Catharsis of Life

Catharsis of Life Has Moved!!!

2011-01-14T02:46:00.000-08:00

!!! KIND ATTENTION !!!

CATHARSIS OF LIFE HAS MOVED TO A NEW HOME

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Chennai Musings

2010-08-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

They say there’s no stopping an idea whose time has come. Maybe that’s the reason for my restless soul these days. A lot of my time, these days, is spent in idle thought and that Safari Dicor ad which says, “Reclaim your Life!” There’s a burning desire to do something new, to grab that illusive Golden Fleece that sadly remains just out of reach.

Maybe Chennai will have the answer that’s been tormenting me for weeks now.

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I’m back in the city of Chennai – a place that holds a lot of significance in my life. This city has taught me a lot of things; some good while others that don’t exactly exude warmth in my heart. It’s also teaching me another thing today – that there’s a certain pain associated with memories. But this pain’s of a different kind. The one that makes your heart ache and miss someone. I know you’re reading this somewhere and yes, this one’s meant for you.

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I’ve been walking non-stop for over two hours. Without a sense of direction and knowing where to go next. But it’s not without purpose. I feel a bit like Forest Gump at this moment. Except that he ran! Eventually though, it seems both of us were looking for answers that had no questions.

As I take stock of my bearings, I realize that my feet have carried me to Adyar. Chennai has undergone a sea of transformation in these past 2 years and this area bears testimony to this fact. Gone is my favorite place in the city, the Coffee World outlet, near Adyar Signal. But there’s a new Mocha shop that’s opened a little ahead. And that’s the place I’m currently sitting in, penning my thoughts into words.

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It’s 7.45 in the evening and I’m just about ready to board my flight back to Delhi and leave this city once again. Time brings about a huge change in perspective. I used to hate Chennai earlier. That I still do! That feeling, though, has mellowed down quite a bit. For all the hate and pain associated with this place, there’s love to be found in the strangest of places. All you need to do is look for it!

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I take to the skies, a little wiser, a little surer about what I want from life. The entire picture is still quite hazy but at least there’s a ray of light shining through that to mark a new beginning. And for that, I’ll always be grateful to this unforgiving city.

Love in a Metro...

2009-12-18T12:11:00.000-08:00

Armaan nervously settled his tie as he stepped onto the escalator and into the brightly lit Metro Station at Rajiv Chowk. Glancing at his watch, he noted that he still had another 30 minutes to reach his destination at Patel Nagar. Today was going to be his day, he kept reminding himself. With an interview scheduled with the HR of one of the top IT firms, he really wanted to grab this opportunity with both hands. While he was happy with his current job at TechFest, the truth was that it was a pretty small firm and frankly speaking the lure of a fatter paycheck coupled with a better job profile was something the 24 year old really looked forward to.

"I hope I get a place to sit", he thought as he once again checked his watch. Fortunately for him, the previous train had just left Platform 3 which meant that he stood right at the front of the queue that had begun forming for the next train and this meant that in all probability he would be the first to enter. He glanced at the Train Time Indicator which signaled the time left for the next train to enter the station. It read 5:00 mins.

Briefing through his resume for the umpteenth time, Armaan once again went through the sequence he had been repeating in his mind since the last week. "Knock on the door politely, ask for permission to enter, wish the interviewer and wait for permission to be seated". And all this with a smile! He couldn't help but be nervous. The Time Display read 4:00 mins.

He tapped his feet a few times and instinctively looked up for a few seconds at the opposite end of the station to notice the queue forming on Platform 4. And it was at that moment that all his nervousness vanished. In fact for him everything ceased to exist at that moment of time except for the girl standing directly opposite him. She was breathtakingly beautiful and he had never seen anyone like her ever before. A lump formed in his throat as he struggled to take in her beauty. The time read 3:00 mins.

On the opposite side, Kashish was waiting for the train to drop her off at Barakhambha Road where she was meeting some friends for lunch. Suddenly she felt a pair of eyes on her and looked up to see a young guy dressed in formals staring at her. Realizing that she had noticed him staring, he quickly looked away. "Disgusting", she said to herself. "Typical Delhi guy! All they know is to stare at every girl". She began playing with her phone only to look up a few seconds later to find him staring at her again. This time he was a little late to look away but it was enough for her to notice that he was not staring at her with lust-filled eyes. Rather she was attracted by a special spark in them and suddenly she noticed how carelessly his hair fell over his handsome face. The time read 2:00 mins.

Armaan was a little embarrassed to find himself being caught so blatantly staring at the girl and quickly looked away only to find his gaze returning to her beautiful face after a few seconds. "Oh God, she was perfect in every sense", he thought. And it was this lingering thought that allowed her to catch him staring at her once again and this time he was a little slow to react. "Dammit! I'm the biggest fool in this world. She must think I'm such a pervert", he thought. However, he couldn't resist stealing a glance at her again and this time was surprised to see her staring at him and then quickly looking away. He couldn't believe himself. This time he maintained the gaze and when she looked at him again, he smiled the most idiotic smile he had ever given anyone in his life. The time read 1:00 min.

Kashish, on the other hand, was taken aback when the young guy offered her the cutest smile she had ever seen. Composing herself, she smiled back at him only to find herself blushing and quickly looked away. When she looked back at him, the smile had been replaced with an even bigger one that forced her to chuckle aloud. "Oops", she thought, grinning to herself,"What's wrong with me!" And it was at this very moment that both the trains entered from opposite directions to mask the flow of emotions taking place.

Frantically, Armaan tried to catch a glimpse of her form through the cloud of rushing trains to no avail. He stood rooted to the spot as his train came to a grinding halt and was soon engulfed in a swarm of people alighting and boarding. People pushed past him, cursing his moribund form while some even stamped his feet to continue their maddening journey of life but for Armaan, none of that mattered. What mattered to him was lost beyond his reach separated by a pair of closing doors. As the two trains pulled away from the station, Armaan kept his gaze fixed at a point directly in front of him. And when it was all quiet again, Kashish stared directly into his eyes and they both smiled in togetherness.

P.S: You might wonder how I know this story. I was told this at Kashish and Armaan's 1st wedding anniversary last Friday

The Girl From The Mall - The Grand Finale

2009-08-10T02:41:00.000-07:00

For all those who missed the earlier parts:

The Girl in the Mall - Part 1
The Girl in the Mall - Part 2

Truth, they say, is sometimes stranger than fiction. Well it’s certainly true in my case. It was almost six months to the day that I last saw the girl in the mall and yet somehow, it was as if I had just seen her. After that incident, I returned back to my college and business went on as usual. The next time I went back to Delhi was to attend my sister's marriage in January. Busy with preparations and stuff, there was hardly any time left for other pursuits (read partying with friends). Now the basic schedule for the wedding was something like this-

Day 1- Cocktail party for friends (means no oldies allowed)
Day 2-The Wedding
Day 3- Reception

So finally Day 1 arrived and that was something that me and my friends had been looking forward to most of all. I mean ya my sister's wedding was important but then so was this man. This took place at a farmhouse on M.G Road so basically we had a free reign from 9 at night to about 4 in the morning. The party started and slowly everyone got into the groove. The drinks and snacks had started and the dance floor too was beginning to come alive. After having supplied my friends with all the necessary stuff, I went around meeting all my sister's friends whom I’ve known since childhood and partying with them.

Suddenly, Abhinav came running to me and pulled (read dragged)me to one of the corners where some guests were sitting. And that was when the world around me stopped. I had seen Her again and no, this was no imagination. She was really there and this time I knew I wasn't letting go of her so easily. But she was sitting with one of my sister's friends (Neetu Didi). I call her Didi cause many of my sister's friends tied me Rakhi when I was small (C'mon guys, you can't protest to all this when you are in Class 2!! I was innocent back then).

So I went and found my sister and literally dragged her from the dance floor and demanded to know whether she knew the girl sitting with Neetu Didi. And I absolutely hated that smirk on my sister's face when she asked, “Why?". Some bullshit later and she finally told me that that girl is Neetu Didi's younger sibling Shikha. Now I was in a moral dilemma. I mean I treat Neetu Didi as my sister but does her sister also qualify as one. No way, my brain told me. Even Neetu Didi's my sister by sheer ill-luck and not by choice so definitely her sister doesn’t qualify in that category. And my assumptions received further impetus from Abhinav and Saurav who told me that" Real Sister ki friend who's your muh bola sister ki sister is definitely not sister". Seriously man, thats like saying Osama and Bush are brothers or like Mallika Sherawat doing puja!!! It’s as far stretched from reality as possible.

So after convincing myself that I wasn't committing any cardinal sin, I spent the next ten minutes wondering how to go and talk to her. Believe me, it doesn't help one bit if you have friends like mine who give you advice ranging from writing a love letter (I mean C'mon guys, get a life!!Who writes love letters now) to going straight to her and snogging her in front of everyone (apparently according to them, she'll think that I am very direct in my approach and hence THE MAN). So once again, I dragged my sister off the dance floor (with my future bro-in-law giving me murderous looks) and asked her to do something!!

Finally my sister agreed and we pretended to chat to the guests and slowly made our way to where she was sitting. My heartbeat seemed to grow proportionally as we moved closer and closer to them and at one point of time, I even decided to back off. Well, what are sisters for after all!! Oodles of gyaan later and we finally reached their table where I started chatting with Neetu didi while glancing at her every 5 secs. And finally, we were formally introduced!!! I extended my hand to her and said in the most macho tone I could muster at that time (not easy when your heart's accelerating like an F1 car)," Hi, I am Aman!”. And she said, "Hi ".That’s it!! Just Hi, nothing more nothing less!! I mean, she must be having some name right? "That’s the end of my love life", I told myself.

And then she started laughing and I was like," My name's not that funny also". "No stupid", she said," I am laughing cause you still don't recognize me. I am Shikha, dumbo!. Remember we used to play when my sister used to come to your place back when they were in school. I think we were in lower KG then. U still don't remember kya??".
Now believe me, I have absolutely no recollections of my childhood. Not one bit!! The last thing I remember from my childhood was when i was caned by my principal for bunking to a girl's school in class 9(that’s another story). So there's no way I know whether I even studied in lower KG or not!! But of course I couldn’t tell her that so I put on the best thinking expression I could come up with and said "Oh ya, of course I do..ya u still look the same". "Shut up liar, I know you don't remember me. I do cause I slapped you when you hid my Barbie doll". Ok that was quite embarrassing but at least it broke the ice.

After that we got along like a house on fire. Chatted stuff ranging from anything to everything (nope, I am not telling you guys anything). And yes, we even discussed my antics in the mall six months ago. Well 2 hours later and I remembered I had other friends too. So I introduced her to my friends and she introduced Anushka to my friends (yup, she too had come along with her). And then we danced and danced and danced. Holding her close to me, taking in her fragrance and just being with her was like a dream come true. It was the happiest night of my life. Obviously the drinks too helped but I cannot remember having so much fun ever in my life!!

The next three days passed in a blur and I was on my way back to college before I even knew it. She came to see me off at the station and a lot went unspoken there. They say everything's written in the eyes and that you can read a person like a book by just looking into their eyes. Well, I did just that and so did she. And even though there were a lot of things we didn't understand, most of it we did and we were grateful for that. We were in touch constantly after that and we still are to this day.

Now to answer the question foremost in everyone's mind. Are we or are we not? Well, as of now we're just friends although very close ones. I dunno about the future and frankly speaking I don't care. Cause I believe that if you're meant to meet someone, then the entire universe will conspire to bring you together. And after reading all this, you might just tend to agree with me. And that, my friends, was my story.

Now many people have asked me why I included Anushka's name in all this when she didn't have any part to play. The answer to that is Abhinav! Because Shikha wasn't the only girl in the mall that day and I wasn't the only guy there. This story did have two different endings. And a little bird told me that Abhinav and Anushka had a very umm private sort of dinner two nights ago and the bugger hasn't answered my calls since then (obviously!!). So here's wishing them all the best from everyone who's reading this.

P.S-: I re-wrote this 3 part story 'cause of a phone call that I got from the U.S a few weeks ago which brought back a lot of memories of an old friend :)

The Girl in the Mall - Part 2

2009-08-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Read Part - 1 here -> The Girl in the Mall - Part 1

Hmmm so where were we? Oh ya the movie had just ended and we followed her out back into the mall. Well she kept glancing back at our group so that gave us even further reason to pursue our goal. I guess they were hungry because we soon found ourselves sitting in Pizza Hut trying to figure out what to order(Ahem,actually we were a little low on cash so umm we had to Google the entire menu to find the cheapest stuff). Eventually we ended up with 4 slices of garlic bread for the three of us(you should have seen the look on the attendant's face when we said " One garlic bread pls, that'll be all". He actually asked us thrice if we wanted anything more.The nerve of some ppl!

Ok back to the story now. So here I was sitting diagonally opposite her in order to have a clear view of her(her face I mean...filthy minds). She obviously knew I was staring so she had to show some 'bhaav' after all(these girls I tell you). After 10 mins or so, she too got into the game and we started a game of 'Who Blinks 1st!' And so we stared and stared and stared. Ah, those beautiful eyes still haunt me day and night. Well,I never even got to taste even a bit of that garlic bread(some friends I have)but who cared anyways at that point of time.

After Pizza Hut, she and her friend walked into a huge garment store(I think it was Westside but like I said I could have cared less even if it was Hell) and we dutifully followed them like lambs to the slaughter. From one section to another, from 4th floor till the 1st, always keeping her within my sights. Until she disappeared that is! We searched the entire 1st floor better than the FBI but still no sign of her. One minute she was there and the next she went Kapoosh!!

Until Saurav's brilliant idea,"She must have gone to the basement, I saw a sign saying that's the girls section." So down we went and as soon as we went there, 3 pairs of salesgirl eyes stared at us as if we had committed Harakiri. Why you may ask? Well, 'cause we had just entered the Lingerie section!! Imagine, 3 guys and 3 salesgirls and the lingerie section. Now I don't know who was more embarrassed,They or Us. And to top off his brilliant suggestion, Saurav comes up with THE most(no words to describe this) excuse,"Lets go to the toilet guys!".That too aloud! Now remember, there are 3 girls, 3 guys and the lingerie all around us. Don't you think it wasn't the best time to excuse ourselves to go the loo. U get my drift right?? Well in a sense he was right. It was the girls section after all!!!

Anyways after escaping(read running for our lives) from the men-not-allowed-and-should-not-be-seen-here department, we went and searched the only other likely place they could have gone. Outside the mall,that is (Brilliant na,I still congratulate myself for figuring that one out). And yes she was there, standing right next to her car (A red Santro, see I still remember..Isiko kehte hain saccha pyar). "Oh my god, she's leaving",I thought. "This can't be happening to me!". But there we were, standing about 10 meters apart waiting for the other one to make the 1st move. I know I should have done something but as to exactly what I should have done I still don't know (C'mon girls, you know how tongue-tied we guys are in moments like these).

And then she Smiled. And I mean that smile which can light a thousand bulbs. That mischievous, naughty, lovable smile that you don't normally hand out to every other person that you meet. And with that she got into her car and drove off into the sunset leaving me expressionless in her wake.

I stood there rooted to that spot for the next two minutes until I felt blood flow in me again. Did that just happen or was I still dreaming? Only when Abhinav and Saurav dragged me off from there did I get back to reality. She was really gone, just like that!!

And now I am serious. I mean was that it? After all that happened since the morning, was it really meant to end this way? Because believe me, there was something between us. It was there when I first saw her, it was there in the hall, more so after that and that connection reached its zenith when she gave me that smile. I know many of you must be thinking " Haha,kat gaya iska or that both of us were just flirting". Ya I do agree, it was timepass but there's no way I can explain to anyone of you why this time it was so different.

So what happened to that girl, you may ask or what's the use in writing all this if she went away!! But like I said, there was something between us and that's why "The Girl in the Mall" might have left but the "Girl from the Mall" certainly didn't. Yes, I met her again!! As to how I met her again and what happened after that, well you'll just have to wait a little more.

Next Week : The Girl From The Mall - The Grand Finale

The Girl in the Mall-Part 1

2009-07-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

I wrote this three part story way back in 2007 but a sudden turn of events has made me re-write this and tweak it a bit to present in front of everyone. Whether this is true or fictional, I leave it to you to decide!!!

Major characters-: (not necessarily in order of appearance)

1) Good ol' me

2) My friend Abhinav and Saurav

3) Her (name will be disclosed in a later part)

4) Her friend Anushka

Approximate Time-Period-:

Well, all the events stated below take place in July 2006(I think it was the 21st but since I don't even remember what I did yesterday,so I can be excused for this).

And now for the story....

I woke up and slowly tried to figure out the time through my half closed eyes(let me tell you all that I have difficulty seeing and hearing things for at least 5 minutes after I wake up). Finally I figured out that the watch was screaming 11 in the morning. 'Oh Shit!',I shouted cause I had to be meeting Abhinav and Saurav for a movie at 12 in Gurgaon(at least an hour from my place). Anyways after setting a world record in brushing,bathing and getting ready, I jumped into my car at 11.20 (I honestly had a bath ok) and finally reached Sahara Mall in Gurgaon at 12.15.

I met up with them and launched into an extensive account of how aliens had abducted me and how I bravely teleported myself back to earth just so that I could be in time for the movie. Got to hear the choicest of abuses from Abhinav before he told me the movie's at 1 (they knew I'd be late so hence the 1 hr shift). 'Damn!',I thought,'wasted a good excuse on no account '. Having more than half an hour to kill, we did what every guy and girl does..Check out the opposite sex...( Girls don't say you don't check us out cause we know you do). Anyways we were roaming around aimlessly trying to kill time and spot some good chicks. And that's when I saw Her...

Well I won't even try and describe to you just how beautiful she was (that'll be an insult to her memory). Lets just say she was something man! Dressed in a simple black tee and jeans she was perfect from every angle(u perverts!!). There was another girl with her but then I had eyes only for her. I pointed her out to my friends and they also agreed she's the one for me(such supportive friends I have).And launched into songs like 'Ik ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga and pyaar hua ikraar hua hai,pyaar se fir kyun darta hai dil!!' That too at the top of their voices!!

So she obviously noticed. Well that's what we wanted rite!!. So just when I had decided she's the only true love of my life(at that moment), both my assholish friends decided its time for the movie and we ought to go. No offense to them but they just don't understand Pyaar Vyaar and all ya. I mumbled something saying I don't want to go for the movie for which I got one reply at the same time from the two of them. 'Ya rite, your dad will also go!!'. To which I obviously wanted to reply 'Let my dad go then,i just wanna look at her. Ah such pure true love!

But despite all my protests I was dragged(literally) like a common criminal to the hall where I sat sulking, bent low in my seat. However true love has always withstood all the tests of time and chahey jitni bhi zulmi bane duniya, pyaar sab zanzeerey tod dega!(I cant believe i wrote that). Well in she walks and sits right at the seat in front of me.The lion in me roars and i almost shout Yahoo!!

And then started some real stupid stuff which I wont dwell into but I guess we spoilt the movie for everyone(it was crap anyways) but this also ensured that she turned around to see who was maroying all the hilarious comments(ok some of them were lame but she turned when I had given a seriously fundoo comment).And after that I even threw popcorn at her(Yup baby) and hence ensured that she had my total undivided attention after that.

Well the movie got over and we followed her all the way out of the hall and back into the mall. And then.....

Next Week -: The Girl in the Mall - Part 2

The Meeting...

2009-05-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

The alarm went off exactly at 7 am. And just like every other day, she stirred from her sleep and groped around in the dark to feel the empty space next to her. And even before she could feel anything,she knew he was not asleep beside her. It had been the same for the past one year and she missed every little touch of his. The way he held her, the way he stroked her hair and the way he kissed her with a passion unmatched in all the world. Oh how much she missed him! But today was going to be different. She was going to meet him today and she looked forward to sitting next to him, talking to him, pouring her heart out to him. Even though she spoke to him everyday, being near him made her feel so much better.

Kashish got up from her bed and checked her phone. No missed calls again. "The fool forgot to wake me up again today",she chuckled to herself.
That was another thing she liked about him so much. He would remember the tiniest of details and yet forget the most important ones. She quickly got ready for office and left the house, remembering to take the keys with her. She smiled as she remembered the numerous fights they had over her always leaving the keys locked inside. She just couldn't wait for evening to arrive sooner.

She hummed their favourite song as she stepped into the Underground. Even at 8 in the morning, the Tube was packed with early morning Londoners on their way to office.This was another reason for them settling here. They both had loved the hustle-bustle of London and were third-generation migrants to this modern yet rustically romantic city. She waved to a few familiar faces and it was a matter of minutes before she got off at the Chelsea End Station and by 8.30 she was already in office preparing for her day ahead.

The day seemed to pass in a jiffy and even though Kashish tried to concentrate on work, her mind always seemed to drift in his direction and the impending meeting. She looked at her watch and was dissapointed to see that she still had a couple of hours before she could leave and be on her way to meeting him. The next two hours went by in meeting clients and chatting to co-workers. With every passing minute, she looked at her watch in anticipation and quickly left office just as the clock struck five. It would take her another hour by bus to reach Westminister for it was there where Aryan would be waiting for her.

Precisely at 6.10, the bus dropped her into the busy little square of Westminister from where she walked at a brisk pace to reach the appointed place. On her way she picked up some flowers for him. She knew it should be the other way around but knew he'd like them nonetheless. The wind turned a bit chilly as she turned a corner and neared the meeting point and her steps began to falter as she spotted him waiting for her. The next few meters seemed to take ages to cover and she tried bravely to hold back the tears to no avail. All those memories and pent up feelings came rushing to the fore and Kashish wept uncontrollably as she sat down and laid the flowers on Aryan's grave.

P.S - The inspiration for this story came while listening to my favourite song - Atif Aslam's "Kuch Is Tarah"

Only Love...

2009-02-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

I actually wrote this one about a year back and since I have nothing exciting to look forward to this Valentine's Day, I thought let me post this as a tribute to my future(hopefully) Valentine. It's a bit mushy but nonetheless, here goes:

He was already getting bored and wondered why he’d ever agreed to do this. Then he felt guilty for feeling this way. It was his parents’ anniversary after all. And he himself had decided that he’d take this Thursday off to take them shopping and then later for dinner. It was the least he could do to make them happy on their special day.

Aryan smiled to himself as he saw his mother selecting the salwaar suits for herself. Her happiness was reflected on her face. Like a girl picking up clothes for her college wear, his mother was all smiles and arguing like all females do with the salesman. His dad, on the other hand, was like all typical males. Nodding when required without really paying attention to what his wife was saying, Aryan knew his father was definitely not enjoying this. As if sensing his gaze, his father turned around and gave his only son a why-did-you-have-to-include-shopping-in-this look. He could only shrug and smile at his father.

Standing outside the shop and turning around, he ran a quick look around the mall in order to divert his mind. “Damn”, he thought,” No good looking girl also around”. At least if he was in office he could have slyly stared at that new girl whom the whole office was eying. “Ah well you have to sacrifice certain things for your loved ones sometimes”, he said chuckling to himself. And that’s when he saw her.

Kashish was your normal 23 old girl. Plus she was smart and beautiful and she knew that. That’s what made her even more appealing to men and she had had her share of them as well. Speaking of men, she noticed that tall, lanky guy on the 1^st floor as soon as she entered the mall. And why wouldn’t she? He was staring at her as if he had never seen a girl before. "Typical male behavior", she said to herself and quietly followed her mother without giving him a second glance.

Aryan simply could not take his eyes off her. She was mesmerizing in every way possible. Fair, good height, and well dressed in a simple tee and jeans, he could only stare at her beauty. She had noticed him as well, he was sure about that. He knew he was handsome in a careless sort of way and she had indeed glanced up at him. But there was nothing he could do. She was with her mother and his parents were inside the shop. He couldn’t be so shameless also. But then the prospect of letting go of her so easily did not appeal to him. He decided to take his chance. Stepping inside the shop and making an excuse that he had spotted a friend and that he would be back in sometime, Aryan made his way down to the ground floor. He spotted her inside Pantaloons and quickly followed both mother and daughter inside the quite empty store.

She noticed him entering the store. "What a Romeo", she said to herself half smiling. Although she had to admit that he looked handsome with his hair falling oh-so-carelessly over his face. On the whole he did look smart and kind of cute. She kept glancing at him every now and then while pretending to pick clothes from various shelves but had to be careful with her mother close by. As for his part, Aryan knew that both of them were on the right track. All he needed now was luck and some timing.

Kashish picked up a few tops and told her mother that she’d try them on and come while her mother moved over to the men's section to look for some shirts for her husband. This was the opportunity that Aryan had been looking for. He quickly made his way towards the trial rooms and was relieved to find them all empty except for one. "That’s good", he thought. Now all that was required was timing and his patience would finally be rewarded. He heard the trial room bolt open and moved quickly so that he found himself staring face to face with the girl of his dreams. A second’s hesitation before Kashish’s hand reached out grabbing him and pulled him inside the trial room.

Grinning, she turned towards him and said," Next time Mr. Aryan, make sure you take your girlfriend out to a more romantic place. Happy Valentine’s Day Sweetheart! “With his arms round her waist and hers around his neck, the two lovers locked lips as the world melted before their love filled eyes.

The InHumane Me!!!

2008-11-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

Recently a friend of mine had something really nice to say about me and told me in plain simple words that I was the "biggest unemotional and cold-hearted person" he'd ever met. Now this wasn't the 1st time something like this was being said to me(Ya apparently she too had told me this once too often). Anyways this incident led me to think a lot more about myself and hence this post is sort of a retrospection and introspection into the heartless realms of my inner self.

Now even though my star sign is Pisces, believe me I am hardly a Piscean in the true sense of the word. Ya I am a dreamer like all Pisceans are but then the similarity stops right there. Pisceans are supposed to be real emotional people who listen to the hearts of others around them. Not me though! And maybe that's why me Mom even commented once that I might have been exchanged at the hospital!!

Now I really dunno whats the big deal about not being emotional and showing out your inner feelings to other people. Ya I admit that I do feel emotional at times but then I like to keep it within myself rather than parade my feelings to the entire world. In that sense I am not being heartless or anything; just that I deal with emotional stuff better when its kept to myself.

Maybe I am writing this post for a particular person or maybe its for me itself. Whatever be the case, the fact is that I am a sucker when it comes to being emotional. I really don't feel like crying even when its the worst situation in the world. So that might explain why I am such a heartless SOB.

I know many of you might be wondering whether I was drunk while writing this post. Actually some parts of it were written under the influence of alcohol but even then its all true. So basically you know the reason for me writing this crappy piece of a post :-)

Anyways, I definitely do promise my readers a funnier post next time around but that'll be a while I guess cause I am stuck up with stupid exams here. Gosh, maybe it's these exams that bring out all the meanness in me. Hmmm. Something to ponder on.

The MBA Saga...

2008-10-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

Well after pondering for a few days(and months), I finally decided to sweep the dust off from my blog and write another not-so-meaningful post. You can attribute this disappearance of mine from the blogosphere as to being very busy but I'd appreciate it a lot more if you classify it as pure(and awesome) laziness. Anyways enough said and done. Time to move on to the latest happenings in my oh-so-wonderland life.

Somebody once told me that if you don't wanna do any work and yet earn money and respect, then go do an MBA. And spending 4 and a half months in IMT seems to have reinforced that sensible man's views. This incredible journey to understand the various aspects of 'business management' commenced on the 22nd of June, 2008 and I can assure you that by now I've learnt quite a few of those 'aspects'. From those lectures on branding and ads by IMT's very own 'marketing ki maa' to the monotonous and never ending speeches on strategic management - its been a hell of a ride till now.

Don't get me wrong. Its not that the system is flawed or anything. More likely its the people involved in the system that are full of flaws. Didn't get the meaning of that one, right? Well, that's exactly what MBA teaches you to do :)

Well, Term 1 got over ages ago and I am already half-way through my 2nd Term. And there's absolutely no doubt that when the results of that 1st term come out, I'll be one notch below what Chetan Bhagat's characters were. A 4-point someone! And now we also have do deal with the case studies. The case study methodology has just started and I am already sick of it. What is it with these teachers and their incessant demands for presentations? All that it serves is to reinforce the golden rule of MBA - Think Global and Speak it Too!!!

Thats it from me for now atleast. Hopefully I'll be more regular from now on and incase I repeat the same thing three months from now; well u'll know that I was busy with my 'studies'.

My Love for Fantasy and Beyond

2008-08-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Dragons, elves, orcs, dwarves and humans...Well, that's the image one normally conjures up whenever one pictures a fantasy novel. That is far from the truth, however. Fantasy books don't just have these elements; they take you on a journey you're not likely to forget-transporting you into a world so different from yours and yet, within yours. My association with this dream-world started long before Tolkien and Harry Potter burst into prominence. In fact it was in class 10, when my school librarian Mr. Strange (yup, that is his name) handed me a copy of the prequel to Tolkien's literary masterpiece The Lord of the Rings-The Hobbit. Yes, the language was difficult to grasp initially but slowly I was hooked onto it. While other kids my age were harboring dreams of becoming the next Sachin or the next Einstein, I was busy fighting battles, traveling across war-ravaged lands on dragons and having meals with hobbits and elves.
I then moved on to the Lord of the Rings and before long all that I thought about was about the Dark Lord who resided in Mordor and how to bring about his destruction. If only I could have that Ring of Power.

Seven rings for the elven kings under the sky,

Nine for the dwarf lords in their halls of stone,

Eleven rings for mortal men doomed to die

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One ring to rule them all, one ring to bring them all

And in the darkness bind them

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

Soon I was devouring books by Terry Brooks and drinking and sleeping Terry Pratchett. And then along came Christopher Paolini in the summer of 2004 with his debut novel- Eragon (many of you might have seen the movie which unfortunately made mincemeat of the book).Here was a young boy of just 18 who had written what can only be called a creation of genius. And this set me thinking. Could I, too, try my hand at this stuff?? Well, no harm in trying and hence, I sat down with paper and pen to try and pen my 1st novel (or rather an attempt at writing something worthwhile). For days, no idea of a plot struck me and I became increasingly frustrated and then suddenly, out of the blue, a plot came into my mind. I began working feverishly on it. Days blended into night and I kept penning my thoughts onto paper (to this day, my parents think I was studying for my 3rd yr exams!!).
Well 3 months later and I was ready with my manuscript. To this day, that's my greatest achievement. I don't think anyone of you can understand the elation I felt when I wrote that final page and declared my book complete. So I got in touch with a friend whose dad was into this publishing business and he agreed to read my novel and decide whether it was ok or rubbish (those were his exact words). Another 3 weeks wait and he finally decided that it was worse than rubbish!!! However that didn't deter me one bit and I continued to try and improve the storyline. But me being the lazy ass that I am, that unedited book is now lying in one dark corner of my home where only spiders and lizards can lay their hands on. However, I am writing a little extract from that book for you people to decide whether I should continue or totally give up that hobby. So you be the judge and decide -:

The fast fading sunlight silhouetted the three riders standing on the tallest cliff of the Silligan Mountains. Below them lay the vast expanse of the Alluvian Forests and among them, the smouldering ruins of the once mighty Elven city of Ellengard.

The three riders stood with their heads bowed in respect. For a few minutes, none of them spoke until the voice of Armion broke the silence.

"We must not linger here any longer. Our home is no longer a safe haven for us."

"Armion is right. Come Ellena, we need to warn the dwarves as soon as possible. They might still be unaware of the king's treachery," said Dugran in his comforting voice.

"Fullmara will pay for this," hissed Ellena, the anger in her voice unmistakable. "The spirits of the people of Ellengard will not rest until Fullmara's blood stains my arrows."

"May your words be prophetic Ellena," said Armion."But for now, we ride east towards the peaks of Dram."

With these parting words, the three friends climbed onto their horses and rode into the sunset, leaving behind them the trail of betrayel and destruction.

Dr. Jai Killey,Ms. Hi Deeee and unfortunate me

2008-08-14T12:13:00.001-07:00

Many a times you come across people in your day to day life whom you wished had never crossed your path and reminiscing about it later you’re glad you happened to be in the right place at the right time; atleast it ensures you had a good laugh!

Two days ago i found myself lurking amongst the books at Landmark when my search for an elusive masterpiece was broken by the arrival of two girls who seemed fresh out of college. Before I even had the chance to glance at them, one of them literally grabbed a book of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde( ya the one by R.L.Stevenson which we we read in school) and exclaimed loudly to her friend , " Look what I found. Dr. Jai Killey and Ms. Hi Deeee ". ( I swear to god that she pronounced it that way). I nearly dropped the book I was holding!!

To top it off her friend replied back in the worst accent anyone can ever muster up and said “ Oh puhleeez, I neva read sucha waste noovels. “ It sure certified the fact that illiteracy level in our country is still quite high!! And on and on the 2 girls went on about how some girl in their college was so cheap and fake. I still congratulate myself for resisting the temptation to strangle one of them..

Anyways Dr. Jai Killey and her Hi Deeee friend soon moved on to another section and I thanked God for this kind favour. But lady Luck doesn’t seem to like me very much it seems cause I soon found them in the section opposite to mine. Dr. Jai Killey was holding a copy of Dan Brown’s ‘ Da Vinci Code ‘ and explaining the story to her friend Ms. Hi Dee. Sample this conversation between them.

Dr. J – Eeeeyyaa lok wat I find!! I saw movie of this guy ( Wen did Dan Brown star in a movie??)

Ms. H – Ooooooo my bro has this. I haven’t read but ( Why am I not surprised!! )

Dr. J – Gosh gud only. It was booooriin. Nicole Cage was the hero ( Nicole who?? Now I dunno if she meant Nicholas Cage or Nicole Kidman; whatever the case Tom Hanks sure didn’t see this coming! :-) )

Dr. J (continues) – It was all bout killing one Pope guy and finding a lost painting ( Aww c’mon guys, give her some credit. She at least figured out that there was a painting in the movie! :-) )

Ms. H – I tell you, how can ppl watch violent related movies. It makes me disgusted (You have absolutely no idea how disgusted you made me feel girl)

Dr. J – Sahi mey, that’s why I watch couples movies ( Huh, now what the hell are couple movies??)

Apparently her friend understood what ‘couple movies’ were. I was obviously thinking in a different direction all together!!

Ms. H – Like Titanic na! Oooh, I simply loooved that one ( me almost crying now)

I moved away realizing that my sanity was in serious danger now. But the best was yet to come and this time the joke was on them. They soon moved onto a section which had certain books titled "Letters to a 'certain' house". Apparently they had no idea or they were simply not so learned as me because one of them picked up one of the books and said to her friend, “Hey, I found some new books”. And when they realized what they had picked up, they did an about turn on the spot and walked as fast as they could out of the store :-). Ah, well the fun had to stop sometime!

I finally picked up P.G. Woodhouse’s ‘Imperial Blandings’ (which unfortunately I’ve not even started to read till now) and went my way feeling that the day had not been such a waste after all.

Mom and her Marriage Gyaan :-(

2008-08-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

Well I had lately been reading a lot of my friends’ post which were somehow related to their marriage with most of them contributing their woes and happiness respectively. I was happily reading all their posts and comments and joining in the fun with so many others because i never thought for even a milli-shilli second that the word marriage was going to take one giant leap into my life. Its not that i am against it (I'd love to get married one day so interested females pls wait till then) ; its just that at 23 years of age it doesn't seem right ( taking away an innocent boy's innocence)
Now I have no idea how my mom got to read some of these blogs ( she hardly knows how to operate a computer yet somehow she did, there's no other explanation for her bringing up this topic all of a sudden) but nonetheless, the fact of the matter is that 2 days ago i was subject to intense questioning and embarrassing comments by my dear Mommy( although by the end i think she was embarrassed for bringing this topic up :-). For more details, read on!). So here's a not so typical conversation that took place 2 days ago...

Phone ringing in the background...Tring Tring!! Tring Tring ( Sorry i forgot that she called on my mob..ok so playing Hoobastank-The Reason now :-))

Me - Hi Mumma..(and regular stuff that i say every time)...kya chal raha hai and all that

Mom- (Same old) howz work going, are you taking care of your health...Blah Blah (Author holds phone 2 feet away from his ear for the next 5 mins:-)).

Me - Mumbles something inaudible...

Mom - Aman beta, I want to talk to you about something important. Don't take this as a joke please

Me - What happened Mumma? (I thought it was a family emergency or something like that)

Mom - Yesterday we went to XYZ Mama's cousin sister's daughter's marriage. There we got a marriage proposal for you!!

(Author shocked beyond his wits, speechless for 10 secs!!)

Me - Nice joke mom, call me when you fix the date and do all the arrangements..

Mom - Chup karo Aman,kabhi toh serious hua karo. Really Chintu Mausi's ( My Mausi or hers I have no idea:)) family friend ( who is also somehow related to us, don’t ask me how ) ki taraf se tumhare liye ek rishta aaya hai. She's doing her final year now.

Me - How can Chintu Mausi's family friend be doing her final year mumma. She must be so old by now!!

Mom (fired up by now) - Aman,maine bola na yeh mazaak nahi hai. That girl is in her final year now, good family also beta.( I really don't know why parents have to add this line! Obviously if you look for that someone for us, you'll make sure that the family is good..You'll definitely not get me married to Osama's daughter will you!?)

Me - Mumma pls, I am just 23 rite now. How can i even think of marriage? I have to think of my career first:-)

Mom - Arey who's asking you to get married rite now! We only want you both to get acquainted with each other rite now so that after 2-3 yrs we can formally fix something.

Me - (Mind working in devilish ways:-)) Did she come for the shaadi? Is she good looking? (Read maal:-))

Mom - Ya she's very beautiful. Both your papa and I also liked her (At this point i felt like telling her that dear ol' dad agrees with you on everything. After 31 years the poor soul knows that he should never say No to anything:-). But intelligent me knows what’ll happen if i say that so I keep my mouth shut).

Me - So basically you want us to go around for the next 2-3 years? (And I add softly) What’ll happen if things don't work out between us after, say, one year? Can we go our separate ways then?

Mom - Arey, why will that happen? You meet her first, she's a very good girl ( I felt like saying that you've never told me that in the past so many years and here's one girl whom u've met only once and you're going gaga over her!)

At this point of time, I felt I was fighting a losing battle. So I decided that I needed a hmmm bolder approach to get me out of this situation

Me - Look mumma, i am not against marriage or anything but its just too early for me rite now. Waise bhi I have other plans on how and when I want to get married

Mom (now suddenly afraid) - Beta tumhari koi girlfriend-whirlfriend toh nahi hai na? Please Aman ,aisa kuch mat karna jis sey hum muh dikhane layak bhi na rahe (Ya my mom's an emotional drama queen!)

Me - Mumma please yaar!! Koi girlfriend nahi hai!! But i don't want to think bout all that now. What i want is that you choose one girl for me, then I’ll be with her for a year, then I’ll say I am not compatible with her. Ditto for the second one. Then finally I’ll get married to the third girl. Is that ok with you?

Suddenly the call gets cut; whether due to a network problem or whether my mom couldn't believe what she heard; I’ll never know...Anyways Dad called back after 5 mins and here's what happened then .

Dad - Aman, what did you say to her? Your mom's very upset rite now!!

Me - C'mon Papa, I should be the one to get upset! How can you people even think about my marriage rite now?

Dad - (Now clarifying) I told her its not such a good idea to talk all this......( He broke off at this time presumably because of the warning look my mom must have given him...lol...thanks a ton dad...i know how much you risked to say that:-)).

Me - Look Papa, you also know that this is not the rite time for all this..Pls talk to mom and explain her all this..Pls dad, you are the only one who can do this..(My dad must have cursed me for feeding him to the lions:-)).

Anyways that’s where that episode ended and hopefully it’s the end of that topic also (at least for some time). I spoke to my mom last nite and she spoke normally and said to forget bout what all she had said (how can i!!). So all you people out there who thought ' iski to waat lag gayi mamu', sorry to disappoint you fellas! All's well that ends well :-).

P.S -: Despite whatever you said (and I know you are reading this somehow) you are still the best and I love you the most Mom. If only you had given me that girl's phone number (Sigh!!)

Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki

2008-07-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry to disappoint all those people who think this is gonna be a tribute to THE most insane, rubbish, cow-dungish TV serial ever imagined ( or wait, i think Ekta came out with another K last week which seems hell bent on breaking all rules of moronism). This is actually a story of what happens at my home and i think at most of our homes too. So i'll recount a typical day in the ' Kohli khaandaan '. Be prepared for a shock or sense of deja-vu according to your case.

Morning 7.30 :

Sound of bhajans and godly songs fill all the rooms including my own. Sleepy-eyed and slightly irritable at that time, i pray to every god that my Mom believes in, and try to cover my ears with the pillow and sheet ( oh sorry, no sheet cause its already been kicked to the floor by me at nite). However my devilish sleep has gone and its time to welcome the daily quota of devotional songs into my life.

Door bangs open. Mom's already in a foul mood. Why oh why God,did you make my mother this way!!

Mom - Abhi tak so raha hai. Tuzhe sharam nahi aati!!

Me - Sharam kis baat ki Mumma..sharam toh tab aati jab aap muzhe kisi ladki ke saath sote hue pakadti

Before i can say April Fool ,my cheeks have already borne the brunt of those tender motherly hands!! Anyways i am asked to go and rouse up my sister from her ' khumbkaran' sleep.

Me - Rashi, get up ya. I am getting shouted at cause of you..

My Sis - @#$@#$% How many times have i asked you not to disturb me while sleeping?

Me - Sorry forgot to count. Anyways get up fast. She's shouting at me cause you are not there to be shouted at

Sis - @#$%!@#@#

After brushing etc etc. i walk into my parents room and eagerly scan the pages of Delhi Times. Another lecture this time from Dad

Dad - Why don't you read the proper newspaper? What's so interesting in that Delhi Times!!

Me - Arey Papa,they've started giving practice questions on CAT these days, so going through those ( I can really be shameless at times!!)

Sis rushes in and tells me to get her breakfast from the kitchen. All she gets in return are a few words for which i again pay for saying them infront of Dad. Rest of the morning passes somewhat quietly except when i go and sit infront of my comp.

Afternoon 1 'o Clock :

Mom - Aman, u've been sitting there for nearly 2 hrs now. Your eyes will get spoilt beta

Me - Not 2 hrs Mumma, one and a half only!!

Mom - But before that you watched Tv for one hour, then you were on the phone for sometime. Go out and get some exercise!!

Me - Mumma pls, its 1 in the afternoon, its burning outside and you want me to go do exercise. I came here for a holiday; not to some millitary camp.

She mutters something which sounds like hopeless-case-god-help-him. Hmmm i wonder what gave her that idea!!

Cut to Evening 5' o Clock:

Me - Mumma i am going out for sometime . Mite be a little late for dinner.

Mom - Theek hai, par bahar ka mat khaana. You mite get stereolepsosis!!( Don't even ask me what that mite be,i can hardle even spell it)

Mom - Btw, where do you go out every evening? Kisi girlfriend ka toh chakkar nahi hai na!!

Me - Mumma, tell me what'll you prefer? Me going out with a girl or a guy??

Mom - Chup kar !! Aaj kal bahot bolne lag gaya hai tu !! Bina soche samjhe kuch bhi bol deta hai...jaise jaise bade hote ho,koi sharam haya bachti hi nahi hai tum logo mey.

I roll my eyes and make my getaway as fast as possible before another lecture on pre-marital relationships and god-knows-what all comes up.

Night Time 10.00 :

I return home only to find them fuming and waiting for me.

Mom - Why can't you call and tell us that you'll be coming late??

Me - It's only 10 rite now!!

Mom - Thats besides the point. You've been out since 5. You can atleast call us once in between or give a missed call. You keep calling all those friends of yours the whole day, you can't even spend 2 rs on calling your parents!

Me - Arey why are you blowing this out of proportion. Fine i didn't call but its not like i ran away to Timbuktu or something.

The arrival of my sister from office thankfully breaks up this unwarrented discussion.

And now for the worst part!!

The Daily Soaps:

Both me and my sister have to endure nearly an hour and half of crying, backstabbing women who go to sleep in their sarees and then get up in the morning with their make-up still not smudged. I mean how the hell is that possible!! By then end i am confused as to who's having an affair with whom and who's the actual vamp. Dunno how my mom can keep pace with all the serials at one go while constantly switching between Zee, Star and Sony every 2 mins. And if by any chance i put ESPN when she's in the kitchen, then God help me !!

The worst is this serial called Kasam Se on Zee ( or is it Sony?). Its basically about 3 sisters out of which one has designs on her brother-in-law and has suppossedly had a child with him. Her own husband disappeared in between btw and was never heard of( i personally think he was not being paid so he left). But my Mom insists that his "character did not suit the current timing and mood of the serial". The 3rd sister has married someone who already has a wife and i dunno who sleeps with whom at nite. Seriously Ekta Kapoor should be given credit for imagining such kind of insane plots!

Time for bed now and by this time everything that happened earlier has been forgotten. The whole family has dinner together and then we say good nite; ready to start afresh the next day :lol: . Now i miss those days and the fights i used to have at home. And its not like there were always fights happening. Mom and Dad kept fussing over us also and in the end we were one big happy family(still are). Ekta Kapoor should come to my house and see what an actual Ghar Ghar ki Kahaani is. What say!?

Maggi...err,not quite Noodles!!!

2008-07-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

If ever there was an invention that deserves all the accolades in the world, i think maggi would win hands down . The staple diet (read only) of all the bachelors, worshipped by every hostel boy and girl alike; its invention according to me, is the equivalent of say, finding a cure for AIDS. Its that important!!
Now having stayed in a hostel right from Class 2 onwards, i think i must have atleast contributed a fairly large amount to the maggi makers kitty. Whenever i am in a nostalgic mood, the first thing that i am reminded of is our fights over maggi, hiding in corners and eating maggi, begging borrowing and stealing money in order to buy maggi. In short,our entire world revolved around that 10 rupee yellow coloured pack. Everyone's heard of the traditional ' do minute ' wala way of preparing maggi. But during the course of my hostel life, me and my friends came up with some other innovative ways of devouring that maggi pack. So here i am, ready to share all those secret recipies that you never thought existed. A word of caution though;try them at your own risk.

Method 1 :
This is the traditional and most boring way (in my definition) of preparing maggi. For this you need to boil water and then put the maggi in it along with some boiled vegetables in order to add some good nutrients into it. In other words BORING with a capital B.

Method 2 :
This is what is called the ' kaccha' or raw maggi method. The simplest and also one of the yummiest ways of having maggi. All you need to do is crush the maggi while its still in the pack, then open it, add the tastemaker to it and simply go shake shake for a while. And Voila, there you have it. Simple to do;the best method when you are reallly in a hurry.

Method 3 :
Ah! Now this one is my favourite and you can say its sort of unofficially patented by me and my friends. Now our major aim in life,yes sir, is to pass this knowledge from generation to generation so that others can also savour that wonderful taste and thank us for eons to come.
How is it prepared? Its very simple,my friends. For this, again you need to crush the maggi in the packet itself. Then add hot water to the crushed maggi in the pack and keep it aside for 5 minutes. Then you add the masala, mix it with your hands ( yes, thats how you get that special taste. No use eating if you don't get your hands dirty!) and leave it for 5 minutes again till most of the water gets soaked up. And now eat it with your hands. Ah, believe me you'll keep wanting to lick your fingers after trying out this one.. I suggested this method to one of my friends recently and she's still waiting for a chance to thank me in return. She says its going to be the best return gift i'll ever get. Oh boy,i can hardly wait :-)
A piece of healthy advice though. If you can, use boiled water that you can get from your boiler. Yes, you heard right; from your boiler. You see, when we were in hostel, our only source of hot water in the entire town of NainiTal was our huge school boiler that was used to heat the bathing water of the entire school!. Now let me tell you, this was no ordinary boiler. It was atleast a 120 years old, monstrous in size and equally black from both the inside and outside. According to our research, the maggi tasted simply out of this world due to the extra nutrients added by that boiler water.. So try and search for something like that, else you won't get the same results that we got.

Method 4 :
This is basically a modification of the above stated method. Instead of making the maggi in the pack itself, you need to crush the maggi and pour out the contents in a steel glass. Then repeat all the steps as explained above; substituting your hand for a spoon. We came up with this method in order to please those people who go Yuck Yuck at the sight of maggi lathered fingers. I pity such people!

So there you have it; my secret recipies for preparing maggi!! Tried and tested ( without major side effects) by a group of people who are somehow still miraculously alive. Now we also came up with the right method to make WAI-WAI ( for those uninformed, Wai Wai is Maggi's cousin which is mainly found in hill stations in north India; places close to the Nepal border, cause thats where it comes from). But i guess,that'll be another post in itself.
So till then friends,wenever you feel hungry just shout " Mummy,bhook lagi !!! Bas do minute beta!!" . BON APPETITE :-)

Its the time to say Goodbye!!!

2008-07-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

When do you know that its time to say goodbye,
Is it with drops of tears or with words of joy?
I see the pain and suffering in everyone's eyes,
and i ask myself,
Was it of any worth- my life?
There's a time to say and a time to forget,
And even though there's lots left to thought
Its no time to cry and fret..
I see the light grow darker still,
And everybody huddles closer for the kill;
My life, before me , flashes by
And i finally know what its like to die...
No regrets i have; i regret it still
The life i've lived and all the emotional drill
The people i've loved and who'll love me forever,
And some of them'll say i wish it was never
and now im ready to leave my earthly abode;
I hear shouts all around me say " Oh My!!"
And thats when i know its time to say the final goodbye...

Beyond The Woods

2008-07-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

A Short Story:

He could feel the eerieness in the air around him. The hair on his back stood up and he began to get goosebumps. Something was definately not right here. " Damn it,i should have never taken this shortcut in the first place", he thought. There was forest cover on both his sides and he couldn't see another person or vehicle for miles on either end. Suddenely he stopped! He had heard something swish past behind him. Heart racing,he slowly turned around while praying to god at the same time. But there was no one to be seen. "Just my imagination playing stupid tricks on me", he said to himself. " I need to get a grip on my nerves and get out of here as soon as possible".

He increased his pace but he could still sense that eerie feeling as if someone was watching him. Every few mins he turned back to see if someone was following him. But like always,there was no one there. And then he heard it again. And this time he was sure it was no imagination. He could hear footsteps in the forest and leaves rustling as if there was someone whistling through them. Perspiration moped his brow and he broke into a run. But he had hardly gone 50 yards when something grabbed his leg...

He screamed and fell to the muddy ground. He turned around only to find a blood-drenched hand sticking out of the ground holding him tight around his ankles. Screaming in horror,he kicked out but the hand had a death-grip on him and was slowly dragging him into the woods! With a last-gasp effort he kicked out with all his strength and felt the tightness around his ankles loosen. He pulled himself up quickly and began running as fast as his legs could carry him;the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Every now and then he could feel something brush against his legs but this spurred him on even more. Suddenly he found his way blocked by a large tree and boulders. To his left was a small country road which led into the woods. Now he was truly trapped!!

Suddenly he heard cries of " Help,Help! " emnating from the woods. Finding himself in a quandary,he had to take a split-second decision.He couldn't turn back but going into the woods,too, was not an appealing choice at all. Moreover the cries of help could be a trap in itself. Finding himself with no other alternative, he made a dash into the woods. The shouts grew louder and louder as he ventured deeper into the forest and soon enough he found himself in a small clearing staring at a tottering one room house from where the voice was coming.

" Who's there? ",he shouted. " God bless your soul,its a human voice after all. Get me out of here please,i've been trapped here for the past two days ",came back the pleading reply. Glad to hear another man's voice,he broke open the door to find a ragged old man tied to a chair and bound with a strait-jacket." Help me please,i was brought here by some robbers and have been in this state for the past two days",said the old man. His saviour quickly untied the cords binding the old man and began working on loosening the strait-jacket while at same time narrating his story. "Thats odd,i've been here two days and nights and i haven't felt or seen anything out of the ordinary. It must be your imagination young man!". "Here you're free now. Now lets get out of this god forsaken place. I am Jack by the way", he said extending his hand towards the old man who did the same in return.

With a shock Jack saw that the man's right hand was missing and bleeding at the stump.The last thing he ever heard was the old man's hysterical laughter and the last thing he ever saw was his own blood splattering the room!.

Ramblings of an Innocuous Mind!!!

2008-06-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,after days of planning to write something,i am finally ready with my first post. Actually had been wondering all this while on what i should write. And then even if i wrote something,would anyone even care to navigate through all the crap that i was going to write. Anyways i’ve decided that ppl are up to the task of reading all the rubbish that i am gonna write! 1st i thought i’d write about my love story( Ah! everyone just loves those huh)but then i thought let me pretend to be a little philosophical and impress ppl with my first post. So here i am sitting at my desk after a heavy(and pathetic)lunch and discussing all my sane thoughts with you. I’ve always wondered about a lot of things which i’d like to share with you all…
Disclaimer-: All views expressed here are creations of an insane mind and hence not subject to any arguements
1) I’ve always wondered why we call it our life? everything that we do in this world is governed by other ppl’s choices and judgements. From the time we enter school,most of us(or atleast me) study not because we want to but because our parents and teachers told us to. Ditto in college. After that a lot of us marry whom our parents tell us to and in some cases ppl break up with their loved ones to marry the person chosen by their parents. More than half our life is spent trying to live in the society that we’ve created for ourselves and almost all our actions are based on that society’s wishes. Why is it called Our Life then?
2) I’ve always believed in god and im sure the majority of us are not aethists in any way.But for me(and also for a large percentage of the population),that faith in God begins to waver whenever we face a major difficulty in life. And i’ve almost always prayed to God when im in need of something. Im not saying that i dont pray to god otherwise but definately that faith takes a back seat when everythings going great in life and somehow i dont remember thanking god at those times. Why then do we believe in Him if our belief is not rock-solid?
3) i’ve met so many ppl who say that for them money doesn’t matter at all and they’d rather be poor and happy than being rich and sad! But from my own experience so far,ppl try to earn as much money as they can so that they can be well settled in life and be happy because they’re living so comfortably.

I could go on and on and on but i fear ppl will not read anything more i write from now on.Hence the torture will stop for now.Pls post your comments on this dollop of rubbish and wait eagerly for my torrid love story