Trials and tribulations...

Some years back, we bought this set of four stools, to be used when we wanted to eat our meals at the kitchen counter. Whenever possible (that is, when one or more members are absent), I like to take two stools to sit on. It's more convenient that way.

My height has been a source of dissatisfaction for me for as long as I can remember. Not just because I can't reach the top shelf anywhere in the world. No, no, that is the least of my concerns. I have people to do that for me. My problem is with my height itself. 5 feet and half an inch. Yep, half an inch. Not 5 feet nothing, not 5 feet one. No, it had to go and get stuck at just half an inch past five feet.

One of my dearest-yet-annoying-est friends is a giant. I stopped tracking her height years ago, but I can safely say she is well over 7 feet. And thin, to boot. Fairness and equity were clearly not a priority for the Creator when He/She was doling out attributes.

And then there is the fact that while I got stuck at this height in my early teens, the guys my age suddenly decided to all shoot up when we hit our late teens. One day I'm talking to someone very comfortably, the next day I'm getting a freakin' crick in my neck.

I have recently discovered the joys of wearing heels. I resisted them for a long time, because I can never quite walk comfortably in them, but I have now figured out what kind of heels suit me and I am therefore happy. I bought a pair of shoes with the heels about one inch high and realised that would have been a very acceptable height for me. You would've never heard any complaints from me with that height. Well, maybe one or two, but not many, believe me. The two-inch heels I bought, on the other hand, are just a tad too much. I need to bend while standing and writing, or while washing my hands. And let's face it, that's an advantage you tall creatures will never have. Hah.

A thought. Or two.

So Narendra Modi and the BJP won in Gujarat. While not that surprised, I was, well, not happy.

I am, however, rather startled by the kind of jubilant reactions I'm seeing even in the Indian blogosphere in reponse to this victory. Modi as the Prime Minister of India? Seriously? Good God. [I'd like to add at this point that I disagree with most of the list in that post. Thank you.]

It almost comes as a relief to read one or two blogs actually expressing discontent at Modi's victory.

Yes, we live in a democracy. I started 2007 by having strong doubts about the Indian population's sanity when Aap ka Suroor became a hit (no, I haven't seen the movie, and no I have no intention of ever seeing it, thank you for asking). I'm ending the year convinced that there's something seriously wrong with our nation and the way we think and behave.

I really need to figure out how to highlight links in my posts.

Gunfire in Gurgaon

Columbine High School. Virginia Tech. You hear about the shootings at these schools and think, Oh my God, that's horrifying. And then you think, oh but this is the US we're talking about. Which in some ways is as scary as the fact that the incident itself.

Now this. In your country. In your city. Granted, you don't know these people or anyone who goes to this school. But you live in the same city as them. And it's as horrifying as any other massacre or shooting that may happen on the other side of the world.

And you've got to wonder, what's happening to the world? Where two 13-year-olds take their father's gun and shoot another boy their age in cold blood?

A thank you note

Occasionally, just occasionally, I get reminded that there are nice people out there in the world.

I'm not particularly known for taking care of my things. It's not really my fault; my belongings have a knack of disappearing into thin air, never to be seen or heard from ever again.

Anyway, so as anyone who knows me would tell you, I don't know the meaning of travelling light. My purses and/or bags are never exactly of the small variety, and despite their size, I usually have my hands full of a whole bunch of things. Most of which I never end up using during the day, but that's besides the point. I might need them, and then what would I do?

So anyway, Friday morning I left home with my purse full of random things, and a plastic bag which had my A4 notepad, class notes dating back to two months or more, sundry xeroxes and print outs (I prefer letting things accumulate instead of sorting out my papers as and when I get them, in case you were wondering). I reached campus, had a cup of tea, and then started wondering why my hands were feeling so empty. The answer? I'd left the packet in the autorickshaw. Running to the gate didn't help matters any; the guy was obviously long gone. So I spent the day giggling hysterically (Freud would give you several excellent reasons for such a reaction - all I can say is I did the same thing when my passport went missing two hours before my flight was due to take me for my dream vacation) and generally wondering what I was going to do.

Saturday morning, my phone and I happened to find each other in the same room at the same time (a miracle, I know; I can't figure out how we managed it) and I saw there were some missed calls from an unknown number. Not particularly bothered, I was on the verge of departing from the room when the phone rang, with the same number flashing. So I pick up, and turns out it's a guy calling from a shop in Shankar Market in good ol' CP whose brother's auto I had left my packet in.

To cut a long story short, the earliest I could get to CP was Monday, and after taking the packet (with everything intact, thank you, although obviously thoroughly searched) I asked the guy how on earth he managed to get my number. Turns out he went through all my papers and managed to find the visiting card of the dermatologist I went to some months back (did I ever tell you how I never sort out my papers but let them all accumulate?). He called her cell, and she gave him the number of the clinic who had my name on their records, who then gave him my number and address.

Who goes to that much of effort in this day and age? All I can say is, I was extremely fortunate that my belongings went into the hands of such a person. I realise this will never ever be read by the person it is intended for, but Alam, wherever you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

TMGAIHAA

Heh. This is brilliant. A tad long maybe, but brilliant.

[Link courtesy India Uncut, as almost always. What can I say? I find sarcasm and I'm a fan for life.]

A quick rant

Why are people such morons?

Do you really think, when you're stuck in a traffic jam, that the persons in front of you are not moving their cars because they get some sadistic pleasure out of getting you stuck? Or that they wouldn't zip right off if they just could? So how does honking away like a maniac help matters any? Other than increase the levels of noise pollution and drive me crazy?

And then there are the idiots who simply persist in driving at night with their headlights at full beam. I mean, come on. You can see the lights of the car coming towards you. Why blind the person driving that? You can see there are people in the car parked in front of you. You can see me squinting away while walking home. Would you just do me a favour and turn off the damn full beam?

I tell you, it's a country full of idiots.

Need a place to stay in San Francisco?

Heh. Reddit does make you come across the most brilliant stuff.

Update: The site obviously didn't quite like the listing, but hey, what am I here for?

Hello,

I am seeking out a roommate. I've had several the past 3 months that did not work out so well and am hoping to find "the perfect housemate." I think it can be done!

1. I am a plastic surgeon, single straight male, and am wealthy but rather lonely. I could keep this house to myself, and have for about a year, but I've realised that life is much better when it's shared with people who are conscious (as opposed to my clients and my nursing staff!). (This is not to say that my nursing staff is unconscious - obviously they are not! It's just very difficult to become friends with a staff that is somewhat dubious of my methods. I'm no rogue, but I do have Eastern-influenced techniques that some find odd and/or disconcerting - but I do have a 99% success rate! In any case, it doesn't make much sense to mix business and pleasure.)

2. I do have a dog, Basil Ironweed (yes that is his name, people seem to be confused that I have given him a full name like a person and some kind of laugh, but I assure you I take my dog very seriously and treat him with respect, and I ask that you do the same). It would actually be ideal if you have a female dog of pure pedigree (I'd need to see the papers though, for breeding purposes) and I'd prefer her to be a medium-sized dog (I will consider most breeds except absolutely no Australian Kelpies and no American Water Spaniels, please! The colouring of the mating dogs' possible kin would be horrendous if this were the case! Also, Basil is a Border Collie in case you were wondering!) If you do not have a dog, that is also fine. All other pets will be considered except: no cats unless they are of the outdoor variety, no arthropods, and all avians must be salmonella-free, clipped toenails, and tagged.

3. My house has only a one-car garage. It used to be a two-car one, but I decided to convert half of it into a micro-personal gym as I am rather health conscious. (I do have a gym membership, but my gym is not 24-hour, and sometimes at night I really need to get on the bowflex to burn off some of my energy since I have a lot of it! Also, after meals it's inconvenient for me to run off to the gym, and that is why I need one at my disposal. The gym membership is because they have a pool there, and swimming is really good for the joints. Just in case you were wondering.) That said, you'll have to use street parking, but I assure you that my neighborhood is quiet and safe, and there is usually a spot right out in front of my house! (The only time the spot is taken is when the lunch truck comes for the construction workers that are on the corner of my street. It only sits there for about 20 minutes between 1 and 2 pm during the week, depending on how chatty the boys are that day.)

Anyways, I have a few rules that need to be followed, but other than that, we should get along fine!

I request that you listen to all music via headphones. I have mild tinnitus and the sounds from most Hi-Fi equipment sans headphones really irriate me. I am open to discussing music, but sadly we cannot directly share it as my ears can't handle rapidly changing frequencies. (If you'd like to share lyrics, I'd be more than delighted to oblige!)

If you are going to cook, please do not use the following spices: curries, paprika, anything Cajun, and dill. The smells of these things turns my stomach. (If you have any scents that you'd like to avoid, by all means let me know and I'll do you the same honour.)

You must brush your teeth at least twice a day. If there is anything I cannot stand it's filthy teeth. (Believe me, I've had a couple roommates who just could not handle this simple routine - your gingiva may not mind, but I certainly DO.)

If you are going to watch tv, please let me know in advance which programs you'd like to watch. I do have TiVo, by the by, and I have certain shows that I simply must watch when they originally air. I cannot be too flexible with this because I cannot stand to wait to see my programs. You have to understand that I simply have to watch them when they originally air or I will get a little batty. Most of my programs are on public broadcasting and do not tend to run during prime-time spots.

I do not appreciate unannounced house-guests. I need to know at least two days in advance that company is coming - I need to know the duration of the stay, and the nature of the visit. But, I am open to any and all visitors, I just need to know the specifics involved.

I have reduced rent drastically because I realise that some of my requests might seem slightly stringent. I will pay the bulk of the rent in exchange for your understanding, your commitment to the house, and your humouring of my quirks.

You must be ok with my upholstery hobby. On every third Tuesday of the month I request that you vacate the house between the hours of 4 pm - 11:45pm while I upholster various pieces of antique furniture. I am a perfectionist and require complete silence in the house. I've tried this with housemates who've promised to stay in their rooms, but this proved impossible as bathroom habits demand a regular schedule that interrupts my artisan work. That said, I will give you a small stipend on these days if it will assist you in finding something to do with that block of time.

No newspapers or magazines. The ink gets everywhere and the gloss irritates my eyes. Sorry! You are free to read them on the front porch, but they must be stored outside of the house (perhaps in your car?)

This is not to sound discriminating, but, if you speak either French, Urdu, or Afrikaans, I kindly request that you not speak them in my vicinity as the cadences used in these languages are grating to the ears and nerves, for me.

I have fresh produce delivered from an undisclosed location to my home every Wednesday afternoon. Please do not purchase fruits or vegetables and bring them home. You can request any that you desire and I will add them to my order queue. (I am fastidious about potential-GM produce and pesticide usage - I will not tolerate either!) Also, if you insist on preparing red meat dishes in the home, do cook the meat thoroughly. IT MUST SIZZLE.

No cellphone tones in my home! Please use silent mode only!

You are not to use paints in the home. The noxious odours will aggravate my allergies!

That's the summary of my requests! I do actually have a handbook which I will provide for your perusal during our interview (yes, there will be an interview for final-stage candidates) that outlines all of my more particular requests.

If you are interested, please email me the following information:

1. Name

2. Occupation

3. Age

4. Allergies

5. Favourite author

Cheers!

Oh, come on... Isn't he the perfect roommate you always wanted?


PS: I have no idea why the colour's turning out that way. I've tried changing it; it ain't working. Sorry!

Empirical proof...

...if it were needed, that I really can sleep through an earthquake.

Where the...?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the whole point of upgrading software is to get new features, not lose out on the ones I already have and like.

Everywhere I turn, however, just the opposite seems to be happening. Adobe Reader 8 took away the Insert Bookmarks option, the latest version of Windows Media Player doesn't seem to have auto playlists, Gmail won't let me use Page Up and Page Down while applying labels anymore, and for the life of me, I can't find the Set Language option in the latest version of Microsoft Word.

Sheesh.

The fulfillment of a childhood dream...

When I was a kid, we had a wedding hall near our house. Every time a wedding was held there, or during Diwali and other festival, it would be lit up with those simple non-flashy rows of yellow lights, which look so very pretty. You know the type, don't you?

And I used to love looking at those lights, and always wanted us to put up similar lights, but does anyone ever listen to a six-year-old? Besides, Diwali's not really our festival, so we never bothered putting up lights anyway.

Anyway, when we finally moved into this house nearly five years ago, and it was decided that we should buy lights for Diwali, I figured we'd finally get those nice yellow lights I'd always wanted. But no, instead my mother and brother went and got these colourful lights which, granted, looked nice, but they weren't the yellow lights I'd always wanted.

So anyway, last year those lights finally gasped their last breath, and this year I got to choose the lights. Which means our house has been lit with rows of yellow lights, and is looking extremely cool. Thank you.

Dear stranger,

Here's what I think.

If you're doing drugs, you're probably doing it hidden away in some corner of some place I never ever go to. So while I think it's stoopid of you to ruin your life that way, it's not really my problem if you choose to do so.

If you're in the habit of getting drunk regularly (yes, I know - alcoholism is a serious problem, and I should be more empathising; I try, believe me), again, it's not really my concern what you do to your liver. Unless, of course, you are married to and are making life miserable for me or my near and dear ones.

But when you smoke, dear stranger, it's not just your lungs you're filling with God-knows-what. It's my lungs too. You smoke out in the open, just anywhere you please. And you think it's cool. But I have to inhale that same air. Smell that hideous smell which makes me feel queasy without fail. See those ashes fall to wherever you choose to flick them. Why the devil should I have to put up with that?

For a more - how shall I say this? - eloquent opinion on smoking, you may read this. Thank you.

NB: Yes, I do seem to be on a roll after a month of silence, don't I? Ironic, considering I had two weeks of vacation earlier this month. But apparently inspiration strikes only when I am neck-deep in work and really shouldn't be taking the time out to blog.

"Usko humne chir diya..."

In my first year of college, I had joined one of those compulsory societies where you have to complete a certain number of hours of social service over the year in order to get your clearance to give your final exams. Some time in September, the society organized a documentary screening, for which we would all get 5 hours' credit.

The documentary screened that day was about the Godhra riots. It had interviews with victims, talking about what they went through. There was a young boy interviewed, not more than 9 or 10 years old, who spoke in a dull voice about seeing his pregnant aunt's womb slit open with a sword. I came home that night and howled in front of my father.

Today, I read a transcript of Babu Bajrangi's description of how he did exactly what I had heard about all those years ago.

Five days ago, I started a blog entry about Durga Puja. Today, I feel almost ashamed to call myself a Hindu. The first thing almost any religion in the world teaches is peace and tolerance and love. Not this. Never this.

If you haven't read the current issue of Tehelka yet, do so here.

Fyi

I have a bible bump on my leftwrist. It is utterly painful, but apart from that, not at all serious, and needs no drastic treatment.

How utterly boring.

And no, I am not going to bang it with a hammer.


I like the name though. Bible bump. Heh. Infinitely preferable to ganglion cyst.

WE WON!

We won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won we won !!!!!!!!!!!

I'm happy.

Fair game

I am so sick and tired of people using that old excuse of women dressing provocatively whenever a woman is molested to justify what men do.

On 16 September, close to 43,000 men collected near IP College, in North Campus, to give two exams: for joining the Delhi Police as constables, and to become Lower division Clerks. After the exams, mobs of 200-250 men together started moving towards the college, and innumerable cases of molestation occurred that day. The two worst cases that I heard about on the radio this morning including 250 men surrounding one girl and tearing her clothes, and pinching and touching her all over, as well as another case where some 15 odd men dragged one girl into the lift at the Vishwavidyalaya Metro station and molested her there. There were no police or security forces present, and when the girl molested at the Metro station went to lodge an FIR, she was apparently told by the police that security at Metro stations is the responsibility of the CRPF and has nothing to do with them.

Today, while traveling to college, I was listening to the radio, and that's when I heard about all this. Two radio channels had got girls from IP College on air, speaking about what had happened, and what their demands were. Listeners were, as usual, asked to call up and give their opinions. One lady called up and spoke at length about how women dress in skimpy clothes and provoke men. Do the people who say this actually believe it themselves? Half the women who are eve-teased or molested or even raped on the streets are dressed in salwar kameezes. Yet this arguement comes up every freaking time. It came in the comments left by two male friends when I wrote about eve-teasing more than a year ago. Women in villages don't dress in short skirts; yet they're raped by men from their village, their neighbourhood, their own family.

Sonia Faleiro wrote this piece about a week back. Reading it just reminded me of how helpless we women still are. No matter how much hogwash you spout about us having made so much progress (and if you give me the example of Pratibha Patil being President I might just slap you), the truth is, we have so far to go it's not even funny.

My mother tends to laugh of my paranoia about feeling unsafe on the roads. She says she heard enough comments during her college days. I point out to her that she studied in a city like Kolkata where a dozen people would appear to defend any woman who is so much as whistled at. I, on the other hand, have the supreme misfortune of being privileged enough to study in the Capital of India, where a woman is raped in broad daylight at Khooni Darwaza, and not a soul comes forward to help her. Where a woman goes to the police to lodge an FIR about having been molested, and they refuse to do so.

I travel by DTC buses almost everyday. And I never know whether that man pressed up against me is doing so because of how crowded the bus is or simply because he gets some perverse kick out doing so. I've been followed by a guy driving a Camry and speaking English while walking home from our neighbourhood market - so what if I live in a supposedly posh colony. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing, where I am, or how I look. I'm a woman, traveling alone in the city of Delhi. That makes me fair game.

Insight of the day

Here's the thing.

Your girl friends will always say you look pretty, if not gorgeous, no matter what state you're in.

Your family will always say you're fat, no matter how much weight you lose.

So where the devil does a girl go for some objective opinions?!?

Good Lord

I think more than the actual ruling itself, I am far more startled by the comments in response to this article. Why do I seem to be the only one who seems unable to see the "secular" aspect of this ruling?

I'm a Hindu, yes. But no, I have never read the Bhagvad Gita. As a child, I religiously followed - pun completely unintended - Mahabharata every Sunday morning, except for when the Gita was going on. Which meant for at least six Sundays in a row, I could get up late.
I don't think I've ever even seen a copy of the Gita. Unless you count the Amar Chitra Katha comic version of it. And even that I just flipped through without ever reading the whole thing.

And you're talking of making this our national "dharam shastra"?

Come to think of it, what the devil does "dharam shastra" mean anyhow?

[Link courtesy India Uncut]

Free association

I feel almost apologetic about the bombardment of posts this month.

So I'm just back from watching the movie Chak De. A quick review before I bring up the two points it brought to mind: Nice movie - rather well made, I thought. The girls were good, while SRK was annoying in the few scenes he had to give inspirational speeches, tolerable in the rest of the movie.

I'm not an SRK fan. Let's move on.

I was amazed that Aaj Tak agreed to give its name and be portrayed in such a manner. Aaj Tak is one of those channels I refuse to watch because the few times that I have found myself watching it, all i have seen is either the latest news from Bollywood, in which case I would rather go straight to Zoom, or very absurd things being reported with highly dramatic background music being played. However, from what I gather, Aaj Tak is also one of those channels which enjoys pretending it's a court and judging people based on little or no evidence. And you've got to hand it to them; it takes guts to go out and let yourself be portrayed in a manner you'd be stoopid not realize you're criticised for.

What was the other thing? Oh yes.

March 23, 2003 remains one of the most painful memories for me. My economics Board exam was three days away, but practically everyone in my batch had kept their books aside that day to watch the cricket World Cup final between India and Australia. Chak De totally ripped off the pattern for that World Cup in this match. Lost the first League match against Australia, come back with a bang to win every single match to follow, and meet up with Australia again in the finals. The only thing they didn't rip off was the goddamn conclusion of that match. Sheesh.

It's time.

Time's a funny thing.

You think an event is ages away, you have all the time in the world to prepare, and suddenly, before you quite realize what's happening, it's here.

Exams, deadlines, or just your kid brother going away to the other side of the world for college. You think there's a month left, but the month flits by so quickly it seems like a second.

Then you think it's just four months till your birthday comes, or till it's time for that dream vacation you've got planned, or till he comes back for the holidays. But time doesn't work that way. No sirree. Take it from me, those four months will seem like four years. Because time's just a funny old thing.

We did Time Perception in our practicals in first year of college you know.

"The family has five cars."

The Times of India always knows just which interesting trivia-l facts it should insert in its articles, dunnit?

Annoyed

You know, I am capable of surviving pretty much any illness you throw at me. I've got through bouts of pneumonia (in the middle of my second final exams *shudder*), bronchitis, sundry stomach illnesses, and typhoid. OK, so I nearly died of typhoid, but it wasn't as cool as you'd think it was, considering I was told I nearly died only about eight years after the incident. How boring.

Moving on now. So my point is, I am an exemplary patient. I can handle any kind of illness. Save one. The common cold. I hate catching a cold. It's annoying, and painful, and just downright irritating. My throat aches, I keep shivering, I keep sneezing four times in a row, and don't even get me started on how I get breathless if I try to move. And for some obscure reason, I invariably develop a craving for cold coke every freaking time.

And believe me, I've tried all the remedies there are. Steaming, gargling, dispirin in hot water, haldi milk - with or with a dash of saffron, you name it, I've tried it. Doesn't change a thing. Zilch.

I have a presentation in class tomorrow morning, which I chose to get preponed by three weeks. I'm warning you, if I'm not fit to go to university tomorrow, I am going to be one disgruntled person. More disgruntled than usual that is. So there.

Happy Independence Day!

Our National Anthem is supposed to be 52 seconds long, thank you very much.

Don't get me wrong. I admire A. R. Rahman tremendously. I think he's a brilliant music composer (although he has lost his touch in recent years). Rang De Basanti was one of the most brilliant movie soundtracks ever - I still get goosebumps when I hear Khoon Chala. And I loved what he did with Vande Mataram ten years ago.

But I do wish he'd left our National Anthem alone. The idea's great, and the kind of lineup of singers he's got is mindblowing (although, admittedly, I don't know enough about most of them). However, I happen to belong to that breed of people who like to stand up every time the Anthem is played, if not sing along. And it's really quite annoying to see these videos played on television every few minutes, in the middle of whichever weird show that I might be watching at the time.

*sigh* I tend to get emotional around Independence Day.

But take a look... what do you think?

How...

...is something like this even possible?!?

No kidding!

I am extremely impressed by this.

See, it doesn't take much to make a difference. It's just that more people need to get that into their brains.

I just hope this works out though.

[Link courtesy India Uncut]

Reading habits

Methinks the man speaketh sense.

I've never read Fear Street. I was into Sweet Valley at one point though - only Twins; tried one High, but by then I was already moving into my "Dear Lord, what's wrong with the world" mode anyway. I also read the Animorphs series; my brother and I made every effort to get as many of the 60-70 books there were in that damn series to understand what the devil was happening.

I was more into L.M. Alcott and L.M. Montgomery in my early teens; late teens brought Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer into my life. Then I came across M&Bs and my reading habits have gone for a six ever since. Sheesh.

This is my quickest and unplanned-est entry ever.

Who are you please?

My blog's going global.

My friend Ziggy is very fond of mentioning how I never appreciate anything. Well, I'm here to prove her wrong. I appreciate Statcounter a great deal. It tells me how many people are visiting my blog, how they got there, how many times they've visited it, where they're located, and even what browser they use. I've had visitors using various versions of MSIE and Firefox, as well people using Netscape (I had no idea that was still in existence - I started my journey on the World Wide Web using that some eight odd years ago), Safari and Opera (I had never even heard of these last two mentioned).

You can, incidentally, see how many visits my blog has had if you scroll down and look at the pretty pink counter near the bottom of the sidebar on the right.

So anyway, like I said, Statcounter also tells me how a particular visitor got to my blog. For instance, if someone comes through from the link in Ziggy's latest blog entry, the referring link would show her blog. Now, when it says "No referring link", it means (and I have read and re-read Statcounter's FAQ section to clarify this), it means that the visitor either typed in the address of my blog in the address bar, or has my blog saved in his/her Favourites/Bookmarks/whatever your browser happens to call them. Now, in recent months, I've been visited at irregular intervals by someone in Germany, who I like to call The German (yes, I know, I'm very creative - for all you know, it's a Russian who just happens to live in Germany). According to my source, The German tends to visit my blog either from Ziggy's profile or, since her latest entry, directly from her blog.

In recent weeks, however, people from all round the world have been visiting my blog, and all these visitors seem to have "No referring link". I've had visitors from different parts of the US, Canberra, Aukland, and Norway. And all of them seem to know the address to my blog. I do realize that this sudden influx could be due to the fact that I've been posting a bit in the Blogger groups, but not all - the dates don't add up. Also, since there have been returning visits I assume they've liked something in here to bring them back.

See, here's the deal. I have very low self-esteem. And I'm a very curious person. So if you like this place, tell me. Well, if you don't like it, tell me in that case too, but be nice about it, OK? Use constructive criticism, please? And if you don't want to tell me what you think about my Meandering thoughts, at least tell me who you are. I want to know!

I've been called a spy already. Don't go there.

Gandhi my father

Well. I've never been particularly fond of Mahatma Gandhi, and after seeing Gandhi my father, I like him even less. Extremely well-made movie though, with brilliant performances from the main protagonists.

I've always thought it's very unfair to the kids of parents who've done well in life to have such standards to live up to. I mean, I'm not just talking about the Harilal Gandhis of this world. But come on, think about it, having a father who's an IIM product doesn't exactly make life easy on the kids, especially if they can't live up to those standards. It's like Ron tells Harry, if you don't do well, you're compared unfavourably, and even if you do well, it's no big deal because it's been done before.

Gandhi had funny ears though.

Innovation!

I tell you, people are just getting smarter and smarter...

The countdown...!!!

In exactly nine hours from now, I shall be extremely busy. Busy reading the long-awaited last installment of the Harry Potter books.

I started reading these books when I was in Class X. The first four books had come out, my brother and father had been borrowing them from friends and were obsessed with them, and I was exasperated at the amount of time they spent discussing someone called "You-know-who", a term they used mainly to irritate me, I might add. That year, we gifted my brother all the four books for his birthday, soon after which my half-yearly exams got over and I vowed not to study for the next one week. Having nothing else to do, I started reading the books. And I was hooked.

In the seven years since, my kid brother has "completely outgrown" the books, as he puts it, but I've remained an ardent fan. For the first time ever, I have not read any spoilers (and those who know me will know what an achievement that is for me), I have stayed away from all potentially spoiling places, and like with the last book, tomorrow, starting 9 A.M. IST, I shall be reading the book non-stop till I finish it thank you very much.

As is usual with Harry Potter, the advent of the release has caused every freaking newspaper and news channel to go into a spin. One enterprising channel, Headlines Today, decided to have a different take on the hype: it decided to interview all those people who hate Potter on what they have to say about the books.

You know, something I really don't get is how people can pass judgment on things they've never been exposed to (OK, smoking doesn't count; that's just dumb). I mean, I can't stand SRK. I think the man just can't act. However, I have every right to pass such a statement, because I have sat through plenty of movies starring him, and have formed this opinion based on those movies. And that is something I am entitled to.

But when you freely admit you've never read the Harry Potter books, don't make an ass of yourself on national television comparing the Harry Potter books to Cinderella "where someone comes and waves a magic wand and everything will be fine". That's just embarrassing yourself. Or, for that matter, say that you would rather see a Govinda movie than the HP movies because when you go for a movie, you want "entertainment". What're the HP movies doing? Lecturing you on global warming?

Yes, the books' success has a lot to do with hype and sheer marketing genius. Yes, there are a lot of kids out there who pretend to read these books or maybe do read these books simply because their friends do - I know one such kid personally. But you cannot deny the fact that there are also a lot of people out there (of all ages I might add) who adore these books and will continue to do so for quite some time to come.

If you've read the books and haven't liked them, fine, that's your right. If you've chosen not to read the books because you think you won't enjoy such a genre, again, that's your right. But don't pass judgment on something you know nothing about while pretending to sound like an expert. Because all you do is sound like an idiot.

PS: Ten points to whoever figures out why the colour of this post is what it is.

I say...

65%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

I would've thought it would be more you know. Ah well!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: A review!

The thing about the Harry Potter movies is that I tend to go in for them with zero expectations. Yes, I look forward to them like crazy and whine till I am actually taken to see them, but when you're a hardcore fan of the books, you know the movie is bound to be something of a disappointment. The lines and scenes are never quite played out just how you had seen them in your head, your favourite parts are invariably cut out, and Michael Gambon is just one huge casting mistake as Albus Dumbledore.

I wasn't particularly impressed with the first two movies; the third, widely declared as the best of the first four, was reasonably good. I went for the fourth one expecting it to be really bad. However, the graveyard scene was done much better than I expected, Ralph Fiennes was just perfect as Voldemort, and my friend and I thoroughly embarassed my brother with our hooting with excitement and clapping loudly. Verdict: I loved the movie.

With Movie 5 releasing on July 13 (yes, I know, July 11 in the RotW, but what can I say? this is India.) and Book 7 releasing on July 21, you can imagine what kind of palpitations I've been having for the last month or so. Then came the news that we're travelling the weekend of the movie release (said travels should really get an entry all to themselves; it's been quite a fascinating trip). Adding insult to injury were loving friends all round to like to gloat when they get to see a movie I'm dying to see long before me. Luckily, Indore's a very cool place with an extremely cool PVR (which I might add, was the only hall in town showing the English version of the movie; everywhere else is showing the dubbed Hindi version).

So anyway, the movie: Extremely cool, edited just right to make the longest book in the series fit into just under 3 hours (a few personal favourite scenes missing notwithstanding), not enough of Michael Gambon shown to make him as annoying as usual, and the Ministry of Magic scene was dealt with pretty darn coolly. Yes, Cho Chang was annoying (but then I never liked her anyway), I don't get why Harry's Patronus wasn't shown to be a stag, they really should have shown more of Lupin and the Weasley twins (aren't they just brilliant? :D), and I was quite surprised they cut the scene with Ginny telling Harry how it feels like to be possessed by Voldemort. But those are minor details.

I thought the acting was quite decent, particularly Dan Radcliffe in the scene where Voldemort possessed him. Emma Watson is beginning to annoy me (Hermione does not pout so much), but the rest of the cast seems just right for their roles. Bellatrix Lestrange was scarily good, although Tonks looked a bit too scary if you ask me. Now Luna Lovegood didn't make much of an impact on me the first time I read Order of the Phoenix; she's one of those characters who really grows on you. But I have to say this: J K Rowling was right, Evanna Lynch is just perfect for the role!

All in all, I loved the movie. When you go in for a movie with zero expectations, the only two ways to go are be proven right or be pleasantly surprised; thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. Now the 21st needs to get here faster. I can't wait much longer!

Struck speechless...

I am astounded by the things people do.

At last...

...an entry of decent length.

If you've taken a look at my profile, you'll have noticed in the Favourite Books section, there's a book called The Tenant of Wildfell hall mentioned. This book isn't a particularly magnificent book, but I do like this book.

When I was 16, I went through a phase where I read all those books I could lay my hands on which traditionally proclaimed as "classics". I would also like to point out at this time that this was probably the last time I ever read anything which could not be described as tripe, Harry Potter notwithstanding.

But I digress. So the books I devoured during this period particularly included almost every book by Jane Austen and L M Alcott. I also tried extremely hard to give the Bronte sisters a chance. I read Jane Eyre and found it utterly ridiculous. I also tried really really hard to read Wuthering Heights, especially since I had been hearing since God knows when what a simply brilliant romance this was and how Heathcliff was one of the greatest romantic heroes of all times. Hogwash I say. He was an idiot who didn't get what he wanted the way he wanted so decided to ruin not just his own life but the life of every other fool who had the misfortune who cross his path. And the other characters in the book were no better. I tried really really hard to get through this book, and managed it till the last chapter, when I finally gave up and saw the ending of the movie on Star Movies which happened to be showing it that day. The movie seemed equally ridiculous to me.

I never can remember which Bronte sister wrote which book, barring one. And that is The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte. I admire this book simply because I think that for its time, this book was extremely brave. To talk about a woman who went against her family and married the man she loved, realized that she had made a mistake, tried hard to save her marriage, and then decided to leave her husband when she realized that her immoral husband was even trying to corrupt her young son must have shocked many people when it was first published in 1848.

Since time immemorial women have been putting up with bad marriages because they have no place to go, or their family wouldn't accept their decision, or because they think it's best for their children for the parents to stay together. (Personally, I've always felt that it could sometimes be worse for a child to have his/her parents separated or divorced rather than be exposed to that kind of constant animosity between them.) Even today, you hear of women putting up with their abusive or unfaithful husbands simply because "log kya kahenge?"

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was an honest and brave book, in my extremely humble opinion. The protagonist, Helen Huntingdon was a very real person, one who made a mistake, owned up to it, and tried to put her life back together after things went wrong. Every character in that book was someone you could probably recognize in members of society even today.

Unfortunately, for that time, it was probably a bit too radical. Not surprising then, that Anne Bronte was the least popular author of the Bronte sisters. A little research tells me even Charlotte Bronte criticized Anne's choice of subject for her novel. Well of course she would, since psychotic fools were the kind of men she liked having as the heroes of her novel.

Incidentally, in case any hardcore fans of the other Bronte sisters ever come across this piece and faint with horror at the way I've referred to their novels, I have two things to say. One, I was 16 when I read them. Two, I hated Gone with the Wind too. There's more sacrilege for you. Hah.

PS: Ooh it's 7/7/7 today! :)

Blue moon!

Quick, look out of the window! It's a blue moon tonight! Isn't it gorgeous?!?
A blue moon apparently occurs when the same calendar month gets two full moons, the second being called the blue moon.
One of my favourite memories is from when I was a little kid and we'd gone to visit my grandparents. Their house used to overlook a lake. We'd just got back home from town, and the full moon was huge and golden and just hanging low over across the lake. I've never forgotten that scene.
*sigh* I do love full moons.

A touch of irony

In the same week that everyone's getting super excited about the fact that India's probably about get its first female President, which of course shows how cool women are and how progressive India is and has absolutely nothing to do with bloody politics, comes the news that this chap in Haryana has been aborting female foetuses simply because the girl child is unwanted in states like Punjab and Haryana. Interesting, don't you think, how progressive we are?
Hell.

A word of advice...

Dear Zapakmail.com,

If you really do feel that putting a huge billboard with the tagline "Pehelwan ban gaya budhiman" is the best way to promote your services, that's your opinion. But don't you think the Rubik's Cube used in such an advertisement should at least be solved?

Explain to me...!!!

So I have these friends who live kind of far, far away. Stingy soul that I am, the most effective way of keeping in touch with these wonderful individuals is the Internet. Unfortunately (for them, that is - I really couldn't give two hoots), these wonderful individuals have a very strange method of keeping in touch.

They come online everyday, open their email accounts, then - wait for it - open their orkut accounts to send me a scrap telling me how they have so much to tell me but are kind of busy so will email me later.

To add insult to injury, I am then expected to open my email account, see the extremely exciting notification about having received a scrap, open my orkut account, and then see that they don't have time to email me, but have time to open utterly useless accounts to inform me of that fact.

Now in the time they waste opening this second account, would it be too much to ask for to receive a simple email - even if it's just two lines long - telling me how they are and that they'll send me longer email when they're relatively free? Why waste my time just because they're so busy?!?

Now would someone explain the logic of this to me?

Beautiful in my eyes...

Some memories never go away. No matter how many years pass, something will happen and make you realize that the memory of those incidents are as fresh as ever.

Yesterday, while using a projector for a presentation, I noticed the dust particles flying about in the stream of light which was coming out of the projector. They're tiny insignificant things, often quite annoying, but they always remind me of one particular incident. And that memory makes them beautiful to me.

My mother used to be a teacher. No matter where she taught, which level she taught, or even which subject she taught - everyone loved her classes. Her students from more than a decade back still keep in touch with her - she meant that much to them.

I must have been 8 or so when she came to teach one of the senior classes as a substitute teacher for a few days. She came home and told me she had taught them about dust particles. The very next day, during the morning assembly, I happened to glance towards the class she had taught the previous day, and the entire class was looking upwards towards the sunlight and exclaiming, "Look, dust particles!"

Yes, dust particles can be beautiful.

Tell me...

How do you translate lajja into English? Shame? Embarassment? Coyness? Shyness? They're all close, but not quite the thing.

Lajja is one of those things which, without intending to sound be discriminatory in any way, is probably a characteristic found in Asian women. I really doubt that any, say for example American woman would ever experience the feeling of lajja.

Legend has it that the demons Shambu and Nishambu were once given a boon that no man could kill them. As a result, as demons are prone to do, they went on a rampage and started killing pretty much everyone they came across. The Devas, as they are prone to do, went into a panic. Luckily for them, they managed to find a loophole. You see, the boon said no man could kill them. So what did the Gods do? They went to the Goddess Durga and asked her to do something about the situation.

That was when Goddess Kali was born from Durga's forehead as Kal Bhoi Nashini to save heaven and earth from the demons. After killing the demons, however, she lost control (and I have no idea why) and started killing anyone who came her way. So this time, the Gods went to her husband, Lord Shiv to ask him to stop her. He went and lay down in the forest she was walking in. While walking around in a rage, she stepped on his chest, and suddenly came to her senses. Realizing she had stepped on her husband, she stuck out her tongue in lajja.

So tell me, how do you translate lajja into English?

Cheers!

Now this is the kind of news I'd like to read. Not tripe about where the sindoor used at the wedding of the decade came from, thank you.

Why can't women in India be encouraged to take classes like this?

Good ole' inflation

So back in the Dark Ages when I was a little kid, losing a tooth was a very big deal because it meant the Tooth Fairy would be visiting me to leave a five-rupee coin under my pillow. I've always loved those coins for some reason.

A friend told me some time back about how she always buys a gift for her 7-year-old son when he loses his tooth. Recently, however, when he lost a tooth rather late in the evening, giving her no time to go buy a gift, she simply left 200 rupees under his pillow.

Well whaddaya know. Inflation hit the Tooth Fairy too.

Serendipity

Yahoo's headline at the moment is about a newlywed couple who met when the chap decided to SMS a random number floating in his head. I'll bet if Hollywood made a movie about it, it would become one of my favourites. Especially if John Cusack played the lead role.
Apparently,

A British man has met and married a 22-year-old woman after, by his own account, dreaming of her phone number and then sending her a text message.
David Brown, 24, says he woke up one morning after a night out with friends with a telephone number constantly running through his head. He decided to contact it, sending a message saying "Did I meet you last night?."
Random recipient Michelle Kitson was confused and wary at first but decided to reply and the two began exchanging messages. Eventually they met and fell in love.
"It was really weird but I was absolutely hooked," Kitson told the Daily Mail newspaper. "My mum and dad kept saying 'But he could be an axe murderer', but I knew there was something special about it."
After a long courtship, the oddly matched couple -- he's six foot seven inches tall and she's five foot four -- have just returned from their honeymoon in the Indian resort of Goa.
A love-struck Brown said: "I've no idea how I ended up with her number in my head -- it's only a few digits different from mine."

That's... sweet. Maybe I should try it.

Why and wherefore

I sometimes wonder why I blog. I mean, I know I have a vast readership which just waits breathlessly for whatever pearls of wisdom I might spout next, but apart from that, why do I blog?

I have things to say, which I know very few people within my friend circle would enjoy listening to during random conversations. So I say them here.

Still, not all my thoughts get expressed. I start many a blog entries, only to discard them midway, either because I decide they're not worthy enough to get an entire entry dedicated to them, or I find myself unable to express them adequately enough.

My blog posts have also changed in nature over time. From venting spleen about my personal life, to cribbing about the ways of the world, to simple talking nonsense in the recent past, I'm growing more and more dissatisfied with my blog. Yet, I don't see myself giving it up anytime soon, because it is an outlet for me, an outlet I can't let go of, not yet at least.

Someone on hearing that I blog once pointed me towards her friend's blog, which put in words the best reason I've ever come across for blogging, and probably the answer to my original question. He says that blogging is perfect for those who don't like to sing when other people are around, but who have always wanted to sing in an auditorium.

Maybe that is why I blog. I have opinions. I may not be entirely comfortable expressing those opinions to other people, but I have them nevertheless and I wish to express them. Ergo, I blog.

PS: You see that little thing at the bottom of my sidebar? The one with the numbers? Now that not only tells me where you're from, but also how often you're visiting my blog. So leave some comments, why don'tcha? :)

A cure for Hypochondriasis

According to Roald Dahl in his book Boy, to check if you have appendicitis, when experiencing acute pains, you need to press the left side of your abdomen where the appendix is located. If it's soft, all's well. If it's hard, however, it probably means you're in for a tough time.

The other day, however, a friend, getting increasingly exasperated with my moans and groans, showed me another trick. When experiencing the aforementioned acute pains, try lifting your right leg. If you can, all's well! Because if you really do have appendicitis, the pain would be so bad that you wouldn't be able to lift your leg!

Didja know that now?!?

Of course, for actual diagnosis, you could probably use one of these methods...!

Fleeting moments in time...

I heard a beautiful analogy today (well, yesterday). Which I am now going to make a hash of as I clumsily attempt to explain it to you.

You know that dumroo Lord Shiva holds in his hand? Apparently, it is representative of time. One side of the dumroo represents the past, while the other represents the future. The string in the centre with something at either end indicates the present.

So what happens is, when you shake the dumroo, the things at either end of the string hit the two sides and make beats, right? That, my friends, is indicative of the present's relationship with the past and the future. What it indicates (and which was the whole point of the class discussion that led to this being mentioned) is that just as the string connects with the two sides only fleetingly, the present has a very minor relationship with the past and the future. Bottom line is, live in the present and don't worry so much about what has gone by or what will come.

You know, that sounded so much nicer when my professor told us about it.

Hmm...

So Water lost out at the Oscars. Not really a surprise, considering India's past record.

But why, oh why, did Leonardo DiCaprio not win?!?

On another tangent, I didn't see the whole show, just bits and pieces towards the beginning, but the presentation by Abigail Breslin and Will Smith's son was definitely one of the cutest I've seen in a long time!

Of talking dogs and high school diplomas...

Have the Indian news channels completely lost their marbles? This afternoon, NDTV 24x7 had a feature about the dogs of mumbai, which I might have continued to watch if they hadn't started interviewing street dogs, complete with some precocious kid doing the voice-over for the dog.
Then now, just an hour or so back, I stared fascinatedly for all of thirty seconds as Star News went on with their appeal to the viewers to cast their votes on whether or not they think it was right or not of some girl to have jilted her fiancé on the day of their wedding in favour of her true love!!!
This is news these days. Sheesh.

Amidst all the trash on Indian televsion these days, there are a few not so popular shows, usually telecast on weekend nights, which, while not be pathbreaking in any way, are rather sweet and fun to watch occasionally. I don't watch them regularly, but come across them at times while flipping channels.
The other day, one of these shows, which is based in a small moholla, had a rather interesting track. An old lady, whose grandchildren are grown and on the verge of leaving home, decided to try and fulfill one of the long-cherished dreams: to give her Matriculation exam. Having got married at the age of 16, just a month before her Class X Boards, she had always dreamt of giving the exams, but never got the oppurtunity. Till the point I continued to watch, she had received her admit card and was trying to convince her husband to allow her to sit for the exams.
About a year ago, a friend of mine had mentioned how her mother never got to go to college and was now expressing the desire to pursue further education. We told her about places like IGNOU but I don't think she ever followed it through.
There are probably so many people in India who had to leave their studies prematurely for various reasons, be it marriage, or lack of funds, or simply their parents thinking it was unnecessary for them to continue. In the USA, they night classes for those who want to finish their high school graduation; India doesn't have a system like that. Yes, we have distance learning and correspondence courses at the higher levels; institutes like IGNOU and DU enable people to pursue their graduation or even post-graduation at later stages in life. But what happens to those who want to do their basic schooling? Give their Matriculation exams? They can give these exams as open candidates of course, but I do wish there was some kind of system where these people could also attend classes if they so chose.
Of course, while I'm at it, I also wish the whole freaking education system in India would change, but that's another story altogether.

Update: (04/03/07)
I watched the latest episode of that show last night, and apparently after a great deal of resistance the Man of the House decided to support his wife in her decision to take her Matriculation exams at the age of 55 or something. The last scene showed him waiting for her to come out after her first exam with nariyal ka paani in his hand. How sweet! :)

The problem with Wikipedia

...is this.
You're telling me. I went there yesterday to look some stuff for a repost I have to write; I landed up on a page about a goddess I'd been meaning to read up on for some time!

Personally, I have my suspicions about Wikipedia. You do a search on any freaking topic in the universe, and the Wikipedia page will be there in the top five results. So I wonder if they've actually done something to make it turn out that way.
We all know it can be done. I mean, people fixed their blogs in a way so that if you typed in "miserable failure" in Google and clicked on the "I'm feeling lucky" button, you would get George W. Bush's biography in the White House website. Earlier this year, Google decided to step in and fix it so that if you try it now, you get this article instead!!!
My point is, like the BBC article says, it apparently doesn't need too many people to make a particular website top the searches. So what's to stop the Wikipedia crowd from doing so?
The only loophole that I can see in my latest conspiracy theory is this: that's an awful lot of articles they'd have to sit and fix !!!

The other problem that Wikipedia might occasionally have is its accuracy. Since pretty much anyone and everyone can create and/or edit articles there, you really don't know how accurate someof the stuff there is. I'm sure they have a staff to try and keep an eye on stuff, but when you have a site on pretty much everything open to pretty much the whole world for editing, I'm pretty darn sure there are going to be occassions incorrect stuff gets published.
Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Wikipedia is still the first place I head to whenever I need to look up something!!!

Update:
I have no idea if it's a coincidence or irony or what, but ever since I wrote this entry, Wikipedia hasn't featured in the top ten results of 90% of the searches I've done. Talk about freaky! (25/02/07)

Pitter patter...

Last week, I was going around asking everyone if it's supposed to be this warm in February. Today, (well, yesterday, really) I was asking everyone if it's supposed to be raining this time of the year.

You see, the thing about the weather is (as my wisdomous fellow blogger pointed out some months back), you never really know for sure what kind of weather you're supposed to expect, particularly in the between-season months. I mean, yes, we in the NCR know that May & June will be blazing, July & August will probably see some rain, and December & January will be freezing. What about the rest?

It's those in-between months when you don't really know what to expect. When the weather starts fluctuating like it has been for the last couple of weeks, are we experiencing a warm spell in cold weather or a cold spell in warm weather?

The last couple of days have been my favourite kind of weather - cool, breezy, the hint of rain in the air... Bliss! It's the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up with a good book, or go for a walk (with someone other than your utterly spoilt and indisciplined dog), or go for a long drive with the windows open, or just sit facing the wind with your eyes closed.

It rained off and on all through yesterday, in varying degrees, from drizzling to downright pouring. Have you ever stood under a building at dusk and watched the lights shine on the rain as it falls to the earth? Isn't it one of the most beautiful sights ever?

No, rain doesn't come without bringing its share of pitfalls. Lightning for example. And the fact that currently (and I quote) my "beloved friend is grievously ill because of it." But I refuse to get into those. It takes a lot to ruin my mood when it rains.

Oh my!

As a Harry Potter fan (what, you didn't know?!?), it was but obvious that I wouldn't take kindly to this article. I'd say more, but the 197 comments already there seem to have to said it all.

I wonder if there were people who did agree with Ms. Reid but didn't dare say so considering the kind of reactions she's got?

PS: In case you're wondering, I'm working up to a couple of rants. Thank you.

Lookit that!

Whoa. Katrina did that? Imagine what the tsunami did to dozens of towns along the coasts then... Made phonebooks nonexistent perhaps.

Although a comment left by one of the visitors does make sense... It could partially be due to the fact that an increasing number of people are getting mobile phones, which are typically not listed in phonebooks. But still... dude!!!

[Link courtesy India Uncut]

Update:
The picture's been deleted from the linked page for some reason; too bad for you if you didn't visit my blog in time to see it! (13/02/07)

Snippets from sundry sources...

There are so many fascinating things you come across on the World Wide Web that just spur you to say something about them at times. When blogging began, way back in the 1990s (seems like a lifetime ago, dunnit?), it was used mainly as a list of websites any given blogger was in the habit of visiting, and his/her opinions on the same. These "Web-logs" soon evolved to become "blogs" which began to used as various other purposes than just as links to other sites. Yet, even today, many bloggers do use this pattern; they come across something interesting on the Internet, post a link to it on their blog, and add their own comments or opinions on the topic. Which, if you think about it, is a very effective way of dealing with the problem I very often have of not having enough to write about on any topic that catches my fancy.

It is one of the ironies of my life that people think I am a very well-read person. Reading all of Austen's works at the age of 16 just because I had nothing better to do with myself does not an intellect make. Yet, if you look at this article, I can honestly state (unlike 33% of the respondents) that I have read 5 and 1/3rd of the books named on this list. I ain't telling which though.

I am fascinated by the kind of patterns people are actually observant enough to pick up on. Did you know, for instance, that nearly every time Al Gore visits a place to talk about global warming, the temperatures in that place actually drop? Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself. Although Mr. Bolt is smart enough to deny any attempt to propose a theory or any such thing!

"You have a piece of bread and you are full enough to give it to someone else. In front of you, 10 guys are waiting for your charity. You can say only one sentence to them. But with only this one sentence, you need to find out who is the most hungry guy. What are you going to say?"

Reading India Uncut made me come across this article, which made me stop and think a bit. I stopped thinking once I read this. That pensive, I'm not.

5 things...

*sigh* I got "tagged". So here go 5 things you didn't know about me...

1. I can't cut vegetables to save my life. They come out all weirdly shaped.
2. I feel perpetually cold. Including in the summers with the fan on.
3. I don't like coffee. The smell itself makes me feel queasy.
4. I like to organize everything into labelled folders, be it my mail, bank papers or study material. Problem is, I'm too lazy to put them into their respective folders when i get them, so everything ends up messy anyhow.
5. All through my teens, it was completely instinctive for me to look at any vehicle on the roads and immediately add up its number to check if it was divisible by 3!!!

So there you go. You probably knew most of those. Ziggystrauss & Abhishek, I hereby "tag" you. Go on, what don't I know about you?!?

Epiphany - Part II

There are times, when you look around you and realize it's complete hypocrisy on your part to call yourself an idealist and wonder why things are the way they are, because the truth is, there's nothing you're doing to make things any better. Ranting about it on your blog doesn't really accomplish anything, now does it?

Today was one of those days for me. It wasn't some earth-shattering incident. It was a scene anyone on the roads of Delhi would have seen pretty much everyday of his or her life. Yet it suddenly drove home the fact that there is so much more misery in the world than I have ever experienced. And despite my opinions or cynicism or even ideas, there is nothing I have ever done in my entrie life that could possibly have helped to alleviate any of that misery. And that is what makes me a hypocrite.

There are also times, when no matter how much you love the people around you, you tend to wish they were a bit more on the same wavelength as you; that they would be a tad bit more accepting of the turmoil within you. I can almost predict what the comments for this entry are going to be like!

So yes, to answer a question asked in response to my previous post, it is one of those times.

Epiphany

I am an idiot.

I am incompetent and irresponsible.

I know nothing, I feel nothing, I deserve nothing.

I have no faith. In anything. Or anyone.

I'm clueless about my life.

I have no goals.

I don't see the point of anything.

I don't even know why I exist.