Home!!!

Ah its Friday, my bags are packed, train is at 7. Though I go home very often this time is special for two reasons. One, this visit of mine doesn't coincide with any sibling's arrival from US (which means all attention is going to be devoted to me!!!!). Two, its Diwali(which means lots of sweets and good food). Have made lots of plans, got to meet up with friends, new and old, I hope rain doesn't play spoil sport.

Six more hours to go, have to kill time until then. Will blog next from home.

Happy Diwali to all! Have fun!

Voice of the City

"Tell me," I said, stammeringly, for I have no voice of my own, "what does this big - er - enormous - er - whopping city say? It must have a voice of some kind. Does it ever speak to you? How do you interpret its meaning? It is a tremendous mass, but it must have a key'

"Here are 4,000,000 people," said I, scholastically, "compressed upon an island, which is mostly lamb surrounded by Wall Street water. The conjunction of so many units into so small a space must result in an identity - or, or rather a homogeneity that finds its oral expression through a common channel. It is, as you might say, a consensus of translation, concentrating in a crystallized, general idea which reveals itself in what may be termed the Voice of the City. Can you tell me what it is?"

"I must go and find out," I said, "what is the Voice of this city. Other cities have voices. It is an assignment. I must have it. New York," I continued, in a rising tone, "had better not hand me a cigar and say: ' Old man, I can't talk for publication.' No other city acts in that way. Chicago says, unhesitatingly, 'I will;' I Philadelphia says, 'I should;' New Orleans says, ' I used to;' Louisville says, 'Don't care if I do;' St. Louis says, 'Excuse me;' Pittsburg says, 'Smoke up.' Now, New York - "

Excepts from O Henry's short story 'The Voice of the City'.

I wonder what my hometown has to say. Bangalore, where malls and mutiplexes are built in a day but new roads and flyovers and take ages, where traffic never moves, where infrastucture reeks, where IT companies and pubs spring up everyday.....What is it saying? 'I cant take it anymore'?

Hyderabad is almost there but not yet....do I hear it say 'I wannabe' ?

Weekend Report

People at my friend's office decided that they weren't having enough fun at office and felt the need to meet up at some place where they could all unwind. A committee was set up on Wednesday and 'Dublin', ITC Sheraton's hip pub was chosen as the place to be. People were informed and a big number of 25 tired and frustrated software engineers agreed to join. I decided to tag along since I knew most people and if not tired I was frustrated enough. Though I come from the land that is home to many pubs, pubbing and pub hopping are concepts that are alien to me. At best I have done 'Coffee Day hopping', No not even that. What we mostly did was 'Symphony Theatre-Rice Bowl-Corner House' hopping. Those were good days but let me not digress. Come Saturday, the number thins down to 15 but the enthusiasm continues to be high. A last minute rush to shopping malls for want of the 'perfect attire' resulted in nothing. Had to dig in our scanty wardrobe and decided to wear our 'attitude' for thats what matters and not what you actually wear(My 'attitude' was striped in case you are interested). Two hours to go and a sudden realization hits everyone that we probably aren't rich enough to afford the above mentioned place and had to settle for a smaller (and affordable) place called Sparks. Place was ordinary but music was good and we managed to dominated the tiny dance floor. I for one ended up having a really good time.

Sunday, I finally did something I have always wanted to do, watched DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) from the start to the end at one stretch (ads and all). I now seize to be an object of constant jeering and the butt of 'She hasn't seen DDLJ yet' jokes. I am now one of them. Maybe because I am not a Shahrukh fan, maybe because I watched it after a decade of its release and maybe because I have never been in love(as some people seem to think), I was not able to appreciate the movie.

The two vodkas on Saturday and the most successful Indian movie on Sunday did not have the desired effect on me but it was a weekend well spent.

Tall, Fair and Handsome

Guys, your prayers have been answered.

If

• Your parents can't find you a girl or your proposals are being rejected and you have to settle for a old hag....
• You cant get a job as a steward in that coveted airlines.....
• You lost that job as a TV anchor to someone else....
• You are ignored, made fun of, teased at....
• You want Rakesh Roshan to offer a role in his next movie but cant get him to notice you...
• You want to sit next to Krishnamachari Shrikant in the commentary box but don’t have the confidence....

all because of your dark complexion, your prayers have been answered. Emami has launched Fair and handsome for men. Saw the ad yesterday, it is hilarious. A guy (made to look dark) sneaks in to a women’s hostel to steal a pack of 'regular fairness cream' (by which I mean fairness cream for women) who is then chased by women only to be rescued by a fair guy who gives the guy some much needed advice which unfortunately is not 'Get a life' but 'This wont work on you, use fairness cream specially made for men'. Dark makeup gone, guy looks fair (and lovely???) and girls fall all over him.

Long time since I laughed so hard at an Ad. Why do I get the feeling there is a woman behind this ad who is thinking 'sweet revenge’?

Bounce and the Art of Living

With most of the junta gearing up preparations for CAT (MBA entrance) most of my weekends are spent lazing around at home, for lack of company. It was during one such weekend that me and another aimless friend realized that we weren't actually wasting away our lives, that there was so much to be learnt, that one didn't have to be a manager to learn the mysteries of life and to enjoy its beauty. Call it enlightenment, call it nirvana, it came from the most unusual source, our aging Nokia 6610 phones.

When we first started playing Bounce it was all about points, levels, high scores, beating each other, it was our weapon against boredom. We soon realized that playing the game was not just draining the batteries and ruining the keypad but was in fact building our character and making us better humans.
Like when we I was stuck at Level 4, I had almost given up and even declared that it was beyond my capabilitiy. Level 5 was a distant dream for me. But one day my friend crossed it. I tried again, focused, learnt where I was going wrong and then it happened. Level 5. My happiness knew no bounds. Always believe in your dreams, nothing is impossible. Level 5 meant more hurdles, more difficulties. Dont lose hope. This time we both did it together, discussed strategies, helped each other and we both entered Level 7 together. Friendship is beautiful.

Today we are in a crucial stage in Level 7. What is it that we finally want? What are our goals? Reach level 8? What next?
What we really want and hope is that the learning continues so that we will be equipped to face life, deal with it and learn to appreciate the art of living.

Oh hell, I'll just use the cheat code to cross level 7. Two weeks after putting down 'The Monk who sold his ferrari', the effect hasn't gone. I think I should take a break from reading and get myself a social life.