party once. Read on..<br /><br />Once Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was invited to a dinner at an Englishman's house in Kolkata. He went to the dinner dressed in the traditional attire of dhoti. When he reached the house, he was stopped by the guard. On asking why, the guard explained that a person dressed traditionally couldn't possibly be attending the fancy dinner party. So Bankim went back home and returned wearing a suit. This time the guard let him pass.<br /><br />During the dinner, at the table Bankim fed his clothes the delcious food that was served much to the amusement of the other guests. When asked why he had fed his clothes, he explained that the guard let him in on the basis of what he was wearing so technically it was his clothes that were allowed and not him!!<br /><br />So you never know what you are missing out when you judge someone by their appearance!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-25243274562166786212009-07-21T07:19:00.000-07:002009-07-21T07:32:02.914-07:00The Himalayan ideaI am going closer towards realising my childhood dream of living in the mountains. As a child I had always wanted to go live in the mountains ever since I had seen Heidi! And the Himalayas had and still fascinate me to no end. <br /><br />So anyway following a recent tumultous experience I have resolved to fulfill my dream. I thought if I have to struggle and live why don't I struggle and live in a scenic place. It'll make it only better. I see no reason why I should work my butt of and be at the receiving end of the uncouth city at the same time! <br /><br />It may sound like I'm in denial but it isn't the case. <br /><br />I hope I'll be posting from my beautiful home facing a lake and the mountains in some 4 years' time now.rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-7071022597326528542009-07-13T10:23:00.000-07:002009-07-13T10:38:52.050-07:00Sudarshan KriyaMany ask me what the Sudarshan Kriya is and what effects it has. It is a difficult question to answer really, specially the second part. What it is is a breathing excercise. What it achieves is hard to explain. Everyone has had their own unique experience of doing the Kriya and experiencing it's effects. The effects can be generalised as gaining clarity of mind, confidence, concentration among other things. <br /><br />An idea struck me to explain what the Sudarshan Kriya does to one who practices it.<br /> <br /><br />Here goes.<br /><br />There was a time around six months earlier this year when i just got tired of combing my hair and making it look neat. So one day i decided to drop my weapon of smoothening hair and just let it be. I used to comb my hair just once in the morning after i woke and got all the tangles out. I have to admit I was in love with the messy look. As time passed I used my fingers to comb my hair and even if I did comb my hair I'd just shake my head again to make it a mess! I loved it absolutely till the summer started and I felt like I had a nest on my head instead of beautiful hair!<br />So when it got unbearable I picked up a comb and ah! what a relief! My head felt lighter! However in the process in ended up losing a lot of hair since I never combed.<br /><br />Before you learn Sudarshan Kriya, your life is like my uncombed hair. It's a mess but you don't exactly hate it. You live life with the chalta hai attitude. One fine day the volcano that's been building in you as a result of all the myriad frustrations you bottle up inside you will burst and you'll be a disaster! Then comes the Sudarshan Kriya or the comb in my story and smoothens everything out leaving you peaceful and in a state of bliss!<br /><br /><em>Sudarshan Kriya is a breathing technique taught in Art of Living workshops.</em>rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-81448130140425930722009-07-09T06:41:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:37:01.849-07:00Karma..with evidence!!I am a strong believer of karma. It is the simplest, most basic logic. If you do something you will get the fruit accordingly! To those miserable souls wh always do good and think they aren't getting what they deserve, there always a next life. Karma is not something man invented, it is in the nature. <br /><br />The way karma works is most noticeable while giving public speeches and you are one of the speakers. See how it works. More often than not, if you listen to other speakers you are listened to! I have had personal experience of this sort. <br /><br />It's astonsihing how nature induces it's ways into everything. You just need to recognise it, and when you do, you see nature's ways in everything that happens. <br />And consequently fall in love with the Creator. <br /><br />It makes you wonder if what all man has invented is just a spin off on what nature has offered to us. Every theory in science has echoes in nature. Or everyone of nature's laws has echoes in science. The better part about nature is that even in the simplest of things there is a lot of science. They say, science helped man out of ignorance and that nature has no logic. Man, over time just blinded himself to nature's pragmatism. We just need to open our eyes and be filled with the wonder that the world is!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-16440631864170158822009-07-08T09:24:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:38:37.335-07:00smiles and compliments!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SlTJvC6nEPI/AAAAAAAAAH4/6d-p_U4EWpE/s1600-h/Picture+011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SlTJvC6nEPI/AAAAAAAAAH4/6d-p_U4EWpE/s320/Picture+011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356127666924097778" /></a><br /><br /><br />I have a problem when people tell me I have a nice smile. It is not just the fact that I am weird about compliments,i.e, I'm flustered when I get a compliment. What I find ridiculous about complimenting someone on their smile is the sheer senselessness of the compliment. <br /><br />My point is, a smile is a good thing. It is supposed to be good. Beauty is the nature of a smile. The purpose of a smile is to make a person's face lookable and charming. <br /><br />So when someone says a particular person has a pretty or beautiful smile, it makes no sense. The purpose of us being able to smile itself is defeated in a sense! <br />Also, it seems like one is insulting others' smiles by complimenting a particular person on her/his smile! <br /><br />So you see, it is a useless compliment really. And something obvious. It is rhetoric. It needn't be said to be known or discovered! <br /><br />And if we do start measuring the beauty of smiles it's time we start judging frowns too! Because if we are stating the obvious, we might as well state the obvious on everything!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-24203599658768558892009-07-07T10:08:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:38:37.335-07:00A Lesson Learnt<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SlOHGMPliUI/AAAAAAAAAHY/PjRnDMl6gfk/s1600-h/6200_98572879868_77018074868_1924643_7422684_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 120px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SlOHGMPliUI/AAAAAAAAAHY/PjRnDMl6gfk/s320/6200_98572879868_77018074868_1924643_7422684_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355772922309216578" /></a><br />Yesterday, I fought with my parents and ended up being grounded. We fought over whether I should do Seva or not. Rather when I should do Seva. I said now, they said wait till you graduate. <br /><br />Th air was filled with tension even after the argument and I was stiff and stubborn till Siddharth opened my eyes this evening. We were discussing the events that led to my being grounded. Our conversation steered to if my parents were anti- Art Of Living. Mum isn't Dad kind of is, I said. <br /><br /> Siddharth told me what Rishiji had said at Gyan Ganga last month. Rishiji had said, if the people around you are anti- AOL then it's your fault! <br /><br />This shocked me! Here I was floating in my advanced course bliss oblivious to the fact that I was defaming my Guru. Guruji teaches us only to love and spread love even if the other person is someone you don't like. <br /><br />Then I realised being all stiff and stubborn at home was just giving my parents the impression that this was some teenage obsession that would pass like many others previously have. If i continued to behave this way they would definitely turn anti-AOL and I don't want that happeneing!<br /><br />So when I returned home, I used this knowledge that had just dawned and was back to being friendly with my parents. I went back to my nature i.e happiness and love realising that the past 24 hours I had wasted a lot of time giving importance and wasting energy on things which didn't come naturally to me. Even if the circumstances I am in are sad and depressing, happiness is what is my nature!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-24163924227331488572009-07-07T09:03:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:44:32.395-07:00He lived, he died. so what. Why MJ doesn't inspire..Michael Jackson. A name that brings to mind the picture of a ghostly pale scary looking man who could well be Lord Voldemort's younger brother. He died an untimely death last bringing his bizzare life to an end. The news of his death shocked the world into tears and many paid moving tributes. The media as it always does went beserk covering the circumstances of his death like it made a difference to tousands of the pop "icon's" fans. I have nothing against MJ or his numerous fans. <br /><br />However great his music might have been, it does not excuse him being a paedophile and drug addict. It's not a nice thing that he built barriers around him to make himself look mysterious! His life was bizzare to say the least and hardly something to celebrate. Why I am surprised many even consider him as their icon and hero. No, surprise is incorrect, it makes me laugh how the world is celebrating the life of someone who if not for his fame would have been looked down upon in a sane society. I'm not being hard on Jackson. But pause for a moment and think about what he has achieved and the power he had to influence and how wonderfully he has misused it! <br /><br />How the world is celebrating his life and mourning his death is a reflection of the times we live in. He may have been a musical great but he should have been condemened for his lifestyle and eccentrities. It is just not fair how a paedophile in the neighbourhood is treated so differently from a pop star who indulges in similar activities. Of course I do no suggest the paedophile should be treated like the pop star. It should be the reverse. If we didn't encourage this freak of a music star he wouldn't be this great. <br /><br />It's shocking how we receive negative news. There is no end to our hunger for such news.. What nonsense! Are we such mindless people that we can't discriminate between what's wrong and what's right! Let's not blame the media for all this. The media just plays to the galleries and mints money. It is we who choose what the media should cover. MJ doesn't deserve all this limelight. It is stupid and dangerous to pay much attention to mentally ill attention seeking idiots. How difficult would it be to find a great musician with a clean image. Look at all the composers of ancient India and others like Mozart. Their music was inspired by nature, their music wasn't the result of the high one gets on consuming drugs! Jackson' creativity grew out of frustration. How frustration is celebrated I fail to understand.rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-19734885769423773142009-06-20T09:20:00.000-07:002009-06-20T10:25:23.636-07:00If humans had tails..What would the world be like if human beings had tails? Would it be any different? <br />It would all be very different of course! Tails, apart from all the other existing body parts would contribute to defining our personalities! <br />A person like my mother for instance would have another part of the body which would need a cover. And what would a cover for the tail look like? The fashion world would go crazy making tail clothes! O all the designs and styles!! <br />Tail ends would be coloured in bright bubble gum colours to attract attention.<br /><br />Forget all that, having tails would change the most fundamental of human activites, i.e, sitting, shitting and peeing! <br />I imagine there would be chairs with holes just for our tails and the loos would be designed in an entirely different manner.<br /><br />The length of the tail would be a point to consider in arranged marriages.<br /><br />Actors would go in for surgery to have better looking tails. <br /><br />Our favourite pastime would be to straighten our tails! <br /><br />To think about it.. It would be an entirely different world! <br /><br />Oh the possiblities are various and endless. Can't wait to hear other idea. Drop them in the comments column.rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-63735266678699312972009-06-18T08:21:00.000-07:002009-06-18T09:15:09.986-07:00I once made Biriyani..I may have written about this earlier(maybe I mentioned it in passing), so if reading this gives you a sense of deja vu don't blame yourself. On another level, thank you for reading this blog frequently or the whole of it! <br />So, I once made Biriyani. The story goes thus.<br />My mother and father(collectively known as my parents) had gone to Chennai last year on some work, leaving my elder brother and me to fend for ourselves. Correction : leaving me to feed the two of us! Because somehow by some strange unheard of elder brothers are lazy bums syndrome my brother justified his inaction. Anyway, moving on to my secret recipe. <br />So there I was, standing in the kitchen on a sunday morning, trying to make the sunday..special! And being a Hyderabadi, the idea of making biriyani struck me! <br />There were some weeds stopping me from getting to the mango tree though!<br />First, I do not know how to cook. Second, I am a lousy cook. Third, I had no idea how to make biriyani.<br />Me being me, I wouldn't give up on the idea as sanely adviced by my brother. I thus rely on my memory to recall how my mother makes the delicious biriyani she makes. <br />A note on my memory: it is just an ounce more reliable than Ghajini's!<br />And now for the Holy Grail! I realise making biriyani was the easiest. Poof!<br />Just boil the rice and vegetable together and finally add the masala and it's ready to eat! Tada!<br />And we ate it that day..sans the masala(there wasn't any in the fridge!). I leave it to your imagination to conjure up a taste. I hope you have a really wild imagination for the sake of my recipe :).rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-15164367115854238692009-05-03T09:08:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:39:22.220-07:00Shoe Induced SilenceThis election, we Indians have vicariously expressed our ire with the political class through our shoe-throwing/chappal-throwing heroes. Yes, it is condemnable and uncivilised. But you cannot deny it gave you a high when you saw the politicians-cutting across party lines- ducking for cover from the common man's weapons!<br />Their(the poilticians) reactions have been predictable, pardoning the "offenders" and not registering cases against them. And some of them even "understood" why a shoe was hurled at them. This calculated reaction could possibly fetch a few more votes but I see a larger message in this. <br />However noble and benevolent their reaction might have been, they have at last accepted the gory truth about themselves- that they have no shame or integrity whatsoever. I mean, though they still maintain that they are not in the least bit corrupt, their relative silence over the "shoegate" incidents has actually given them away. Through their non-action, they agree that they deserve to be treated like this. And that to me is victory to the citizens. <br />Utopian it maybe, but I would want my leaders if they are so saintly as they claim to let the law take its course against the brave offenders. I wouln't want my leader to let go off a wrongdoer if he is actually so self-righteous as he claims to be. A wrong is a wrong and in a society based on concept of rule of law, no one else should have a say. Our politicians are sending a wrong signal to many in this country. Yes, it is upto the offended to register a case, but being in a position to influence, a politician should stick to the law and set an example. Yes, the shoe throwers are my heroes but all said and done they committed an offence under the constitution and should be punished. So, tomorrow, an SC or an ST might be a victim of a similar attack from a close associate but might not bother to register a case whcih is just hampering the image and progress of his community. My idea may seem farfetched but come to think about it, action should have been taken.rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-23055730941825758152009-04-08T06:37:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:40:06.957-07:00why manifestos?This could be a trivial matter that i am taking up in this election when we have much more important issues to discuss, but that's the fun in being a (um)"writer" whose opinion no one reads!<br /> Election manifestos brought out by political parties are a book of promises by the parties contesting the elections. They are also things which are read by no one at all, which makes me wonder if the same manifestos with a few improvisations are released before every election. (Observation that has no relation to this post: Is it just the lack of funds that the Third Front has no manifesto or is it their way of saying what everyone knows, they have no vision hence no promises to make, they just want power to make Delhi more corrupt than it already is.)<br /> During all the election frenzy, one thing struck me, why do we need election manifestos in the first place? They are futile not only because they are a criminal waste of paper and ink but also because we have a set of well-meaning provisions in our Constitution called Direcive Principles. Now, my point is why don't political parties promise to implement Directive Principles rather than promising rice at Rs.3? The DPs(Directive Principles)are a fair means to achieve the end- self suffiency of the people(of which accessibilty to food is basic). For instance art. 39(a) reads the state shall direct its policy towards securing adequate means of livelihood to citizens, if this is promised to be implemented, we not only have the problem of rice accessible to all but it would also take care of other basic needs. <br /> The election manisfestos should simply be about implementing DPs, because only their implementation would bring about true democracy. We can't rubbish them of as outdated when most of our population is langushing in poverty. And certainly, poverty aleviation is more important than say, free television sets! I rest my case.rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-63261625725481547912009-03-07T08:32:00.000-08:002009-07-09T09:41:20.135-07:00the autoHave you seen the auto? I mean THE AUTO that's doing the rounds in delhi these days? The one that has the suvidhas of water, phone and fan completely muft? And you are also charged what the meter reads? Unbelievable! But true.<br />So the other day after college got over late-- at 330, we all head to the gate dreading to face the "rejections" from the autowallahs! So while we are all looking for autos to go back home, meera and vidhi see The Auto and quietly slip into it. Turns out they already knew such an auto existed and meera had described t melino which explained why melino was peeking into an auto!<br />It doesnt even look morbid. It has a bright and colourful "behind", advertising all it's unique services!<br />Really, i don't know what punya meera and vidhi did to actually travel so effortlessly by public transport in Delhi! As for me, i am still helping others to purify myself and attain public-transport nirvana!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-59978248658277660502009-01-27T08:24:00.000-08:002009-07-09T09:44:32.395-07:00Just Why?Here is a sign that it is a chaotic world : Akshay Kumar getting a national award. Just why did Akshay Kumar of all the non-national awardee public figures in the country get the Padma Shri? I am ready to concede that Aishwarya Rai is being awarded for winning the Miss World title way back when, overlooking the facts that her in-laws and Amar Singh are family(nothing else explains his presence on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival!) and that Amar Singh may well have threatened to bring the government down if Aishwarya was not awarded. Coming back to Akshay Kumar, a man who has himself gone on record to say that his films make no sense whatsoever. What eactly is the critirea for these "prestigious awards"? Box-office hits? Or a rags to riches story? Or being a good cook? Or waitamint! Is it being a celebrity guest on the most saddistic and brainless TV show -- Roadies(ok, it requires brains to"survive"(oh, for crying out loud!) but not the sane kind!). Now i won't be surprised if Akshay Kumar is found campaigning this election season! If not campaigning in rural areas he will resort to open admiration to a certain party in all of his interviews! Which in our ignorant country is equivalent to an endorsement by God Herself! So this is what it all boils down to : Politics. Whoever said Bollywood or cricket are the two most money-spinning industries, think again, it is politics stupid! Why else would Sanjay Dutt, Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan enter politcs?<br />Politicians are everywhere, each associated with some film star or the other, openly or discreetly. And these film stars who are supposedly educated and are supposed to educate through meaningful cinema are just helping politicians get votes by keeping people in the dark. They deliver campaign speeches like they are monologues in a film hardly caring for the content.<br />In the end, the minority middle-class is a witness to the ruin the country is in(let's not deny it please!)and has at many times been cowardly in not standing up to the babus and neta. Weren't Gandhi, Nehru, Bhagat Singh too in a similar minority? Of what use is it to claim that they are our heroes if we cannot repeat what they did!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-21242488398528046482008-12-17T05:18:00.000-08:002009-07-09T09:45:26.351-07:00a poemI am writing a poem after so long<br />i know i won't go wrong<br />because there are no rules (to write a poem)<br />so i won't get the blues.<br />this is such crap!<br />So if you are a "fan" of my poems<br />i know i haven't disappointed you by writing something sensible<br />do you realise it is a reflection of who you are-- totally senseless?<br />O, well i think i have disappointed you.<br />o what crap!<br />this is a trap!<br /><br />So what makes this a poem?<br />it doesnt rhyme<br />at all this time<br />what makes it one<br />is that it has just 3-4 words in each line<br /><br />I have made an observation<br />every line has a contradiction<br />preceding or following it :)<br /><br />History has been made,<br />a smiley has been used in a poem,<br />for the first time in the hisory<br />of poetry<br />oh what crap!<br />oh what a trap!<br /><br />I shall stop here for now =Drum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-21233440094542512272008-11-26T04:37:00.000-08:002009-07-09T09:43:13.716-07:00musical campaignsIf you happen to be at least a half-responsible(you would be complete when u vote) citizen you would know that come this saturday and you as a citizen of India are empowered by the law of the land to vote! And if you happen to be a responsible radio listener and keep track of the latest tracks through one of the most conventional means of mass communication you would know that the most popular soundtrack these days goes something like: dheen dheen dheen dherena congress ko chun na congress hi chun na! Now, before you start reminiscing the good old days when songs were much more meaningful, it would help to know that this is the Congress' election song! The lead voice sounds like she's been picked straight out of the dusty old studios of AIR which is probably true. Another plausible explanation is that the Congress used the same song way back in the 50's for it's campaigns(considering the quality)but the song obviously didn't hold ground when compared with Nehru's campaigns back then!<br />The BJP ha gone a step backward and has modified lyrics of popular bollywood songs to suit itself. The winner being "nagara nagara"(jab we met) changed to "kabara kabara cong ne dilli ka kabara kiya!" Now, is this the best a party that boasts off Vajpayee could do? Certainly if not the frail old man(who probably has no idea about these "songs") his assistants could have helped if asked and could have done a much better job!<br />But whatever, like always our politicians have managed to give us an entertaining time during campaign time! No complaints! Now only if they could get the common man singing when they come to power. Maybe change is here too :). I am optimistic beyond belief, I know.rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-55419075522320496672008-10-14T09:16:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:45:50.437-07:00Playing Researcher!Note : None of what you read in this post will be reported to PETA!<br />The other day i was reading the newspaper and i came across a report on the findings of an experiment conducted on insects by some scientists. Hmm.. I thought seeing no obvious reason why anyone in their senses would find out insects' behaviour when there is so much more happening in the world(the wars and the economic crisis for instance)! I guessed these scientists must be just like <em>me- </em>looking for something worthwhile to do and get so desperate so as not to discredit their qualifications that they experiment on tiny weeny insects and notice their behaviour! At about the same time i was reading this report i found a cricket hanging out in the room. Now it doesn't take a genius to guess that i ended up conducting my own experiment!<br />So i fish out my godforsaken totally-useless-phone-if-not-for-the-mp3 and inched closer to the object of study hanging merrily to the curtain. My objective - how do insects react to music.<br />First i played the soulful introduction of "november rain" the live version and then "naagin" by decibel. The cricket reacted to november rain by fluttering its wings- whatever thats supposed to mean and to naagin it just crawled behind the curtain, obviously scared! Ah well i was looking for some head banging there!<br />After the success of the experiment(i didn't get stung or bitten or whatever it is that crickets do apart from making annoying noises at night when people are trying to sleep)i was elated i had joined the league of all the great scientists whose names i don't care to remember.<br />Hey, you'll remember me for writing this post about whatever i did!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-65192121037768881222008-09-27T09:44:00.000-07:002008-09-27T10:17:42.713-07:00the daughter"Ma, its daughters' day tomorrow."<br /><br />Phat came the reply, Good, cook for us tomorrow. (to all those oblivious to my adversity to cooking please read the entry "cooked!")<br /><br />Hmph! yehi izzat hai na meri is ghar mein!!<br /><br />I know melodramatic, pero it has a truth which none of us is ready to face. Women in our country are still discrminated against and not just rural india. In urban educated middle class and upper class India there is a clear line between a "man's spehere" and a "woman's sphere" and the list has no end. Look around, who sets the table for dinner, who cooks,isn't it considered strange that a man cooks in the house,<em>ghar par mummy/wife nahin hai toh bahar se mangao</em> but the "man of the house" will seldom cook. And what do you see in the ads? Whether it's an <em>atta </em>or <em>zandu balm </em>or a financial service ad the woman of the house is always be-bindi-ed and sindur-ed and dressed in a simple suit or sari and is generally found in the kitchen or staying at home and taking care of the children while the husband is away at work and returning home so tired that his wife has to rush to his rescue with whatever product is. Now, you might say this is a reflection of the society we live in. But, c'mon we all know this isn't true! Where is the working woman who works twice as much--the traditional home sphere and the "modern" professional sphere-- as the working man and is certainly more deserving of the cholestrol reducing atta and pain reducing balms!<br /><br />Admen are generally guys who are educated and supposedly modern and liberal in their views. Isn't what they project a shame to indian women and the society on the whole? So much for women's rights! The media is supposed to help dispel stereotypes not encourage them!<br /><br />Don't we see working moms who suffer from more physical and emotional stress? Where are they depicted in the media? Why are we still caged in archaic 19th century patterns of thought? And why, why aren't the women's rights groups taking this issue? Fine, urban working women are a minority but they do exist and their number is going to grow and not decrease and as a result more number of women will get trapped in this image. And even urban women who don't work have a mind of their own their lives aren't only about their husbands and children! It is time the ordinary urban woman protests against depicting her in this ridiculous stereotype.rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-85384077990330809122008-09-19T21:59:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:47:27.586-07:00<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SNSrTeZtfvI/AAAAAAAAAGk/2rRNGYnZCI0/s1600-h/happiness.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248007816860237554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SNSrTeZtfvI/AAAAAAAAAGk/2rRNGYnZCI0/s320/happiness.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SNSq0HD2roI/AAAAAAAAAGc/XA-ydCmyuo8/s1600-h/ATgAAADJ1_kVQ5fVq0LGEZiG1hTIHM8tlutUhqcynfncCwp4tsyFV69NnvEFYHV88qh9SrijJdGdJRNlvJsRkxIdp9XtAJtU9VCaYj-awQaWi5GAZAIDfnaRMzZlmg.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;">S</span>eptember 15th 2008<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:180%;">L</span>ocation: the air waves(conversation over the phone for the lesser imaginative beings)<br /><br />"stef!b****..guess what!i am going for art of living!", i said<br /><br />"b**** u!really why?! u ...i mean YOU.. the least religious or spiritual person ever..question remains why?!"stefy replied(those were not her exact words but sum up what she had said).<br /><br />Six days later, the question stands solved! To know that even adults can be happy, just like kids. Innocently happy!<br />I admit i wasn't actually looking forward to going for the course,but i wasn't against going either.<br />So there i found myself on the evening of 15th september on an endeavour that has taught me that adulthood is not all about worries and just thinking how it feels to be a kid. I haven't been this happy since passing out of school two years ago. For two years i was totally unhappy with the changes that college brings to life, and kept wishing i went back to school. To put it simply i was a loser!<br />For one, it was interesting. At no point did i feel that i was being preached and i had to sit there either because i had to vasool the fee or due to pressure from my mother.<br />The highlight of the course is of course the Sudharshan Kriya, in short its a breathing technique that reaches you to a higher level of consciousness a.k.a getting high without having to smoke or dope or drink!<br />The course involves being iron willed-- swear words(explains the b****!!), cold drinks,alcohol, drugs, smoking, non-veg even tea and coffee aren't allowed during the week long duration of the course. But these are a small price to pay to feel truly madly deeply happy!<br />Our teacher(avinash bhaiyya) promised a week that would change our lives forever, something tells me that his "prophecy" has been proved in my case at least.<br />Jai Gurudev!</div></div>rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-48124030524144757872008-08-10T05:07:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:44:32.396-07:00Torture<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SJ7m8Y56cMI/AAAAAAAAAE8/GEih1vFqC7c/s1600-h/Homer%20Simpson%20Oh%20No.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232873742202990786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TOP3q84nBgc/SJ7m8Y56cMI/AAAAAAAAAE8/GEih1vFqC7c/s320/Homer%2520Simpson%2520Oh%2520No.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>There is a space of approximately 10-15 inches between the speakers at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Priya's</span>. Absurd fact?<br />Sure, noticed during an absurd movie. I watched the curiously much-awaited movie "Singh is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kinng</span>" (why, why the extra n?) and boy, do i regret it! Five minutes into the movie and i knew that i had paid a whopping(with respect to the movie) 85 bucks for this piece of shit. the movie is loud and noisy(My phone which was constantly buzzing throughout the 2.5 hour drag duration of the movie <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">wasn't</span> once audible to those sitting next to me). It provides for a great game of treasure hunt, as you will forever be looking for the story and later wondering what the story was. Seriously, you will be left speechless if you are asked to narrate the story of the movie!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>In this supposed comedy, there is hardly anything that will set you roaring with laughter. Expect 3-4 chuckles and that too at the silliness of the humour, nothing more.<br />As for the actors, as per principle, Katrina <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kaif</span> has and will never do a film which is even a little intellectually appealing. She smiles and smiles and er..smiles till your jaws ache. One can actually count the number of dialogues(delivered in her accent that is anything but British. makes you wonder if she spent her whole life under <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Salman</span> Khan's influence) she had in the movie--hardly 10 and none exceeding a word limit of 15(prefixed,suffixed with a smile, of course). <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Akshay</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Kumar</span> is predictable but good. The editing just helps the non existing storyline in making the movie more unbearable.<br />Do not-<br />-Watch the movie even if you are not paying. It could be a conspiracy against you.<br />-Watch if you belong to the law fraternity or respect it, Katrina <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kaif</span> is apparently is studying law and is writing a book on how to "finish off" criminals. It will make u cringe and want to kick her ass and drill some sense into that tiny head of hers.<br />-watch it for the music. the snoop dog song is saved for the credits and isn't worth all the torture. -use your brains or try to figure out things. look what it's done to me.<br /><br />Do wonder- -<br />-how this movie is breaking all the records.<br />-how the Hindu gave it a good review.<br />-why it hasn't found a place among the worst movies ever for being a movie made without a story or script.<br />( Seemingly made to provide employment for the support cast.)<br /><br />If Time magazine makes a list of ten movies that did not deserve success or acclaim, Singh is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Kinng</span> will rule the list.</div><div> </div><div>P.S- i am not a blindly hindi movie hating and english movie loving person. I have enjoyed more hindi movies than engish!</div>rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-35014986792935873492008-08-08T03:29:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:49:58.018-07:00Cooked!I cook these days.<br />Yes, that's right I COOK these days. What has brought me to do this?<br />My mother's other duties towards my beloved little-forever-because-shes- the- last- born sister. My mother has gone to drop my sister at her college in the south leaving me to feed myself and my brother and my father(for just three days, albeit). Before my mother abandoned me to fate and hunger and self-cooked food for 2 weeks i was excited at the prospect of living almost alone(almost owing to my elder brother's presence). I dreamt of staying up late into the night doing all the things i do in day(which amounts to nothing), calling friends over for the night,watching tv from 10 pm to 8am and other such juvenile aspirations!<br />So, on the first Day of Glory i wake up to the rythmic sound of the knife hitting the cutting board every time the vegetable were cut by my...FATHER!!<br />I suddenly realise the mountain of things i had to do that morning before going to college and i spring out of bed and rush to the kitchen (after a brief stop in the loo) to find my father had already begun the long boring and cumbersome process of cooking. I enter, dad leaves.<br />Now its just me versus the ingredients. Achivement of the day: i managed to do my class 5 chem project-volcano when the rasam erupted!<br />MY friend asked me this morning, you know how to cook? WOW! Uff,i reply what is so wow about it?just need to know the ingredients required put them in the pan one by one(no particular order)wait for their colours to change (not black) and tada! something edible is ready! My friend made a mental note of never coming over for a meal if ma isn't around. I am as glad as her!<br />Since the day ma left, I've spent a record amount of my time in the kitchen, and all the other things i was excited about just haven't happened. As much as i sound like ma, the cooking and travelling to college and attending college(my chief occupation) tires me down!<br />10 pm 10 8 am tv? heck, i can't even catch the shows i regualrly watch on primetime!<br />Really, i will never cook (not that others want me to). I'l hire a cook or even marry one but will never do it myself!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-28934030777364079702008-08-07T03:31:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:46:56.386-07:00the black sheep!I hail from a family of..hostelers. At some point or the other of their lives,all my <em>avakaya</em>(fancy name for mango pickle)-loving relatives--with whom i have spent the better part of my pre-teen summer holidays,have just seen,have just heard of or just know exists has or is or will stay in a hostel. That makes me the black sheep of the family-nuclear& exteneded for being the only one who has completed 19 and has not spent a day or even an hour in a hostel. what a pity,my brother said,who himself spent 4 respectable years in hostel. It's not like i did not try to make to a res college, i did, i gave around 7 gruesome entrances to make it to a hostel via the course i'd be studying at the college. Alas, i wasn't a part of the Divine plan that Providence had designed for my family-nuclear and extended. so, i am a "simple" day schi(sounds so much cooler than res!)doing something called political science honors and who hopes to be something called a social worker in the words of a relative(distant but close, as ma puts it,get it?i dont!)whose anonymity is the price of my safety!<br />The most recent addition to the great hostel legacy in my family is my sister,yes my "real"(what's so hard to believe??) sister!<br />So the day my sister decided to opt for a certain greek-sounding science course down south(duh),it was just something consequential that she would spend her first 4 years of adulthood in her college hostel despite the fact that she could well live with either of the two mousies living in chennai,i mean aunties, and be like me-a day schi. But, why be a day schi when u can be a hosteler. So, the fees --the cost of "maintaining" my sister for a whole year--was duly paid. then followed the discussions where i played the dummy, what to do in a hostel,what to share what not to share where all the talking was done by my brother. Confession of a mute spectator: i felt left out! I mean,it's not like my sis was already in hostel,it was just immediate future not past perfect or present tense! worse still, i was asked to shut up when i would present something i had conjured in the hostel life of my imagination.<br />Hurt? Nay! They don't realise i am the only one who knows what its like to be a day schi-travelling in bluelines,braving the heat,rain(just this year, thanks to Global Warming)and cold,eating ma ke haatho ka khana for longer than anyone else in my family has dared to,getting to go out everyday of the week and not just twice or thrice..ah the good life!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-70084773397005411472007-10-13T07:30:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:50:27.771-07:00Being single aint easyI've been single all my life and i like it like this simply because i haven't tasted what its to be in a relationship, and i am not desperate either. I am happy knowing that someday it will be my turn. Meanwhile I have enough time to call "my" time, i don't have to sacrifice, i don't have to tell someone(apart from my mom, at times!) what I do every moment of the day, and I don't have to look good/dress up for anyone, etc. etc. Being single is great...until...you are the only "single" among your friends. Here's why:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />a) In today's world its a crime not to be "involved" with anyone. And if you aren't many a time friends turn into match makers(let me remind you that in our culture retired people make matches)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />b) Biggest drawback, if you aren't careful enough you will soon be an agony aunt. People in relationships will come upto you for "advice" and you will be left speechless since you never were in your friend's position and don't really know how it feels. But then you don't want to be rude and just give whatever first comes to your mind(or advice straight from your favourite romantic novel, a bit altered of course).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />c) you are asked constantly why you don't have a boyfriend despite being in college. It's as if you lost out on an important criterion for admission. And if you retort by saying that you really don't care, the other person responds as if you are some kind of a saint.("oh!it's hard to find people like you!"). And you would want to further retort by saying-- DUH! But you don't because you want the conversation to end then and there!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />d) You sometimes wonder if you are gay/lesbian.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />e) You are always, ALWAYS after your friend's partner in her priority list. And will always get responses like "sorry, i don't have time, you know why..." when you want to meet up. They don't even have to make some effort to make up some excuse!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So you see, it aint easy being single..it's just not as simple as it seems!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-12049500562253669512007-09-29T06:59:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:45:26.352-07:00a poem on stefystefy is a drunkard!<br />she'l go on a rampage in your backyardif u refuse to give her yoghurt..<br />since shes a drunkard<br /><br /><br />today she had beer<br /> when i was right here!i askd her fer sme beer<br />but thn it wasnt fruitbeer<br />u must be thinking that i like fruitbeer<br />but ur mistaken my dear!<br /><br />and now i dnt what to say<br />i rarely know wat to say<br />i am always left so speechless<br />the last paras of my poems are always rhymeless<br />but i dnt call myself a poet since i am not shmalessi<br /> have reached the poitn where i dnt even make the lil sense i have made so far<br />pls stefy accept this testimonial as a favvaar!!rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-83286110302796434842007-09-22T07:29:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:49:58.018-07:00the IIT pests!!<em><span style="font-family:georgia;">My friends and i went to the IIT fest on its second day.We heard a lot about it,people went as far as calling it the best fest in the country. So we were all excited and gave up many other activities that usually keep us preocupied us on saturdays(with special reference to stefy chacko,the rest gave up beauty sleep nothing else). Surprisingly we were not asked for our college identity cards at the gate or anywhere in the campus which meant just about anyone and everyone could enter the campus(we saw kids who woudn't have been more than 12!). Well as it turned out anyone and everyone did land up there and gave girls a bad time! They clicked pictures as if we were monuments! Surely it disappointed us,conidering that we couldn't even move around freely.<br />Apart from this major(MAJOR) glitch,the fest was fine. The DJ wasn't that great but it was fun watching all the guys(mysteriously very few or no girls were on the floor) shaking a leg, i must mention that most had two left feet! Thanks to them i laughed to my heart's content and they also made my day which was otherwise ordinary.<br />The Western music competition was a treat for music lovers.<br />Despite all the eve-teasing I am looking forward to the fest next year!</span></em>rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2675361923934682632.post-57601547981496961002007-09-06T08:31:00.000-07:002009-07-09T09:45:26.352-07:00a poem about me!<em>i am out of school which is really coolsince i am no fool<br />i do not know what else to say nowexcept for wow!<br />i do not kno y i want to say wow!now thw only word i can think of which rhymes with wow!is how?<br />i am creativebut not repetitive<br />i do not have the replay buttonpeople think i am a glutton<br />i am an expert at not making sensedont u think all this is non sense?<br />u must be thinkin i am nutsso next time try searching for me in ur kheeroh that does not rhyme but this will be my stylei do not wish to be a great poetthats y i write such crapbut at least i write stuff in clear englishi am not confusing u with arts and thous and thees.so if u want simple and non sense poetry u can read my about me a million timesthis cud be my only "work"i am too lazy to write more!i am an expert at not making sense don't u think this is non sense??(i even have a refrain now!)<br /> </em>rum-yeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357772666613789022noreply@blogger.com2