Summers @ IITK -- a page from my childhood!

Laden with Amaltas and Gulmohar trees in full bloom, in the hot month of May, stretches a road -- as far as the eye goes. Their is an eclectic mix of fragrances in the air. The yellow scent of chandeliers of Amaltas mixed with the heady pungency of unripe mangoes, a lone koyal's melodic reminder of unbearable summer heat. But what do two little kids speeding on their bicycles care of the summer heat or the lone koyal.

All they are interested in is beating each other at the impromptu bicycle race. The road is practically deserted and yet this is an adventure. For they know if they were to be caught hurtling at breakneck speed, word will reach their home before they could. But of course, everybody knows everybody else in wonderland. This could be fairyland for all you know -- it is set in the backdrop of picture postcard setting of pristine gardens, well-manicured hedges and a set of bubbling fountains.

Folklore has it that some of the world's best scholars come to study in this fairyland. But, once again what do two kids care of scholars. except sometimes, the kids tiptoe into the sanctuary of scholars to steal red roses, to be given to their MISS at school.

The scholars are kind. They let the kids "steal" the red roses. The MISS is kind too. She never gives homework. Miss showed them another red flower she called "bottle-brush". Why would a bottle need to brush one kid wonders. Thankfully the kid retains the amazement to herself.

School semester ends today and the two kids could not have been happier. In the new semester they'll get new bag, new bottle and new books and even new fancy stickers and crayons. Of all the books, with their crisp pages, the art copy smells the best.

Summer vacations are good. You get to go to art class and dance class and music class and yet have enough time to play with street pups. Summers are good too. You get to have 'col-drink' @ ShopC. Also, you can splash water in the big blue swimming pool.

Ohk Fellas, it's been a loooooong day. YAWN! It's not even 'Chitrahaar' day so kids must sleep early as they can't miss to watch the sunrise tomorrow. Yawn! May be one of the kids grows up to remember this day. May be she'll blog about it. Then she would name it Summers @ IITK -- a page from my childhood!

Dolphin Diaries . . .

A li'l princess sat
On the brink of a pool
Sleepy eyes, morning dew
She set her eyes
On the pristine blue

Ride you, I shall
to the waves, she told
And took a dive
Oh! Behold . . .

Eyes wide open,
I watched the show
And saw her tame
The expansive flow

Dolphin's grace
Mermaid’s charm
You tap deep waters
You fear no harm?

She splashed and smiled
With a knowing wink
She beckoned me closer
To the overflowing brink

Touch the water,
Feel the surge
Whisper to it,
Your deepest urge.

Not always we win
With conquest on mind,
Surrender to the currents
With faith so blind

They’ll show you wonders
You never knew were
And take you places
Your heart will stir . . .

She leapt and left
As I watched her go
My turn to dive
I take a bow . . .

FAQs of Life

Don't be fooled by the title. I am not presenting a self-help guide to the art of living. On the contrary, it is a ventsheet (I should not crib if Oxford people sue me for using non-existent terms).

Have you ever noticed how certain questions are posed to us so often, we might as well publish and distribute answer pamphlets. In fact, I have made a list of my favorite 'most-hated FAQs'. (Don't tell me you don't have yours.)

The one that tops the charts, however, straight away is 'so, when are you getting married'. Anyone who has celebrated the silver jubilee of their existence will testify. Anybody asks it. Everybody asks it. Some country our's is -- even people you meet for the first time -- in train/bus/airports would not think twice before dropping the bomb on you.

This question really bugs the Jeezuz (also, Allah, Krishna and all other Gods, since I respect all religions equally) out of me. My most obvious response to this FAQ is -- to whom? My Luggage Bag? (In past ten years it has been my most faithful companion. The most constant one too. Whoever said change was the only constant, HUH!)

My second most obvious response and FGA (frequently given answer) is -- why don't you suggest some options. This is often followed by a sheepish 'you must be having someone' by the questioner. (Sorry Oxfordians!) To which, the questionee (fine sue me), me in this case responds with a helpless shrug. (Silence is Golden is an understatement of all times -- it's Platinum, it's brilliant, it works.)

Finally, the questioner gives a last 'you are hopeless' glance and that is the end of the FAQ session.

What leaves me astounded is the obvious authority with which people present such questions. Recently, I was venting out my distaste towards FAQs to a close friend, when she further enlightened me. "You think, being married it is any more easy for me? Complete strangers ask me when am I planning babies."

WHOAA!!! People actually ask THAT???

Aren't these supposed to be VERY VERY personal questions? Since not many people believe so, I have (shamelessly) prepared a list of crazy FAQs along with (even more shameless) answers.

At Age 5-10

FAQ: What will you become when you grow up?
FGA: Anything but a nosy FAQer like you. Now may I resume my game please?

At Age 12-17

FAQ: It is your BOARD YEAR. Nervous?
FGA: I won't be if YOU would be kind enough to not remind me of it.

At age 16-23

FAQ: Got any BFs/GFs
FGA: Yes, and you, my dear total stranger, are the first person I wanna share it with.

Age 25 onwards:

FAQ: So, when are you getting married?
FGA: Why don't you suggest the date/To whom, my luggage bag?

FAQ: When are you having babies?
FGA: Whenever you are ready.

Dear Readers,

Please suggest if you have got any better responses, considering that such FAQs come from people you barely know.

R.S.V.P.

Mriganka

The CQ and some more jazz

"My kid sister's generation is much more cool than ours", said a guy whom I had met recently.

"Not really, I think our generation is also pretty cool", I retorted.

"Huh! You are cool? You don't even smoke!", pat came the reply.

Whoopsidaisies!!! (Ya, ya Notting Hill -- borrowed from Mr Hugh Grant ...drool, drool).

Anyway, so my only claim to fame in the COOL CLUB has to be my smoking skills (or actually lack of them.) That can't be true, I thought. However, since I don't suffer from 'what-I-think-right-is-the-only-right' syndrome, I started reflecting upon the hapless guy's casual remark. (Cud-chewing on other people's statements is my forte').

While trying to figure out what does cool mean, I realized it is very close to potatoes (ya, right! breathe, breathe I am explaining). Just like potatoes it has a tendency to mingle without spoiling the flavor of the key ingredients. So, you could flaunt a 'cool' t-shirt, check out a 'cool' flick, bump into a 'cool' dude/babe or in fact be 'cool' about what others say/do to you.

Armored with my new-found COOL/POTATO analogy, I then quizzed (read bugged) my friends on their definition of "being cool".

Let me proudly state the humble demography of the survey. Of the near 40 people questioned 18 replied. The age group was 23-30 years. Sadly, I realized that I don't know any teenagers (the coolest of all people). So if you are teenager reading this, please feel free to share your views on the topic.

One I.I.T. graduate (24 years) candidly said, while judging a person's COOL QUOTIENT (CQ) he would give 40 per cent weightage to their appearance. Rest 60 per cent marks would be awarded to their capability to remain undettered under pressure situation. No surprise, his COOL ICON is Salman Khan and here is why -- "The actor remains unfazed by controversy and is stylish." Fair Enough!!

A lot of people quizzed said that looks did not matter. It came as a surprise, kind of anti-climax, going by the fact that a huge chunk of advertising industry actually thrives on "it's all in the looks" brand image. Check out for yourself. You are Gen now if you are seen drinking a particular fizz drink, you have arrived if you are seen chewing a particular gum, you'll get that dream job if you applied a particular cream/lotion/potion for instant beauty (They even have separate magic potions for men now, if that is some reprieve for the feminists) and blah and blah...

So, I posed this question to a friend who has been a brand image consultant for a dubai-based fashion apparel chain. And ladies and gentlemen his response -- In context to a person... "Cool" to me connotes a person who is smart, in control of him/her self, and has the ability to carry him/her self well (regardless of being in fashionable gear or not!).

Vow, the world ain't all that superfluous.

Not to digress from the topic, another friend who's a sculptor and an artist (We don't mention age when it concerns girls :))said -- "Cool... Any person or thing that APPEALS! Why it appeals! thats an individual liking further related to knowledge, past experience, Our DNA and also the mindset which is made by our surroundings".

Interestingly she made another point. Cool for one is surely uncool for another person sitting somewhere in some corner of this world. So Tattoos, Reptiles, Fashion etc always will have a cool and an uncool side. (That explains the SMOKING bit)

A friend from the US navy (yeah, yeah uniformed people are ubercool), guy, 23, reconfirmed our previous guy's view when he observed -- "Somebody cool means they have a laid-back approach to life and are easy to get along with. They aren't easily flustered or upset." (Hey, hey, I am also easy to get along with, can I make a fresh attempt at the COOL CLUB?)

Interestingly, in response to my e-mail on CQ some people sent me smileys. I am not sure if they meant smileys were cool or my question was too uncool to be answered.
Apart from smileys the other nominations received actually re-instate the potato nature of CQ. (US)President Obama, Indian (ex) Prez Kalam, Jhonny Depp, Salman Khan, Bob Marley, Jack Jhonson, M S Dhoni, Rani Laxmi Bai, Konkona Sen, Shashi Tharoor, SRK...

Gosh that covers almost everybody who's somebody. People with rock star looks juxtaposed against people of mettle and people of substance.

As for me, I think being cool is the capability to choose the right over the popular.

So how much does appearance contribute to CQ. Sum up for yourself. Dice the potato and add to taste. (WINK).

The Chemistry behind Selection!

I was wondering if there is a theory behind the 'CHEMISTRY OF SELECTION'. No, not the 'natural selection' one. Monsieur Darwin did a pretty neat job of that.

On a more day-to-day basis, for example, why in a roomful of strangers, we choose a particular stranger to talk to. Is there a push button in the sub-conscious that triggers -- "this is the stranger I am most comfortable talking to" -- response? Or is it the force of negative elimination which helps us rule out the other possibilities until we zero in on The ONE?

In either case, my question is why do we make the choice that we make? If you have been reading so far, clearly, you are also intrigued by this mystery. If there exists a theory which explains the science of behavioural pattern/randomness, please enlighten me too.

From the previous statement stems another question -- hope you figured it out already. (Please say yes!) Is our behaviour random or does it have a pattern? That is, to say, if put in the same situation again, would we still make the same/similar choice or would it be an arbitrary selection?

Ditto goes for books, by the way. In a libray/bookstore full of books how we tend to choose the book that we do? (I mean when we pick up a copy instinctively)

I can't say surely about strangers but as far as books are concerned, the right ones have always gotten themselves picked up. (Yepp, it's not the other way round, I swear.)

Does this happen to you too? While walking down an aisle full of books, one of them (at times even more than one) screams -- 'Dudette! You ar not going to leave me here' or a more civilised 'Hey Lady! I got something to say and you will definitely be interested in hearing it'.

On a slightly different note, red apples and green spinach also scream out to me. (This I state at the risk of being labelled eccentric). OK, last stupid confession -- Once, I heard a stuffed toy call out to me. It clearly said, I am getting bugged in this toy store, take me home. The guy is now an honored member of our family.

Anyway, going back to books, yesterday while waiting for a few friends, I loitered into a lavish bookstore. Honestly, I had no intentions of picking up anything. It was more of a timepass gimmick.

However, as luck would have it, I ended up reading a copy of 'Who'll cry when you die' by motivational author Robin Sharma. It clicked. In fact, I silently hoped that my friends get a little more late so I could finish the book then and there. (No, it did not happen).

Here is a quote which stayed with me: "If you don't act on life, it will act on you".

A thought also stayed with me. In one of the chapters, the author asks his readers to make a list of people they would ideally have as neighbors(SELECTION AGAIN!!!)
Pretty, Damn, Cool -- PDC, i think. So, here is a list of people (I am including the alive ones only).

1. Stephen Hawking (to sit under the stars and listen to him recount the brief history of time, in typical grand pa fashion)
2. Paulo Coelho (to muse over philosophy while enjoying a steaming cuppa coffee)
3. Michael Schumacher (It would not hurt to get an occasional lift from one of the world's fastest/handsomest man -- in a Ferrari OMG!)
4. Lata Mangeshkar/Celine Dion/Enrique Iglesias (If music be food for love, play on)
5. Tom Cruise (Inspirational)
6. Priyanka Chopra (Aspirational)
7. Sachin Tendulkar (to remind that humility is a virtue of great men)
8. Steven Speilberg (might approve of one of my scripts :D)
9. Shiamak Dawar (so, I would learn to dance as if there is no tomorrow)
10.Sudha Murthy (In the end, it is all about doing something for our society)

A Whimsical but truly Inspiring exercise. Mr Robin Sharma, thanks for suggesting this idea -- I think just by listing my neighbours, I know what are the virtues I should live by.

PS: I need to get back to that bookstore and pick up a copy of this book for two reasons:
1. I need to finish it ..Lol
2.There is nothing called a free advice, the man who just enriched my life deserves his share of royalty.
Ciao

Just a passing thought

Happiness is something we stumble upon on our own, Luck is something destiny makes us stumble upon when we are dumb enough to miss it.

Adios Amigo!

26 is an age when people live, drink, party and may be date. 26 is not an age when people die. Especially when the "people" I am talking about are fit enough to explore Ladakh, jovial enough to burst fire-crackers and ambitious enough to switch jobs every 6 months (on an average).

I am talking of an ex-colleague and a good friend. By good I mean good enough to wake up at 4:00 am to ensure I got dropped off at bus terminal just in time to board an early morning service to Hrishikesh.

Not many people do this for others -- this, I have learned from personal experience. I owed you this one but not the way it turned out to be.If this is the way you want to wake friends up, SORRY, I am not game.

In one of my worst mornings ever, I got a call mid-slumber and from what I could make between persistent sobs on the other end was that this particular friend of mine was no more. (Is it mere co-incidence that last night my sign off status on facebook was 'Murphy have Mercy'.)

His best friend was on line with me. He was inconsolable and all I could utter was -- "This can't be true". It's strange how grief can turn the most verbose of us into complete taciturns. The guy on the other end was a complete wreck and I seemed to have lost my vocabulary. What could I have said when I myself felt as if someone just pulled ground from beneath my feet. How superfluous words can be at times!

My friend died of heart attack. He never smoked. He never boozeed.



I know dude, you would not be scrapping me or commenting on this anymore and I really regret not responding to yor scrap last night. Yet, I want to say this as our final goodbye that it was so much fun shooting Festive Specials and Fashion Weeks with you. You will be missed by all of us but that indefatigable spirit of yours, that always craved for adventure, will be cherished by all. Rest in Peace. Adios Amigo!!