Random thoughts

Driving license

2011-07-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of things that you should know about the Driving on the Indian roads:

1. You find that...thank God!... your two/four wheeler is a "multi-terrain" (how else would you call the Indian roads then?) vehicle.

2. Your routine drive to the office becomes oh-so-much-fun! Makes you wonder if you have actually entered into a virtual racing game. Yeah! Got to be careful about people and cattle that suddenly appear in your path and - certainly... the potholes and road bumps. (if only you could get a real 360 degree view of earth then driving would really become a bit easier)

3. To keep you entertained, there are these jokers on bikes, who can really shake-it-all and do a disco in the middle of the road. (Mithun da may have introduced disco to Bollywood...these guys have brought it "on the road")

4. The Licensing authorities should consider including a Ph.D. in Mind-reading as a mandatory criteria..How else do you think that you could predict if the vehicle just in front of you is going to stop?, turn-left?, turn-right?, Now what??...

Finally, when you reach your destination, you can pat yourself on your back. Formula 1 racing may be real big deal, Driving on the Indian roads is the bigger deal. :-|

A three and a zero...in that order!

2011-01-05T05:11:00.000-08:00

You know that you are soon to hit that age (Dare I utter '3' and '0' together!), when...

Either you are already married

or Random people ask you (with authority) "When are you getting married" instead of "Hello, how do you do?"!

& You no longer belong to the Next Gen category

& You look like a wise old(?) fool(?!) among the just-crossed-twenty kids

& You 'fake' a yawn when you are just about to say something but have just decided against uttering (It might have sounded either too silly or too boring)

& One or two "grey" hairs (For God's sake!)

& You actually look funny when you are having fun!!! (Now, now...You can't jump around and do hi-fi's...can you?)

Disclaimer: This write-up is purely imaginary... based solely on observation!

Freeze!!! Who am I cheating? :-O

Please tell me I am wrong!

Charming kid

2010-11-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

I was at an orphanage once, distributing biscuits to the kids. That was when I saw this kid without both his hands. When his turn came, I offered a biscuit to him. Seeing that there was no way he could accept it with his hands, I brought it near his mouth. I was flabbergasted when he gave me a look that said "this is demeaning" and took it with his legs instead!

That was self-confidence, self-reliance and self-respect all rolled into one. Don't you think?

A cyber mural...

2010-11-10T05:45:00.000-08:00

Random thoughts from my heart
What do I say and where do I start?
sometimes bland, sometimes naught...
Call it bad, call it good
call it worthless, call it "Duh!"
thoughts are words,
words are posts.
Filling the bytes and bits
Of my own corner
on the walls of the cyberworld...

My word!

2010-11-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

1. Black hole

Wiki says-
A black hole is a region of space from which nothing, not even light, can escape. It is the result of the deformation of spacetime caused by a very compact mass. Around a black hole there is an undetectable surface which marks the point of no return, called an event horizon. It is called "black" because it absorbs all the light that hits it, reflecting nothing, just like a perfect black body in thermodynamics.

I say -
The place where an e-mail or call vanishes, never to be responded - A point of no "return". Keeping the sender/caller in complete wonderment. :-O

Synonym: DND

2. Serial killer

Wiki says-
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than thirty days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification.

I say-
All those mindless programmes (so-called) running on numerous television channels, for a period called "eternity". With "cooling off" periods called ad breaks in between. Motivation for killing is largely based on the TRPs translating into... (Do I have to spell it out?)

Synonym: Soap opera (certainly sounds better!)

3.Inertia of rest

Inertia of rest is the inherent property of a material body by virtue of which it continues in its state of rest until and unless no external unbalanced force compels it to move.

I say-

Inertia of rest is the characteristic of a person by which he/she remains at rest, until/unless some external force acts upon the body such as throwing a bucket of water on the person undergoing an inertia of rest...
(think lazy weekend mornings)

Synonym: Daydreaming

Happiness

2009-12-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

I stand on the shore,
Looking at the vast expanse of the sea.
Thinking about the times gone by...
Life changes and how!
There was a time,
when I would collect sea shells and build sand castles,
Holding my parents' hands, while the waves drenched our feet.
And then there was a time,
When my friends and I would play among the waves -
Running and shouting.
We had nothing to care for - beyond the day.
It makes me realize -
The happiest moments in life are those
we don't think beyond the present.
Life is in the 'now'-
Don't look any further ...

Tagged - Yet again!!!

2007-07-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

Pingu and Jamie have tagged me yet again!!!

Tag info - Describe what you are asked to do - in this case, publish the 5th paragraph of page 123 of the book you are currently reading. (If the page does not have a 5th paragraph, take the last paragraph. And if the book doesn’t have page 123, take the last page.)

I got a book as a birthday gift from Pingu and Jamz!!! I have finished reading it now. But, so what... I had always wanted to read this book but never got the opportunity to do so... I was really overjoyed when I unwrapped the gift to see... "Three men in a boat" by Jerome K Jerome! :)

My experience of reading the book-

It is a book about three young men (To say nothing of the dog!) embarking on a sea trip in a boat. The sort of men we would call "vetti" in our madras tamil parlance ;) It made a light read. This book has that sort of humor which sometimes makes you laugh out aloud and sometimes makes you smile. It was like watching those old tamil comedy movies with Nagesh, Cho & co... It was partly philosophical too...

Consider this statement uttered by George for instance -
"You know we are on a wrong track altogether. We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can't do without."

He says this when they realize that the list of things that they have made to be taken on the boat is not practical. Now relate this to the "complicated" life that we are leading... Well said! Isn't it?

It really made a wonderful read...

Now to quote the 5th paragraph of page 123 of the book -

"It must have been much like this when that foolish boy Henry VIII. was courting his little Anne. People in Buckinghamshire would have come upon them unexpectedly when they were mooning round Windsor and Wraysbury, and have exclaimed, "Oh! you here!" and Henry would have blushed and said, "Yes; he'd just come over to see a man;" and Anne would have said, "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! Isn't it funny? I've just met Mr. Henry VIII. in the lane, and he's going the same way I am."

This is a situation in which the author describes the "trying time" (as he says) he had while staying in a house where there are a courting couple... (Hehe...applicable to the beaches and parks where we are forced to look away from the couples having their private moments in a er... public place! Never mind! As they say - All the world loves a lover ;) )

The author claims that this book is based on real people and real events! Why don't you go grab a copy of this book, if you haven't read it till now. It's really worth spending your time and money. Or, are you waiting for someone to gift a copy on your b'day?? That's not a bad idea too. Worked for me ;)

Saturdays, Sundays and holidays

2007-07-14T00:28:00.000-07:00

"In pin, safety pin
In, pin, out
Out goes the safety pin,
In pin out!!!"

Remember those Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during your childhood? When the day would seem to be stretching forever... with nothing to do except play games with the neighborhood kids?(Of course, homework and assignments would be reserved for last minute rush...Poor parents ;))

I used to stay in a flat with lots of kids in the neighborhood. We used to play for the whole day on holidays...I also remember, when someone shouted "waitis" at the middle of a play, how we used to rush home to drink water and be back in a jiffy to continue playing. Some of the games we used to play were - Nondi, running and catching, card games, business, chain-cut, kalla-manna, "paati, paati mani yenna", paandi and hide and seek.

There used to be a nice aunty in the ground floor who would let us drink from the pot kept in her house. So nice of her, hai na? ( I have seen so many kids in my neighborhood now; being shooed of by "nice" uncles and aunties saying that they are making a lot of "noise"!???)

The youngest ones, who had not yet been "inducted" into our gang, would be made "OP" - meaning "Oppuku chappani". They were made the catchers in all the games we played that day...Poor things! ;)

Also, once we even conducted a cycle rally in our building...i.e. After school, we used to take our cycles of all sizes and makes (even those OP kids in tricycles were included) and would be going round and round the building till we got exhausted. Phew!

There were times when we played hide-and-seek and a group of people would gather in another place and start playing some other game!!! The poor catcher i.e. the unsuspecting OP kid would keep searching for us and then would get frustrated and go home.*

We used to hang on to every word the bigger kids used to say. They were the boss! One anna even made us believe that a dilapidated building nearby was spooked and we watched the bigger guys in awe as they went and "surveyed" the building...haha

The scorching heat of summer was never a deterrent even during the summer vacation. I used to spend my hols at my aunt's place with my cousins. We used to burst out like pop corns to rush out of the house and play... I learnt cycling and pallankuzhi from the friends that I made there.

Those were the days when kids used to rule the place where they lived!!! Sigh! I am getting nostalgic :(

*You can read a similar incident in the story called "Games at twilight" by Anita Desai.
**Please read "Games at twilight hours" and "Swami and friends" by RK Narayan, if you want to relive your childhood memories. :)

Got tagged...again! :)

2007-05-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

Pingu and Jamie tagged me. They make sure that I keep updating my blog either by trick(like tagging me) or t(h)reat(Read the comments section)...So, here's to both of them-

What makes me happy?

Doing the dishes after dinner for my mom and looking at her sweet smile and surprise on her face the next morning...

Watching whatever movie they show on DD1 on Saturdays/Sundays with my family...

Spending time with my close friends...

Returning home by office bus (with the radio blaring!!!) from office after a very hectic week on a Friday, happy about the fact that the next two days are going to be - a WEEKEND...

Looking at kids playing by the roadside...

Loafing around Chennai...

Rain...(rains that cause floods don't come under this list)

Star gazing with my binaculour!!!

Organizing a spur-of-the-moment get-together with my family at "mottai maadi" at night...

This isn't an exhaustive list at all. Will try to write a Part II someday. Now, now...Am I imagining things or is it true that Pingu and Jamie are really giggling and rolling their eyes at me?!!! I just said that I will "try"! ;)

I am tagging - Girish and Preethi

Kabhie alvidhaa naa kehnaa... Nope, not a movie review!!!

2007-04-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

"Andha naal nyabagam nenjiley vandhadhe, nanbane, nanbane, nanbane..."

Remember this song from a tamil movie? It was filmed on a situation when two old friends meet. The nostalgia and the longing for the past was brought out really well.

Hmmm...I guess it's possible to see such things only in the movies nowadays. It's an unspoken alvidhaa nowadays between friends who part ways due to some reason or the other.

Remember that friend of yours with whom you walked on the way home from school? Or that friend of yours with whom you used to trade your stamps and books? Or what about that girl who copied all those class notes for you when you were down with chicken pox?

Did you try to contact them? I did. Believe me, I was really disappointed. :(

I won't say this about all of them, but some have become strangers now! So much so, that when I tried to call up a very old, close friend of mine recently, after some 5-6 years, there wasn't even a trace of that much desired element called "surprise" in her voice!!! All my excitement fell from up-there to down-under, sploooosh!!!!

Some even act like zombies when they meet you after a long time. O comm'n! Even if it's a small world, there's no guarantee that we will bump into each other again.

Anyway, it's neither necessary nor is it possible to keep in touch with every person you meet in your lifetime. Atleast, try to "act" pleasantly surprised when, say, an old friend of yours takes pains to trace out your number and calls you up out-of-the-blue.

Kabhie alvidhaa naa kehna - to your friends and to those wonderful moments you spent with your friends... I promise - Indhanaalum andru pol inbamaga irukkum... ;)

Life is a game, play it!!!

2007-02-17T00:46:00.000-08:00

This is a song that I learnt when I was in school. Just read it!

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

-Mother Teresa

Appa...

2006-06-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

This is a tribute to a person who lives life to it's fullest sense and has so
much of hope that has seen him through the darkest hours of life - only to grow
stronger.

A person so dedicated, who gives his best to whatever he does. Someone who
has taught his children to think and dream big. To face troubles and challenges
head-on and not to run away from them. To be humane, caring and helpful
to others - not by words but being what he is and setting an example.

I feel proud to be his daughter. Someday, I hope he feels proud of me too...

Got tagged!!!

2006-05-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Anty tagged me...

Five people on my shit list
1. Selfish people
2. Cheaters
3. liars
4. Snobs
5. People with superiority complex

Close brush with death/danger:
When I was a kid,I tried to act smart and tried to cross the road all by myself and fell down right in the middle of a busy road and Tsunami ( Yeah my whole family was there at the beach on that fateful morning )...

5 preferable modes of suicide ( Me scared of death !!! )
1. 2. 3. 4. & 5. - Nil

Five guilty pleasures
1. Shopping like crazy
2. Getting up late in the morning
3. Watching late night movies
4. Having a crush
5. Passing comments on others

Five things I never want to forget
1. Childhood memories
2. KVAN
3. The day I got my first job
4. My first crush
5. Gratitude

Five loves of my life-
1.Family
2.My sis
3.Friends
4.Books
5.Good food

Strangest dream
I sometimes dream as if I am falling from the top of a hill...

Five most valued possessions
1. My poetry book
2. school/College Autograph books
3. b'day gifts
4. Computer
5. Mobile

Five favourite superheros
1. Superman
2. Shaktimaan
3.4.&5. -

People whom I want to tag to this chain of posts-
Jamie
Pingu
Girish
Preethi

The Last Leaf

2006-04-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Last Leaf
-O Henry

...
"I have something to tell you, white mouse," she said. "Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia to-day in the hospital. He was ill only two days. The janitor found him the morning of the first day in his room downstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through and icy cold. They couldn't imagine where he had been on such a dreadful night. And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been dragged from its place, and some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colors mixed on it, and - look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn't you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it's Behrman's masterpiece - he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell."

hmm...
I simply love this story.It's we who decide how to live our life and it's how we perceive things that matters the most. Isn't it?

YOU - The hero of your life...

2005-08-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

Not a VIP ,are you?
Not a nobody too,
for you are...YOU!

So what if you haven't been awarded the Nobel prize or an oscar...

The only most significant thing that you have done so far might be paying the tax or obeying the traffic rules properly.(O Yeah not everybody does that). But then, YOU are the hero of your life.

Just remember those little achievements of your's and the little good deeds you have done.Like watering the plants,consoling a friend,your graduation ceremony,how much important you are to your near-and-dear ones, the way you solved a particular problem and crossed a hurdle in your life and things like that.

Not everybody is destined to be a great person - influencing others' lives.Realize your worth.Nobody else can be you.For, YOU are the hero of your life.Celebrate being yourself!

:)

Living Fire

2005-07-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

As the clock ticks,
the candle melts,
giving light to the world around.
The candle may fade away someday,
but the light,
will remain.
The light starts with a spark
the spark leads to a fire -
A fire that diminishes the darkness.

Remember,the fire is in you...

A portrait that never was...

2005-07-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

As my brush strokes your image,
Your beauty stands unveiled.
I work out each bristle of my brush,
so as to present you,
a perfect beauty - unconquerable.

You are eccentric, set upon to
make a revolution on art.
As you pose with a great elegance,
I add a little touch
to those dazzling eyes.
To justify your beauty.

I am speechless,
immersed in your gorgeous looks.
There is something in every part of you,
that puts a spell
on the eyes that look upon.

You are a beauty - no wonder.
But that was ages ago.
Now that you are old,
the ornament that bedecked you once,
stands of no purpose to you.

As you view the horizon,
it seems as true to you as your portrait.
You know darkness has befallen you.
You accompany the stick.
As you walk,
You hum to yourself,
the songs written on you,
by the poets who were charmed
by that illusion - beauty.

I am your only companion now,
This is the bizarre truth-
I AM YOU.

P.S:

Poetry they say is a flow of imagination.I experienced this for the first time when I attempted writing a poem.I still remember the look Kavitha gave when I showed this particular poem to her!!! It was a look that said...this-stuff-is-good!!! It's because of her that I started giving it a serious try.I don't claim to be a good poetry writer.This was just a try...

(I am posting this coz of Jamuna and Kavitha or rather I am posting this "for" these two people are the only ones who can read the stuff I write and still remain alive...(hahahahaha...)

To my face...

2005-03-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

Everytime I see the mirror, I do't see what I want to see.A pimple here, a black head there...I am shocked,irritated,angry and perturbed by nameless feelings.Does this face fit into the land of beauty queens?Is this the result of months of toil?(Applying creams,gels and what-not)Why the hell do they advertise beauty products like they are the answers to your beauty problems?I feel jealousy hitting every nerve of mine when I see pretty faces looking at me with pity.(Poor thing,they seem to say,tut...tut...)Well,let all the pretty-faces-in-the-advertisements go to hell!
When I think and rethink,my face doesn't look that bad.Well,not bad at all!I seem to go on with my life pretty well without looking like a beauty queen,afterall...I decide to throw away all those tubes and bottles of magic-potions-promising-beauty into the rubbish bin.
As I gather all that stuff in a bag and proceed to throw them away,none other than Aishwarya Rai glares at me from the wallpaper in my room...Uh-oh...I shouldn't have made such a hasty decision!I longingly look at the beauty products like a four-year-old looks at chocolates and icecreams.I decide to put them back in their rightful place and I see get a nod-of-approval from all the Aishwaryas and Sushmitas of my country.
And...didn't someone say that smiling makes you look more beautiful?So,here I go smiling like a cheshire cat all the way to the beauty parlour for that long-forgotten appointment.
So if you can just excuse me...
:-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)...

A little hope

2005-01-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

I just had to write this coz I had this pent up inside me...

Life is really funny.Sometimes I just wonder about the purpose of life?And no...I am not a great philosopher nor am I trying to be...I am just this little speck of sand in the universe trying to understand whatz happening.
Let me tell you some of questions bothering my mind...

I have this kind of scary feeling whenever I think about myself...What am I?Who is God?If god created us...who created God...and who created that thing that created God...What is creation? and why is it that we should live...and by the way what is living???

I am sure there is someone sharing my feelings about life out there...

But I believe strongly in one thing...
Even if we dont know what life is and its purpose,there is one truly special gift that God(whatever or whoever!!!) has given us-Making others HAPPY and spreading hope.

A SMILE can brighten someone's day.

Spread HOPE and listen to a pained heart.

We may never know the purpose of life...for we have a limited power to think bound by something more powerful than us,let us live in the best possible way we know.

Hoping to have spread some hope,I end this page here.

"The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you. "

-Kahlil Gibran

In the evening of my life...

2005-01-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

This poem is the result of my thoughts about old age!!!I would just love to grow old...When you are old you can just sit and stare(I don't say that you have to,but I would love to...) at the world that's going on around you.Something which was unimaginable in your youth.A world without me?-not possible...you would have thought.
Well,that's how life is.You have to leave the stage (of life) and give way to the next generation.
And yes,you have to leave the stage just when you think you have understood something about life...That's how life goes about...

In the evening of my life,
I sit and stare at the world around me,
Like a wild flower with it's petals dry.
I can't believe that I was a part of a world-
so maddening and so crazy...
But now I am wise and old
that makes me worthier than a diamond
a few thousand years old.