Dil Say! :)

Some snippets of Dil Say .... sends adrenaline rushing to the head!
Times of India: Vodafone launches 'Dil Say' service
Yug Marg: This Valentine says it with Vodafone ‘Dil Say’
Lok Yug: Vodafone launches ‘Dil Say’ portal
Pahli Khabar: Vodafone launches ‘Dil Say’ portal
Aaj Kaal: Vodafone launches love pack 'Dil Say'
Bindu: Vodafone launches love pack 'Dil Say'
Divya Bhaskar: Vodafone launches love pack 'Dil Say' for subscribers

The Changing Skies

I'm trying to figure out how to put into words what I experienced a few days back. I spent it with some long time best friends, who've kept intact my splintered spirit... and our drive to an unknown destination proved to be the most surreal. Heaven and earth collided and this feeling took over and held us captive... and made us one with nature...

We couldn’t tell where heaven started and earth began. i don’t know how we got so lucky, but it was truly amazing. The sky changed a million colours just in a matter of minutes... Just a few moments from the many we experienced and captured....

Dasvidaniya

With such chaos going around the world, the blame games, the power shifts and the country taking sides, people forget to look at that common man standing tall yet unnoticed all along in the midst... who is disraught, discouraged and dismayed at whats going on outside as well as inside Him...

He is none but We... an awakened citizenry who want action, and are on the watch.... but.... Is it working? Are we getting the answers? Are we getting any actions? What are we seeing? Is it going to change anything because It still hasnt.... even when 3 lacs of us shout together a few power-mongers just suppress our voices... So what do we do.... just hope that each moment that we are living is not our last... where we might not even sometimes get a chance to say "Dasvidaniya" or "Alvida"

Somewhere this video tugged a chord.... So posted it here... and with the lyrics below it will be some experience.




Jag Suna Suna Thera Thera Sa...
Mera Sapna Apna Ghera Ghera Sa...,
Sare Sehar Ki Jagmag Ke Bitar Hai Andhera,
Har Muskan Ke Peeche Chupa Hua Gum Ka Chehra,
Yehi Hai Sach To Harpal Ko Jee Lu Mein Jee Bhar Ke,
Aur Has Has Ke Yeh Keh Dun Dukho Ke Pathar Se…
Alvida…… Alvida……Alvida…… Alvida……

Koi Waqt Ke Aage Hara Hara Sa...
Koi Pyaar Mein Firta Mara Mara Sa...
Dil Ke Riston Mein Kyon Dard Hamesha Milta Hai
Aur Kyon Kaanton Per Hi Phool Sukho Ka Khilta Hai
Yehi Hai Sach To Mein Iss Sach Ko Hi Apnaunga
Mar Bhi Jaunga To Mein Pyaar Amar Kar Jaunga……
Alvida…… Alvida……Alvida…… Alvida……Alvida…… Alvida……

Zindagi Na Mil Ajnabi Banke
Bandagi Shamil Har Dua Banke
Zindagi Na Mil Ajnabi Banke
Bandagi Shamil Har Dua Banke

Mumbai Meri Jaan

The first time I visited the Taj Mahal Hotel was ages ago and ever since have been in awe of this stonewalled wonder which has in the last few days stood not only strong but taller against whats been going on within it... The Oberois was always this seafacing hot spot where the bigwigs would hang out. Each time I entered the Victoria Terminus I stood in wonder at the pace and would always stop to check if my watch met its ever winding tower clock. I can’t believe I had stood just outside Leopolds a few weeks ago where what remains now, is just the wounds of a gunfire battle. These 4 places always throw me in this unparalled awe of their splendour, and the sea of humanity around them.

But the last few days have been something.... Something that has put this sense of gloom over the Mumbai sealine.... something that has gripped at the hearts of the true Mumbaiker... has killed the so called undying spirit of the Bambaiya....

Some of the nations most revered and brave servicemen laid their lives literally to save these places and the millions people held ransom in them and being senselessly fired at. I salute to them in reverence and respect and say 'May their souls rest in peace'... but I doubt they will.... for the unfinished business they have left behind....

These terrorists were guys about my brother's age, clad in jeans proudly holding weapons of destruction. They did not look like someone who could go pumping bullets... They should be one amongst those revelling with the undying spirit at one of these hubs where they had held hostages at ransom and became part this mad yet methodic urban terrorism.

What might have prodded them? What is it that they are told? What is it that they go through to create such havoc? Some questions which will always remained unanswered... though lyrics of a Black Eyed Peas song reply in my mind...

What's wrong with the world mama?
People living like aint got no mamas
I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama
Only attracted to the things that bring you trauma
Overseas yeah we tryin to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin...

...People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?

This will not change the actions of those who have committed such mayhem. Nor will it reduce the agony of this inhuman massacre. But speak I must...

If only a group of some inept politicians would for once think of the common man rather than for themselves... If only the system would act at the pace at which it ideally should. If only we could walk like a free nation and not dart eyes in every direction possible... for the "common" man could suddenly lurk out of nowhere and point a gun nozzel at you...
The day is not far when Mumbai turns the tables and becomes one with the terrorists, then, these so called "politicians" who serve themselves before they do the nation will have nowhere to hide... not even the wounded Taj or the wrecked Oberois!

I do not know who did this. Nor can I imagine any cause for whats recently happened. But this I know - the terror that has been wrought in Mumbai is vile and unjustifiable.

Reminds me of Naseerudin Shah's monologue at the climax of A Wednesday...since specially find myself in the similar situation... My family calls me a 100 times a day... not because they want to know how I am or not because they want to know if I've had lunch? They want to know If I am alive... They want to know if I am safe... They want to know if our house is the next "Nariman House"? They want to know if Mumbai is still safe.

Amitabh Bachchan sleeps with a gun under his pillow and it makes to the frontpage. Atleast he has a gun... What about the thousands who dont and are always in the line of fire? Big B has bodyguards to save him even from the common man... What about the thoudsands who dont even have a body to call their own?

Terror has set in. Everyones scared to walk into a mall, to step into the station, into the trains and crowded places. Mumbai is broken. It has no spirit left in it. Mumbai is of the common man. Let it lead a common life. Let it meet a common death. Don't reduce it's life to a statistic or just a scapegoat for some non-stop "LIVE" coverage.

Some called up to enquire if all was ok. Only if I could say that none of my kith and kin was hurt.
Because...
Lots are hurt...Lots are dead...Lots have braved the gun point...Lots gave up their lives...Mumbai's undying spirit died 183 deaths... Our Mumbai is wounded... And speak out I must...

Good Bye Dada

Having met Saurav Ganguly on one of the rare occassions during the IPL and interacting with him was a dream come true and love the guy for his undying spirit and underlying but very strong sense of pride and patriotism for the game he loves so much. Just came across this on www.ibnlive.com written by Sanjay Jha and couldnt find a better way to express what me and so many other fans of the very down to earth yet very dynamic hero of Indian cricket felt when he decided to call it a day! Putting it up here as a tribute to the true hero who came, saw and conqured hearts worldwide! Thanks Sanjay for writing what you did! Here is the post...

"Because when you announced your retirement, you said "Hopefully we will end up on a winning note". We did.

Because you were the only guy referred to as the royal Prince and the high-street bully "Dada" at the same time.

Because when you scored that classic debut century at Lord's, some thought you will be a one-knock wonder. At Trent Bridge, you stunned them all again with a double barrel.

Because when you played those heavenly cover drives, Rahul Dravid said, "There is only God and then Sourav Ganguly on the off-side". Maybe even the Almighty would have just moved to mid-on.

Because you took over as captain when match-fixing clouds hung over, but you made the right bets for the team.

Because with Sachin Tendulkar, you made ODI opening a treat for Indians, and a nightmare for the opposition. It was left right, left right, alright. Because when Andrew Flintoff ran naked chest on national display at Wankhede, you lost your shirt.

Because when the Oz threatened you with chin music, you played hip-hop with them at Brisbane hitting a majestic hundred.

Because you never quite understood the logic and rationale behind being dropped even after scoring 10,000 runs plus in ODIs and in good nick. You are not good at reading whodunits.



Because they burnt your effigies and hurled stones at your team in 2003, and then you led India to the finals of the World Cup in South Africa.

Because you discovered youngsters, groomed, encouraged and inspired Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Irfan and MSD to become our future heroes.

Because you suffered the humiliation from Greg Chappell and several critics with humility, dignity and grace.

Because you proved that the word "age" is not a four-letter word.

Because when axed, you concealed your hurt and disappointment, went and played local tournaments and sneaked back into the team. Then Johannesburg happened. Your fairy-tale return had happened.

Because you have redefined the word comeback. And grit. And determination. And fighting spirit. And leadership. And many unmentioned superlatives.

Because you never traded your self-respect, and when they dropped you for the Irani Cup, you said---Enough! Because you taught Indians to fight back, not turn around in defeat.

Because even 7,000 Test runs and 10,000 ODI runs is sometimes insufficient to measure your heroics for Indian cricket.

Because the 2001 series win against Australia marked a historic victory in one of the greatest series ever. You were India's captain.

Because if it exasperated Steve Waugh, you let him wait for the toss.

Because hopefully, we will still see you in black shining armour, Prince, for the KKR in IPL next year.

Because on the Lord's balcony, we discovered that you were not six-abs-pack.

Because at Nagpur this time, you had the last laugh, and India, the last hurrah. The final frontier is recaptured.

Because you did a Pepsi ad for your team, even as you stood silently alone in Kolkota.

Because you will not be ever seen in whites again. Scoring runs, bowling those deceptive medium pacers. And perhaps, even misfielding.

Because your fans will borrow from a new TV ad, and say "We miss you so much, it hurts". Because it is time to let you go home to your family, and friends.

Because now you can watch colleagues like Sachin and VVS and Ishant on the television like all of us.

Because tomorrow morning you will join Gavaskar, Vishwanath, Bedi and Srikanth as a "former" player. An ex.

Because you can now perhaps play football as well at Eden Gardens.

Because it's time to say good-bye.

Because you did us proud. Because you never gave up.

Because if you don't deserve the salutations from us all Indians, who does?"

Kalyan Express

A sea of people, a small town in itself, shops selling the odd refreshment, stained and strained walls - reflecting the kaleidoscopic phases of the Mumbaite – The Mumbai Life Line and its stations are anything but structures made of sand and stone - They are all about spent life , uncontrolled emotions, radical reasoning and endless hope.

Step into one of the locals and you will encounter the beauties and the beasts of Mumbai - With each life wrapped with utmost care, bags protected with the daily wrath just waiting to be unleashed, as they wait impatiently for the patient train. You push and punch your way in, (you can't do it any other way) and enter. The compartment is so tightly packed that even breathing becomes difficult. If your arm is bent or you are bent at 45 degrees you stay that way. It is no different from a gas chamber and you'll feel like a victim who is going to be gassed. Let me reiterate one such journey that I was a part of some time ago...on my way to an undisclosed location...

Location: Matunga Central Station - After a hard working day, me and Archie decided to take the Mumbai Local to avoid the mad traffic on the roads... The station air was warm and the platform was overwhelmed with people in the midst of clamor, heat, perspiration, and bone-weariness...

The local chugs its way in... and feeds on people... who are trying to get just a foot into one of its various yet overfed mouths... Archie the pro gets in and I just manage enough to get a foot hold of an inch and hang there for life... until the local can digest some of the travelers for me to get in. Phew! An experience in itself! But picture abhi baki hai mere dost!

Well, We managed to squeeze ourselves just to find out that this was a Kurla bound train! Man! What a Mess!!!! We would have to get off in the middle and board another one of these man-made monsters to reach our destination...To cut the long story short we get ourselves into a Kalyan Express only to find ourselves in the midst of some irritating, fart mixed, evaporated sweat filled crowd of women. Archie I can already see your nose twitching! Two ladies standing behind me are pushing and making their way out...two others standing in front are hitting me hard sometimes with their long wavey hair and sometimes with their over sized and overburdened hand bags... and Ouch! someone rushing squelched my leg and Unaware of all this buzz the train is floating on the tracks....with its gentle speed....

We manage to find some breathing space in the gangway... and one inhalation from Archie and the woman in front of her brought the roof down!
Irked Woman - “Aye! Kya kar rahi hai? Sidha khadi nahi ho sakti kya!”
Our very brave Ar'cheeeeeeeta' lost control and gave the woman a piece of her mind... "Kya? Dikhta nahi kya? Peeche se log dhakka de toh mein kya karu?"
The tennis match goes on... from the “Dhakka mat maar” to the “peeche walon ko bolo” to the "pata nahi kya samajhti hais” . Can still picture Archie trying to manage herself and survive herself through this ordeal of some backstabbing (literally) and some weird stink emanating from the lady in front of her, while I tired my best to balance myself on one foot and my bag in one hand - like in the midst of a ballet performance - in my attempt to help a small kid breathe some “air”.

In the midst of all this zig zag zoo, there comes a station and.....hundreds of homegoers gushed inside as if this is the last train of their escape from a lion's den...Ignoring the already pathetic conditions of the ones already inside, they want their space and for the same they are ready to fight with all their might....

We were about to reach our destination only to find our way blocked by the irked lady who kept giving me and Archie her "dirty looks" and her miscoloured eyes didn’t help us in anyway! But as the local hoots itself into the station... it pushed us out like mere well done buttered pop-corns only to swallow another bank of people, who linger on impatiently nearby waiting for their turn to put themselves in the very spaces we filled once.

Archie and me take in a "cleaner" whiff of air... and sighing-ly make our way out of the exhausted chaos in turn loosing out on the chasing grey eyed fiend of a woman. But what comes to my mind in retrospect is that, within this experience of nonsensical confrontation and faceless conflicts, lies a pattern emerging of the millions of people who travel the Mumbai local everyday… chugging towards their goal without knowing how they got there... in their attempt not to miss their Ek Challis ki Last Local.

Angel Watching My Back

I ask for a sign... and I always find an answer!

There is always an explanation, if we are willing to look deeply enough for the answer. It takes courage to want to know the future. It takes courage to accept our own pasts. It takes faith to believe that we are all worthy of divine love and a worthy life....

Life is meant to be understood. Life is not mysterious. There are explanations for everything that happens in our lives. But have you ever felt that you already knew the answer to what you were asking for? Have you ever felt the need to ask "Why me"?

How easily we pass off the divine as "coincidence" or "mistakes" or "unexplained." Sometimes it's hours or days or years before we finally "get it." How many time have you felt the the hair on the back of your neck rising to attention or the sudden chill running down your spine...
You're being contacted every day and every night. But are you watching? Are you listening to that distant yet inner voice that keep calling out to you?

Trust that your guardian angels are guiding you, every step of the way. But who are the angels? What do they do? Are they really those blonde-haired creatures with long, white robes and feathered wings, who hover in the clouds plucking idly at their harp strings? Are they those dear friends who stand by you while in dire straits? Are they your parents who don't ask questions but still stand by you forever without passing any judgments? Are they your kins who sit with you and help you analyze things, who help you make your own decisions? Or are we talking about something different? What do I mean when I want to quote from a song once I had heard a long time a go...

They silently hold me,
With their mighty wings,
When I cry the console me,
With the songs they sing,
When I sleep they watch over me,
Fan away evil things,
These are my angels, over me

Said we don’t even notice,
The protection they give,
Fell as asleep on the road, and yet
I continued to live,
Sometimes I even wished that they
Wouldn’t answer my call,
But unwavering angels,
They just won’t let me fall

It really struck a chord with me... and so I decided to find my angel and give it the right place and space in my life...

Here it is... my angel... watching my back!

... And my outlook on life... being my guide to life... and giving me that strength to believe that no matter what happens to me, good or bad, there will always be something to balance it, and when things do get bad, one, they’ll get better at some point, and two, there is always someone trying to watch my back... being my costant watchdog.... in whatever’s going on... in order to help me make it through it. Always trying to get me to the right spot, at the right time to discover my guides for myself!

Angels - a way of life for me... my story ... my life and my spirit

Windmills of My Mind!

Two months of rapidly passing overcast clouds, shadowed thoughts fly and the blur is welcome.

Introspection? In gallons, flowing into every landscape of the mind, and entering every re-lived and once believed conversations. The face of the man from city of the minar who showed me dreams... and snatched away my right to sleep... and never cared.... never tried ... never bothered to give it back to me...

Days and Nights of moaning sirens, sleepless and speechless nights....then the mornings where all I hear is the wind in the trees, somebody's loud conversation in the middle of nowhere and my mind where stories are waiting to be written.

Tonight just like all the previous nights sleep eludes me - I float from my book to computer to the balcony, watching the ocassional lights of early morning and listening to the hurried yet tired cars zip past.

The night hours stumble into one another as all nights have.... A routine that created itself and now heaves upon me every night. Outside it is nearly always the same; a dull night yawning under the shadows of the day that has past....

Tonight, the reminder that I can hope to leave the weakest links of my life behind me, but... At night, when all is invisible and is the most intimate, the pink curtains on my windows, turn in the darkness, and I can’t distinguish between the two most intimate sounds. One of heartbeat, and the other of the fan blades. In between, my breaths seem to float into oblivion. This sensitivity to everything that moves, but numbness to everything that is.

Being alone, sometimes brings out the darkest sides of me. Not that I fight them. But sometimes, just the fierceness of my own feelings, chokes me.

As the old adage goes

"It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all."

When someone was never yours to begin with, was there anything there to lose? In a world where you can get whatever you want, how is it you can still be left empty in the end? Can you ultimately find what was left behind? Why is it that the bonds that connect people so tightly can also rip us apart?

I'm in an odd mood these days, with a touch of melancholy. There is a song that just popped right into my head and won't go away. Maybe putting some of its lines on the blog here will do the trick?

I could hardly believe it when I heard the news today
I had to come and get it straight from you
They said you were leaving, someone swept your heart away
From the look upon your face I see it's true
So tell me all about it, tell me 'bout the plans you're makin'

Then tell me one thing more before I go
Tell me how am I supposed to live without you
Now that I've been lovin' you so long
How am I supposed to live without you
And how am I supposed to carry on
When all that I've been livin' for is gone

It's just a dream of mine is comin' to an end
How can I blame you when I built my world around
The hope that one day we'd be so much more than friends
And I don't wanna know the price I'm gonna pay for dreamin'
I need you know, it's more than I can take
And I don't wanna know the price I'm gonna pay for dreamin'
Now that your dream has come true...

- Micheal Bolton

Hungama Captured!

The Hungama Pantry...



We've spent some good times... Coffee with alot of Flies (see above pic), tea, Bitching Sessions... Some Rainy Memories and more....


The Creative Content Team :) Ishan...or "shall i say Ishi", Mitali, Neha and Aanchu Baby


OK Now... Neha, Pragya... and Kadam


Neha doing lots of Hungama... with the coffee mug atleast! and Dont miss the froggy look... :)


Tejas Tanna... My Nemesis @ Hungama... the only person who can give me nightmares bout work.... will miss u and Vodafone.... (I got the spelling right Tejas)


The Chutney mawa...


THE IMLI ... There i see people drooling already....




and that's the man who provides us with all of the above.... :)


Laxmi's Special Chai... (ext 117)


and thats my chai buddy... Aanchu


Neha's famous Dabba with the Kutte Ka biscuit and some yummy chiwda....


And thats fair enough... Shall I say... Ishan Mehta with his beloved Phone... U sure u talk to gals only na... and not the fone itself...


Now thats... Rakesh.... and his gang... and Our famous chai ka glass....


SMS URMI to 54646 to get info about her... :) The only person who thinks "OUR" jokes are funny and vice versa... and then theres Deepa...


Niiirruuuuu and my partner in the 'SRK' crime....


Janta


Rashmi, Reshma... Dipesh....

What a Journey it has been.... :) some good memories and some bad ones... Will miss all of it....

Miles to go before I sleep!

In the corporate world, farewell mails are commonplace. It is customery to thank your peers/team/ bosses and leave on a nostalgic and cordial note. Who knows, you may have to work with them sooner than you think. People who you have spent 10 hours of your weekdays gone out for dinner with, make their way out of your life with calculated ease. The push of the 'send' button and poof, all obligations are put to rest.
However, every now and then, some people come along and strike chords and stay connected with, not as a social obligation. and they are the ones i am going to miss the most...

In a few days it will be my last day at work and It will be time for the expected farewell mail to reach people's inbox,and most have a fair idea of its content and intentions. However, since a few days I find myself sitting motionless, staring at my monitor, and at a complete loss for words, even actions sometimes with the way nostalgia and leaving jitters have clouded me.
Creating Hungama with a certain set of people somehow didn't just strike a chord, it strummed one hell of a sequence, and I know I want to stay connected to them for times unending and years to come.

Neha Sabherwal - I still owe her dinner
For being the person you are- straightforwardly enigmatic, and for being the leader and friend you have been - simply brilliant!
You will always hold a special place in my heart for inspiring me to pull up my socks take action and start off all over again. For all the constructive criticism, for the uncomplicated friendship, for god-knows-how-many-books-dinners-and-colaba-causeway-sprees, for the appropriately timed messages, for those frog eyed dirty looks (forever etched in my mind), for taking punctuation to a whole new level… Of course, none of this changes the fact that I still owe YOU dinner!!! Hehe…

When I saw her blog about me that evening I was touched, and since then, there have had a million things I have wanted to tell her... and as everyone knows I am mostly at a loss of expression... so Here it is.... Thank You...
- for being there for me
- for being witness to my fall (literally)
- for being there everytime i have to get my swollen right feet moving (even though it meant taking my hand and dragging me, exchanging footwear for my comfort.....)
- for calling me KHUBU, after which everyone now calls me that in office... :)
- for having started to blog again
- for teaching me how to be a child at one minute and a demanding leader in the next
- for making work something to look forward to
- for showing me an intesnsity unknown for people she loves, for her hometown, for a mere tree - witness to her childhood woes and wants.... and of course, ...
- for finishing my dabbas, poking the hell out me, to reminding me how many things i have promised her we'd do together
- for massaging my legs right in the middle of the office when i am in pain
- for making me see clear and so many things unsaid and unheard. :) Thank you Nia... Owe you!

Kabootar... Ja Ja Ja... a.k.a. Priyanka Kadam
One comes across so many people in an organisation, You hate some and you love some... My initial Hungama Days when i had come across Kabootar... I had been apprehensive and hesitant about getting to know her... Dont know why... maybe because of her straightforwadness which has always been dipped in sarcasm and meaness.... :) or maybe it was just me...

Anyways... Time flew and not the Kabootar... She stayed and has become one of the most cherished friends I have made here... and with whom i have shared a million taxi rides, so much gossip, so many stupid jokes, which only both of us find funny...

Fun, Masti, Coffee, Laughs, Stupid sms conversations, antakshari on sms, being mean to each other yet loving it ... loads of , sometimes intelligent conversations, my microwave buddy, my corn stealer and just so many things... :-( ...Kabootar Do miss me... Drink all the appys you can in my memory... but leave the chotus for me... they need to grow... and they have so much to learn in life before they can be devoured... I have seen her grow from the person i first knew to what she is today... Dont change... Keep in touch and as you would say... If you miss me you will fly down to meet me... Will keep a look out for you in the skies...

Priyanka ki baat ki aur Rakesh na yaad aaye... yeh badi na insafi hai...

Rakesh - My Constant Irritation
He just needs a reason to irritate me... Who is going to fight for my paani ka bottle from now on.. Who will pretend to slip every time he comes to my desk... Who will comment on the food i get... Who is going to talk about me with the Cabbies.... Who will scream "Bachao" out of a cab only for no one to hear him?

Who? ........

Thank you for teaching me how to play pool... and telling me that "its all about the attitude" :) and these days i see all you guys following me... You play with the "Red" ball and not the white one.... (remember)

.... and No I am not going to give you a treat at Dominos... nor ever will i get you pepsi... :) and I know Hungama will be never the same for you without me.... :-)

Praggy Baby - Idea actually changed her life.
Pragya Sharma... My partner in crime when it comes to torturing Nia... We've had such good times together... had so many "bitching" sessions together in the pantry... yes Prags... you actually have become negative... thats what this place has done to you... :) but dont worry its for our good...

Look up to her for her knowledge of the industry, her initations and innovativeness at work even though she refuses to give herself the credit... That reminds me we have to work on ur CV... :)

Health freak, except when it comes to cakes... Praggy actually lusts after cakes... :) and can actually fight for it and have it tooo... The one person who deserves and is worth so much more that what she is getting right now... praggy keep in touch or will not give you any cake on my farewell :)

Some-sher Khan --- Humesha Moje mein rehta hai....
This stupid kid at Bollywood Hungama is one guy who actually stands on my head for work to get done... cracks the most silliest jokes possible, expecting everyone to laugh... has made a new friend in Mitali... and has told me a million filmy stories...

My partner in crime for making fun of people in office... for coming up the most stupidest comments and conversations ever.... and laughing our hearts out at them... Wish him good luck and load of success...

These are hard times. I will be leaving Friends and these last few days with them has been, apart from the inevitable nostalgia exercise, an eye-opener. These are guys I’ve looked up to in many ways (though I know they’ve also looked up to me in others - blogging, you see, isn’t the only Mutual Admiration forum!) - partly because they always seemed much surer about career direction than I was.

It was hard to call it quits. It was a long time coming, overdue, but still it's sad to leave something I've contributed to for more than a year. It was someplace, where I actually enjoyed. But like all relationships, people grow and change, and eventually it will be time to leave as I have miles to go before i sleep... miles to go before i sleep...

Woe-man

Ok seemed to have forgotten to publish this post.... Its quite an old one... which i recently discovered in my drafts :) nevertheless.... Take a read!

Sometimes, I hate being a woman for... the obvious reasons listed below.

Bleeding: Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. There is nothing redeeming about leaking blood for 4 days in a row. And yet, worrying about having irregular periods - a constant questions on my child-bearing chances.
* Cramping: thats not too much of a problem i face... but i see other around me... holding stomach... doing the ohh.. and aahs...cramps that make them want to kill themselves. The debilitating stomach ache combined with the crippling back ache - ah! Ooh and Ouches
* WAXING & THREADING: #$%&**#$%^&****#$%^Need I say more?
* PMS: One minute we’re happy, the next we’re suicidal. This is the one time I feel sorry for everyone around me. As women we have some idea of what it’s like to go through this pendulum of emotions, but as a man this must be the strangest, most unfathomable phenomenon!Wait!

Why the **** am I feeling sorry for men? They just have to watch us go through this, not actually feel the crap we feel while we’re PMSing. And I’m not even going to touch upon the social and culturals inequities that are thrust upon our gender.

Why this rant? I don’t know. Maybe I’m PMSing.

Au Revoir - Two Double-O Seven

This has been one hell of an eventful year. Well What do I say...I've been one hell of a busy girl.

And to think that in one of our I'm-so-bored-what-about-you conversations, someone had told me that what I really need, is to do something drastic. Like get married. And get divorced the next day!!! he he he... U wish! :-)

Right.

Life doesn't come with an instruction book. Which is particularly unfair because life's tough. And while this has been said many zillion times before, we don't really give a thought of whats been happening in each chapter of our autobipgraphy...

Anyway, here's What I learnt in 2007.

I write better than I think I do.
People actually read what I write. And enjoy it.
Every single person in the industry will have a different opinion on your work. You need to acknowledge that (but not accept it as the final call) and move on.
I really have no idea what I'm capable of doing, until suddenly I've gone and done it. This scares the pants or should i say salwars off me.
It's best to embrace your feminine side and say, "kolhapuri Chappals? Hell yeah!
You have to be very careful of what you wish for because the man up above (God for the ignorant) loves loopholes.

In my case, this realisation has just about entered my conscious.... 2 years too late.

If you're even half the person you make yourself out to be, people will like you anyway.
Life goes on. One year onto the next.... with just the celebrations at the end to keep you company...

Well! All I can say is... Buh Bye 2007 ... it was great to have Known u...

Aapan Yala Pahelat ka?

Have you seen this person?

She was last seen blogging around this blog and has not been heard of for some days now. All we found is this picture. Help us tracing the whereabouts of this soul as we know how important it is for all you reading right now that she keeps blogging for your entertainment! (attempt to murder with stares, pinches and god alone knows what not!)

Here is a rundown of some of her distinct features... for you to help unearth her....

1. Most of the days she wakes up late having forgotten to set the alarm the previous night and is seen or say unseen by her family whizzing in and out of doors.
2. Grooms herself in record time and knowingly ignores those small unidentified stains on her outfit.
3. Reaches 30 minutes late to work and hopes no one notices, blames it all on her "insomnia" phenomenon.
4. Gets caught in dusty winds passing through her cab windows all the time and ends up looking like an electrocuted cat. (Rakesh are you reading?)
5. Gets kicked around for not informing, forgetting or rather unintentionally slipping people out of her mind... afterwhich shes showered with superlative filled messages and comments.
6. Smiles through clenched teeth (still looking cute) when ma calls to remind her of the evening wedding reception and that shes to dress up since shes the eligible in town. Oh Man... Y Y Y... the woes of being in your late 20s...
7. Falls on her feet and thanks God for giving her some releavant topic to write for her blog and sighs, thinks of her exercise and diet routine and a ballooning back with a much deeper sigh.
   

We are currently trying to dig her out of her boredom and get her to finish some of the posts that she has been accumulating on a notepad along with her growing pile of unwanted clothes at home which threatenes to flow out of her door and cause a tsunami into the coridoor.
Meanwhile keep her in your thoughts and wish her speedy recovery onto this blog.

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag - Surf Excel Hain Na!

See cobwebs? Smell mothballs? ... I am a little confused here – What was Pradeep Sarkar thinking? Why go back to the tried, tested and often shredded subject of the fallen women... It's a leave-your-brain-home-and-don’t-ask-too-many-questions genre.

One daag may have happened as a form of exploitation in Rani's life but that doesn't mean you have to stain the whole chunari with daags :-) Laaga Chunaari.... does nothing but reinforce stereotypes that millions of Hindi movies like Chandni Bar, Astitva and Page 3 have made an attemp to break and had hoped to have left behind in the Eighties.

Frankly speaking, Its the bygone days that this used to work... Laaga.... is just not daagi enough, as I would have liked it to be. Go watch it for just one reason... Konkona Sen Sharma and Kunal kapoor.... Don't miss the sizzle between the two... :-) Nevertheless, What we can definately do is.... wash away this Daag with a spoonful of Surf Excel... kyunki Daag Ache Hote

Traffic kare Behaal

Footpaths or mud tracks… Deep Ditches or overflowing gutters... nothing stops the Mumbaites from taking the route that would make sure he gets to his destination at least a minute early. At an impatient traffic signal, pizza and death delivery boys fidget with their helmets, cabbies glancing at the mirrors just to get a peek at his fares, drumming fingers and necks straining to see ahead, to find an inch of space where a two or a four wheeler can squeeze itself. Blaring horns, cursing voices (Chal be...Dikhta nahi kya?) and a girl in a cab will add, “Oh Bhaiya... Sambhal ke"

Then, a great initiative will change all — a clean entry spot, deft manouveurs, driving along hawkers, pedestrians and double parked cars, will get someone right in front of the cars, autos, trucks, buses and slow-witted bikes. Not to worry, the traffic cop won’t chase him. After all, it’s nothing out of the ordinary… for him or for the cop :-) Plus, as our brave traffic spartan leads at least 15 other someones would’ve followed suit. Yes. Even if there’s a maddening jam on the road, traffic flows freely in these roadless by-lanes. —“Adjustment” at it’s best.

It seems as if all the world comes together, bursting at its seams with people, Vegetable Bhaiyas, cauliflower stalks, beggars, flower sellers, wadapav walas, ricksaw smoking beedis, marwadi pan shops, parked Santros and Carts… BEST buses trying to get to the bus-stops where people have queued up to get atleast one foot inside, artisans waiting with their tools for someone to give them a call,newspapers trying their best to draw attention to whats going on in and around them, all just wanting one common thing - a desperate need to squeeze into that wee bit of space we proudly and Oh so lovingly call Mumbai.

Windmills of your mind

Pictures hanging in a hallway
And the fragment of a song
Half-remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over
You were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the colour of her hair
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
- Dusty Springfield

This song always reminds me of all that I've lost, and all that I may have found. Things. Clothes, Books, People, Scribbles - and I had many. To the memories I've spun, to lots of laughter and conversations, to friendship and love...It takes a loss to unlock memories. But now there are only echoes of symphonies. This week has been mostly Blank. The enormity of stories around, of experiences and so much more. Time to absorb, to formulate responses. Sigh! Such a long journey, but still have miles and miles and miles, thousands of them, everywhere I turn

Distances... Within!

I came across this article on a friend's blog and was amazed at what it said.... because it said what I want to... so naturally... so precisely... as if its me whos written it... It says all that my heart does ... so i though i would post it here... as i cant find another perfect way...

It's an article by Ms. Shipra Shrivastava on an HT tabloid site i visited after catching this on someone elses blog...

Oh this long distance love!

"It is very well said that "distances grow fondness among people". It indeed creates fondness but takes a toll of emotions, efforts, time, energy and many times tears to keep it going. I might sound like a 'guru' of relationships but no; I am myself a victim and member of the Long Distance Club.

I guess people are right when they say that men are from mars and women are from Venus. 'We' are so different in every way. Apart from being different biologically, we are different to a great extent in the way we think. Something which holds great importance for me might just be a normal issue for my boyfriend.

And of course, dare I disturb him when he is at work. "I am busy. I have work. We will talk when I get back home" This is the response I get. But these things are quite a normal feature and easy to handle when you stay in the same city, meet everyday and can always explain things and make up for it if something goes wrong. But what happens when you are trying to measure the relationship across thousands and thousand miles on the globe?

And how can I forget the time factor? I mean why do we have different time zones? It's like when one is free to talk, the other one would be snoring and vice versa. When I call my boyfriend and ask him to come online, he is either sleeping, or at gym, or at work and ultimately either I stay awake till morning waiting for him.... What pain!

With the advent of technology and the conversion of the world into a small global village, we find it quite easier to contact people through emails and chat programs.... Email might sound as a substitute for phone calls but it is surely not. The tone, language and intensions can be often misinterpreted and infact that's exactly what happens. But then being a little diplomatic on emails is much better than being answerable for looong phone bills. And phones? What can I say for them? The time you call, you are more worried about keeping the phone down thinking about the huge amount of tariff on international calls and at the same time you end up discontented and unhappy for not being able to express what you really wanted to.

There are surely times when one starts remembering all the good moments spent together and the next thing is you pick up your phone and start dialing. But what if your boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't answer? You call again? Again he/she doesn't answer? Here is when our minds start going on a wild goose chase. Has he run away? Has he started dating someone else? He must be with a girl, that's why he is not taking my call and so on and so forth. And in the end, one ends up being unhappy and upset. I call these MUS - "Missing U Syndrome"

To sum it up in one word, Trust is an important thing in any relationship but it is the "most" important thing in long distance relationship. It is like a stone on which the relationship rests. It can make thousands of miles seem like just a phone call away.

A huge list of things including phone calls, letters, cards, gifts, sweet messages, voicemails, SMS, emails, chats and so on are needed to keep a long distance relationship alive and kicking. And one should always remember, Distance is not the end of the world in a relationship. Rather at many times it's the beginning and a strong one. How? Well, I said in the beginning, "Distances grow fondness among people". And trust me…it surely does!!!"

Fairy Tales...Really?

Books lie scattered. A glass of water teeters on the edges of The Maximum City that lies close by waiting to be read. I pace. I sit back to write. Everything is hazy except the space filled with words. Words arranged a certain way, words that want to say specific things but I don't seem to get the arrangement right. Voices of people jostle for space in my head.

Today words seem wild, unmanageable. Theres this vehement need to restrain them and I love this feeling. This absorption of the body, mind and soul while creating - the restlessness outside and the stillness deep inside me.

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and of course not to forget Cinderella - I believed in those fairy tales. They promise us a world that is not! As we grow up and get into the real world, we have our innocence kicked out of us everyday. In my case, what little was left, I was holding onto it for dear life But Alas! Now No More....

Experiences of people around me has started troubling me. Can you love and hate someone at the same time? Can you wish someone out of your life, while knowing you'd be the first one to miss them if they were gone? Why does life take such sudden turns and Why are you stranded at such a crossroad all alone?

Don't you sometimes wish that people could read your mind? That you didn't have to say, they just knew? That you didn't always have to ask, they would just say what you wanted to hear. I've been feeling like that for the last few days. And then I realized how futile it is and It's just hard to snap out of it.

STILL, I can't shake those tales off. Damn them! Everything I've seen in the movies, sung or swooned over in books is turning out to be baloney. My romance with life seems to have come to an end and I feel like somehow I am supposed to realise it and shake it off…But something inside me just doesnt let me... just tells me that it'll fly by. And my smile might just reach my eyes again.

I think I just want what everyone wants, something real, that I can't corrupt with my pessimism. And I want to share these moments with somebody and have them feel it too. But where's my joy? Right now somewhere faraway…. I Guess! :-(

Chak De!

No musical numbers, No people jumping into any song and dance (terrified of these after the 'Cash' debacle) and for once no romantic angle... 'Chak De India' was a breath of much needed fresh air. In fact it’s a tried and tested path, but, in it, is such a different film.

This is one film that celebrates women power!!! Right from the Haryana ki laundi Komal Chautala to the Rowdy Punjab di puttar Kaur... What was more interesting was the reaction of the crowd to the movie. Take note of the the male bashing scene at McD's... could practically see almost every women in the theatre jumping out of their seats in celebration.

One of the reviews I read said "Chak De! India now running across the US is a commentary on sexism in India"... But is it that really? Rather, the film acknowledges that it is harder for women to choose to play any sport in India, at the same time, Women needn’t be given an easier way out because of the sacrifices or the stereotypes they have represented.

There’s so much I felt while watching the movie. No women discussing clothes, Women with filthy mouths, rough,competitive and in control. These girls are not ficitonal figures. They are touching reminders that one of them might be living right in our own backyard. You don’t relate to the film just because you are a woman. Most the guys I saw the movie with, appreciated the movie because there’s a certain rawness to the whole movie.

For once everyone took an instant liking to the King of Bollywood - He has his fair share of critics (me being one of them) but... this time... underplayed with finesse, Kabir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan become one and the same.

It’s a feel-good movie with some great new actors and a terrific turnaround by a well established star. See it! It has an inspiring message behind it, without being too preachy.

This is a film about team spirit in its truest sense. Just that we need that spirit to fight and speaking of the fighting spirit... the adrenaline rush that the movie evokes led apna Sid and a manikchand chewing family wale uncle to punches...with a prompt "tujhe toh mein bahar dekhta hu" which added the much needed spice to the whole experience... Chak De Sid!