After a wonderfully refreshing two and a half weeks trip down to a lot of places by car/bike, I'm back. Lots and lots of fun, innumerable massages, heaps of soaking up the sun by the pool / beach, very good food / drinks, books and music by the side, other company at times - I'm back. Can't possibly cram all the experience in one article so the next few ones will just be the fun times I had...
11.01.2006
10.01.2006
Invest for a Better Tomorrow
The benefits of working in an organisation harping all the while about capital markets, asset management, transfer agencies and mortgage services rub on to ye whether ye like it or not. The 3 year stint has educated me a little about the stock market, risk, debt instruments, IPOs et al. Words which earlier were guaranteed to elicit a big yawn. Now the antennae starts twitching when someone mentions share price, NIFTY, Bengali sex duh I mean Sensex...So a few thoughts towards investment and early planning for everyone. To be able to enjoy those idyllic lounges when ye are old and want to ogle at the beauties on the beach in Malta or Hawaii. Or want to go on that hugo world trip with yer loved one..
In today's world with falling interest rates, fixed deposits and other schemes are no longer attractive for the investor who wants quicker returns on his investments and is willing to take calculated risks. The stock market certainly provides the depth and opportunity and is open for everyone worth his salt to have a go. Successful investing is the key goal and should be followed by all and sundry especially today's youth who are earning at ten times the pace of their fore fathers but not investing a tenth as much. For those interested in investing in equity, here are a few key notes. Mark my words this is not the entire symphony but following it could very well make it so
1 - Start as early as ye can - The sooner ye invest, the more yer money will have time to grow.
2 - Keep some liquid cash aside - It is always a good idea to spare some cash aside in a deposit account in case of emergencies. Enough to cover 3-4 months expenses is always a good guide to how much ye need. There may be many reasons ye might need yer money at short notice e.g. medical, the big purchase, taking a holiday etc
3 - Ask yerself how much stomach ye have for risk - It doesn't make sense investing in equity if yer stomach will lurch at the slightest dip in the sensex. Investing in equity requires staying power and the capacity to hold on through the ups and downs. An Investment Advisor might help ye decide yer capacity for risk
4 - Always remember that inflation will nibble away into yer savings - Returns on risk free cash investments sounds impressive, but when ye subtract the current rate of inflation, the impression will go for a toss. Ye need to make yer money work harder for ye.
5 - Think carefully about the length of time of yer investment - Take a shot at the stock market if ye are prepared to put yer money away for a decent period of time i.e. 5 to 10 years or longer. If ye are likely to need yer money any sooner, keep it in a lower risk investment so the chances of fall in value are minimized.
6 - Spread yer butter over the bread - Its not a good idea to invest all yer money in one type of investment. Depending on yer goals and appetite for risk, ye will probably want to spread yer money over different types of investment - equities, bond, cash and so on. Ye will also want to diversify within each of these categories.
7 - Invest regularly - Investing regularly can be a great way to build a lump sum (remember the piggy bank in yer yesteryears?). Ye will also benefit from what is known as rupee cost averaging i.e. if ye are investing in a mutual fund, over the years ye will pay the average price for units. If the market goes up, the units ye already own will increase in value. If it goes down, yer next payment will buy more units.
8 - Choose yer funds carefully - Select investments on the basis of yer personal goals. If ye are deciding on a mutual fund to invest in, don't opt for the one that is advertised the most unless ye are sure it will be right for yer needs in the coming years. Look at the details of what a fund invests in and check if ye are comfortable with its investment style and objectives.
9 - Time is the key to successful investing - It is tempting to wait for the market to reach a low point before investing in the same. But how will ye know when this happens? Ye run the risk of missing out on the significant rises that often occur in the early days of an upward trend. It is always better to choose an investment that ye feel confident about and take a long term view, so that ye have time to ride any ups and downs.
10 - Review yer investments - yer investments need to adapt to changes in yer life such as getting married, having kids or starting a new business. A portfolio that is right for ye at one point in life may not be so a few years down the line. It always makes sense to check that the funds in yer portfolio are living up to yer expectations.
Lastly, when making yer investment decisions, choose a partner ye can trust - a company with a clean reputation for providing consistent returns to its investors. Its very similar to marriage. The first step can very well be the last.
In today's world with falling interest rates, fixed deposits and other schemes are no longer attractive for the investor who wants quicker returns on his investments and is willing to take calculated risks. The stock market certainly provides the depth and opportunity and is open for everyone worth his salt to have a go. Successful investing is the key goal and should be followed by all and sundry especially today's youth who are earning at ten times the pace of their fore fathers but not investing a tenth as much. For those interested in investing in equity, here are a few key notes. Mark my words this is not the entire symphony but following it could very well make it so
1 - Start as early as ye can - The sooner ye invest, the more yer money will have time to grow.
2 - Keep some liquid cash aside - It is always a good idea to spare some cash aside in a deposit account in case of emergencies. Enough to cover 3-4 months expenses is always a good guide to how much ye need. There may be many reasons ye might need yer money at short notice e.g. medical, the big purchase, taking a holiday etc
3 - Ask yerself how much stomach ye have for risk - It doesn't make sense investing in equity if yer stomach will lurch at the slightest dip in the sensex. Investing in equity requires staying power and the capacity to hold on through the ups and downs. An Investment Advisor might help ye decide yer capacity for risk
4 - Always remember that inflation will nibble away into yer savings - Returns on risk free cash investments sounds impressive, but when ye subtract the current rate of inflation, the impression will go for a toss. Ye need to make yer money work harder for ye.
5 - Think carefully about the length of time of yer investment - Take a shot at the stock market if ye are prepared to put yer money away for a decent period of time i.e. 5 to 10 years or longer. If ye are likely to need yer money any sooner, keep it in a lower risk investment so the chances of fall in value are minimized.
6 - Spread yer butter over the bread - Its not a good idea to invest all yer money in one type of investment. Depending on yer goals and appetite for risk, ye will probably want to spread yer money over different types of investment - equities, bond, cash and so on. Ye will also want to diversify within each of these categories.
7 - Invest regularly - Investing regularly can be a great way to build a lump sum (remember the piggy bank in yer yesteryears?). Ye will also benefit from what is known as rupee cost averaging i.e. if ye are investing in a mutual fund, over the years ye will pay the average price for units. If the market goes up, the units ye already own will increase in value. If it goes down, yer next payment will buy more units.
8 - Choose yer funds carefully - Select investments on the basis of yer personal goals. If ye are deciding on a mutual fund to invest in, don't opt for the one that is advertised the most unless ye are sure it will be right for yer needs in the coming years. Look at the details of what a fund invests in and check if ye are comfortable with its investment style and objectives.
9 - Time is the key to successful investing - It is tempting to wait for the market to reach a low point before investing in the same. But how will ye know when this happens? Ye run the risk of missing out on the significant rises that often occur in the early days of an upward trend. It is always better to choose an investment that ye feel confident about and take a long term view, so that ye have time to ride any ups and downs.
10 - Review yer investments - yer investments need to adapt to changes in yer life such as getting married, having kids or starting a new business. A portfolio that is right for ye at one point in life may not be so a few years down the line. It always makes sense to check that the funds in yer portfolio are living up to yer expectations.
Lastly, when making yer investment decisions, choose a partner ye can trust - a company with a clean reputation for providing consistent returns to its investors. Its very similar to marriage. The first step can very well be the last.
P.S. - (Am in a think mode on this Sunday afternoon. All the above is tedious but there's no avoiding it. Next think mode is next year methinx..)
9.25.2006
The Silent Touch
In moi previous post on fav music, Ejaz mentioned he would like to know moi fav instrumentals. It's difficult to categorize. It would be pure injustice to attempt to do so. Or maybe I am not exposed to such a breadth. Either way:
1 - "Le Pasteur" by Gabriel Grovlez - A brilliant haunting piece. I happened to listen to it on a foggy day in London at a acquaintance's house. We have become close friends since.
2 - "La Mer" by Claude Debussy - It enthralled me even at the age of 12. A kid who had no idea of classic music. But mebbe the taste :)
3 - "The Goldberg Variations" by Bach - I hear this when I am alone. When I need some quiet. And some peace. And a caress on moi sweaty brow.
4 - "The Pomp and Circumstance Marches" - It's just different.
5 - "Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor" by Rachmininov - Masterful. No other way to describe it.
Like I mentioned, it's difficult to stop at 5 but stop I must. A few from the movies are worth a listen too:
1 - "Gladiator" - Hans Zimmer has done a great job in the entire album. I particularly liked "Sorrow".
2 - "Scent of a Woman" by Thomas Newman. Who can forget the backdrop?
Okay, Ejaz?
1 - "Le Pasteur" by Gabriel Grovlez - A brilliant haunting piece. I happened to listen to it on a foggy day in London at a acquaintance's house. We have become close friends since.
2 - "La Mer" by Claude Debussy - It enthralled me even at the age of 12. A kid who had no idea of classic music. But mebbe the taste :)
3 - "The Goldberg Variations" by Bach - I hear this when I am alone. When I need some quiet. And some peace. And a caress on moi sweaty brow.
4 - "The Pomp and Circumstance Marches" - It's just different.
5 - "Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor" by Rachmininov - Masterful. No other way to describe it.
Like I mentioned, it's difficult to stop at 5 but stop I must. A few from the movies are worth a listen too:
1 - "Gladiator" - Hans Zimmer has done a great job in the entire album. I particularly liked "Sorrow".
2 - "Scent of a Woman" by Thomas Newman. Who can forget the backdrop?
Okay, Ejaz?
9.19.2006
Laffter - The Nutter
We are all living in a very insane, pathetic world. If we do not laugh and enjoy the small, minute pleasures of life soon we will be drowned in the whole mess . Laughter is a value, a blessing to me. Don't get serious. Laff your heart out. Laff your life out. All the jokes below carry a message. So when I say laff, you know what I mean. Take everything with a pinch of salt. Laffter eases a lawt of pain, negative feelings, cleanses the soul..at least for me. So here's something on for chappies who want to..let loose. Don't hold nuthin' back..
9.10.2006
Sequel To...
Minneapolis:
After blowing a lot of smoke up moi client's ass and a nagging tooth+ear ache for constant company, I took the return to India from Minneapolis. Moi flight was at 3 in the noon so I could be at the airport by 12.30 and no problemo, right? Wrong. The toothearache had really taken me on different journeys and not allowed me to even sleep for more than an hour any of those nights. And like a friend in need, the ache drifted me off to sleep in my hotel room at 11 am with no signs of any ache to be woken by the telephone, "Sir, have you cleared your room?" I was about to snap when I realised it was 1:15 P.M. Apologies to him followed by curses at me I managed to reach in record time to the check in counter by 1.50 only to encounter a long queue and adamant airline staff..Best behavior, earnest pleadings and an I love America tee-shirt worn for good measure earned me the right to board and I finally plonked in moi seat..Phew!! Thinking the worst was over..
Enters pregnant Carmela with a baby of indeterminate age all alone with eyes suspiciously zeroing on to the seat number above my adjoining seat..I closed my eyes, prayed briefly and opened them after what seemed like eternity to be greeted by a neon light..well her perfect enamels actually. That should have warned me of what was to follow. A big smile, baby on the seat and an attractive lady (protruding stomach et al) with a nice rump trying to put the luggage on the racks..A gentleman has no option but to get up and help.
Introductions followed and we settled in. I guessed she'd spruced up before boarding the flight. I smelled a little eu de something over the smells of baby powder and warm milk. Unnecessary details ensued, "That is Art junior all of eleven months, Sheena two and half years at home, thank God and I have one in the oven." She really needed to do something about those pregnancies. Idle chatter about Art junior moved on to his Dad et al.
Drinks arrived. I clinked my scotch to her coke and made the first faux passé,” You look good" to have her return the fire,” Was that disability for blindness?"
I managed a smile, "Naw, I mean it."
I did my best with periodic yeah and Oh to future nonstop Italian accented commentary about her family and pretended to close moi eyes. It worked. Sing Halleluiah..
I awoke suddenly to a lot of jostling and sound of "What's the matter with moi cutie?” Junior started screaming his lungs out even more and Carmela did some detective work and said,"Oh, poor baby did a poopie" Was that a reason to scream? I mean, if I crapped moi pants I'd be real quiet about it. Carmela snagged the Pampers and took him to the loo for a de-poop. Leaving me wide in the wake and irritable.
Later.
Moi faux passé number two after two rounds of scotch,"That’s a cute kid".
"You want him?" She really was a snap. I smiled.
Food arrived in some time and I was gorging on the chicken when Carmela ventured, “Have some of moi veggies."
"So Joe asks his mother over for lunch, and she's eating and says,” Joe, I don't like your friends". And he says,” Well, then, just eat the veggies".
Silence for uno momento and then,” That’s disgusting".
Yesss..Score read two to the Italians and one India (rising). I poured the Scotch over ice and sipped. And smacked moi lips, "Ahh!! Veggies taste real good with scotch, I've heard." She looked like she wanted to give me an ice-water enema.
Again a losing try for some sleep to be shattered by incessant crying from the next seat. She wound up a small toy which played an "It's a beautiful world".
From her, "Little boy loves the music”. After a couple of decades, this kid was going to become a serial killer who hummed "It's a beautiful world" as he garroted his victims. I played with the toddler while she had an urgent run to the loo. As the only two nerds on the plane awake for various reasons mentioned above and seated next to each other, we were destined to drift into conversation to kill time. I asked, "Er..Carmela, are ye Italian? "Yes, Carmela Mancuso". Things were pretty mucho normal as far as you could say.
Her first faux passé, "Do you like Italian food?"
“Naw..I hate Italian food. In fact only two good things have ever come out of Italy.
A pregnant pause and arched eyebrows awaited the punchline.
“And both belonged to Sophia Loren.” That got me a fcuk off kind of look. My goodness. Score read two each. And I eased off for sanity’s sake.
After some time she said, "Ye know ye are funny. And speak very good English. For an Indian." I had a slight feeling she was jerking moi chain along with the olive.
So I needled again, “So what was the place you came from originally"?
"Italy”
“And how long have you been in US?”
“Ten years.”
“You like it in US?”
“Sure. Who doesn't?”
“Well, moi cousin for instance is always bad mouthing America. She wants to move to U.K.”
“I have an uncle in U.K..”
“No kidding? Anybody's left in Italy?”
A smile from her and that was end of round three. We both called in quits & reined in our artillery.
I don't even want to mention the number of times I translated English into chaste Hindi to assuage her curiosity. As the flight circled around the airport, she asked, “I noticed you didn't sleep at all during the flight"..Grrr..I mumbled," I have a tooth and ear ache”. As if that was the only cause. We deplaned in some time, caught our luggage when she suddenly leaned over and gave me a long & tight hug, Mumbled something like "Thanks for the good company. I really appreciate it. Sometimes the hormones go crazy during pregnancy and with the child, it gets unbearable. You are a warm man in spite of being a smart ass. Have a great flight". A wave of her hand and she was gone. I had nothing to say. So I did just that. Said nothing.
After blowing a lot of smoke up moi client's ass and a nagging tooth+ear ache for constant company, I took the return to India from Minneapolis. Moi flight was at 3 in the noon so I could be at the airport by 12.30 and no problemo, right? Wrong. The toothearache had really taken me on different journeys and not allowed me to even sleep for more than an hour any of those nights. And like a friend in need, the ache drifted me off to sleep in my hotel room at 11 am with no signs of any ache to be woken by the telephone, "Sir, have you cleared your room?" I was about to snap when I realised it was 1:15 P.M. Apologies to him followed by curses at me I managed to reach in record time to the check in counter by 1.50 only to encounter a long queue and adamant airline staff..Best behavior, earnest pleadings and an I love America tee-shirt worn for good measure earned me the right to board and I finally plonked in moi seat..Phew!! Thinking the worst was over..
Enters pregnant Carmela with a baby of indeterminate age all alone with eyes suspiciously zeroing on to the seat number above my adjoining seat..I closed my eyes, prayed briefly and opened them after what seemed like eternity to be greeted by a neon light..well her perfect enamels actually. That should have warned me of what was to follow. A big smile, baby on the seat and an attractive lady (protruding stomach et al) with a nice rump trying to put the luggage on the racks..A gentleman has no option but to get up and help.
Introductions followed and we settled in. I guessed she'd spruced up before boarding the flight. I smelled a little eu de something over the smells of baby powder and warm milk. Unnecessary details ensued, "That is Art junior all of eleven months, Sheena two and half years at home, thank God and I have one in the oven." She really needed to do something about those pregnancies. Idle chatter about Art junior moved on to his Dad et al.
Drinks arrived. I clinked my scotch to her coke and made the first faux passé,” You look good" to have her return the fire,” Was that disability for blindness?"
I managed a smile, "Naw, I mean it."
I did my best with periodic yeah and Oh to future nonstop Italian accented commentary about her family and pretended to close moi eyes. It worked. Sing Halleluiah..
I awoke suddenly to a lot of jostling and sound of "What's the matter with moi cutie?” Junior started screaming his lungs out even more and Carmela did some detective work and said,"Oh, poor baby did a poopie" Was that a reason to scream? I mean, if I crapped moi pants I'd be real quiet about it. Carmela snagged the Pampers and took him to the loo for a de-poop. Leaving me wide in the wake and irritable.
Later.
Moi faux passé number two after two rounds of scotch,"That’s a cute kid".
"You want him?" She really was a snap. I smiled.
Food arrived in some time and I was gorging on the chicken when Carmela ventured, “Have some of moi veggies."
"So Joe asks his mother over for lunch, and she's eating and says,” Joe, I don't like your friends". And he says,” Well, then, just eat the veggies".
Silence for uno momento and then,” That’s disgusting".
Yesss..Score read two to the Italians and one India (rising). I poured the Scotch over ice and sipped. And smacked moi lips, "Ahh!! Veggies taste real good with scotch, I've heard." She looked like she wanted to give me an ice-water enema.
Again a losing try for some sleep to be shattered by incessant crying from the next seat. She wound up a small toy which played an "It's a beautiful world".
From her, "Little boy loves the music”. After a couple of decades, this kid was going to become a serial killer who hummed "It's a beautiful world" as he garroted his victims. I played with the toddler while she had an urgent run to the loo. As the only two nerds on the plane awake for various reasons mentioned above and seated next to each other, we were destined to drift into conversation to kill time. I asked, "Er..Carmela, are ye Italian? "Yes, Carmela Mancuso". Things were pretty mucho normal as far as you could say.
Her first faux passé, "Do you like Italian food?"
“Naw..I hate Italian food. In fact only two good things have ever come out of Italy.
A pregnant pause and arched eyebrows awaited the punchline.
“And both belonged to Sophia Loren.” That got me a fcuk off kind of look. My goodness. Score read two each. And I eased off for sanity’s sake.
After some time she said, "Ye know ye are funny. And speak very good English. For an Indian." I had a slight feeling she was jerking moi chain along with the olive.
So I needled again, “So what was the place you came from originally"?
"Italy”
“And how long have you been in US?”
“Ten years.”
“You like it in US?”
“Sure. Who doesn't?”
“Well, moi cousin for instance is always bad mouthing America. She wants to move to U.K.”
“I have an uncle in U.K..”
“No kidding? Anybody's left in Italy?”
A smile from her and that was end of round three. We both called in quits & reined in our artillery.
I don't even want to mention the number of times I translated English into chaste Hindi to assuage her curiosity. As the flight circled around the airport, she asked, “I noticed you didn't sleep at all during the flight"..Grrr..I mumbled," I have a tooth and ear ache”. As if that was the only cause. We deplaned in some time, caught our luggage when she suddenly leaned over and gave me a long & tight hug, Mumbled something like "Thanks for the good company. I really appreciate it. Sometimes the hormones go crazy during pregnancy and with the child, it gets unbearable. You are a warm man in spite of being a smart ass. Have a great flight". A wave of her hand and she was gone. I had nothing to say. So I did just that. Said nothing.
8.30.2006
Picked this from Prmod's "strange,very strange"
Rules of the tag: No Indian, Icelandic or Japanese music. No instrumentals. All information valid through the last couple of week, hence not much thought, and all rankings/lists liable to change without notice or fanfare.
My Top Five Most Heard Songs of the past few weeks:
1 - Vincent - Don Mclean
2 - Love Song for a Vampire - Annie Lennox
3 - Prime Time - Alan Parsons Project
4 - Master Blaster - Stevie Wonder
5 - License to kill - Gladys Knight
Top Five Feel Good/Cheer me up/Anti Depressant Songs that I can think of:
1 - What does it matter - Molly Hatchet
2 - Space Station - Montrose
3 - How about that - Bad Company
4 - Why go - Pearl Jam
5 - Slave to love - Bryan Ferry
Top Five feel like shit/Life sucks/Ultra-Depressing songs of the moment:
1 - Leaving on a jet plane - Chantal Kreviazuk
2 - Jealous Guy - John Lennon (This is a all time depresso awesome song)
3 - Burn - Tina Arena (love it)
4 - Have you ever needed someone so bad - Def Leppard
5 - Black - Pearl Jam
Five funniest songs in living memory:
1 - Don't marry her (fuck me) - Beautiful South
2 - Shut up and sleep with me - Sin with Sebastian
3 - I wanna fcuk you in the (__o__) - Outhere Brothers (This was crazy)
4 - Dur dur detre baby - Jordy (love it)
5 - All songs by Wierd Al Yankovic
Top Five Chick Songs as of now:
1 - When you're gone - The Cranberries
2 - I'm not giving you up - Gloria Estefan
3 - I'll be okay - Amanda Marshall
4 - Rocking back inside my heart - Julee Cruise
5 - Love thy will be done - Martika
Top Five Romantic Songs I can remember:
1 - I prefer the moonlight - Kenny Rogers
2 - Save the last dance for me - The Drifters
3 - Time to say goodbye - Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli
4 - Stop - Sam Brown
5 - Mountain o things - Tracy Chapman
Top five Songs with the Coolest Names:
1 - Borrowed time - John Lennon
2 - Reel in the flickering light - Christy Moore
3 - Debra - Beck
4 - Ya Yo Gakk - Steve Vai
5 - Carnival of light - The Beatles
Top Five Awesomest Cover versions on my current Most Played:
Don't like cover versions
Feel free to tag yerself and let me know..
Rules of the tag: No Indian, Icelandic or Japanese music. No instrumentals. All information valid through the last couple of week, hence not much thought, and all rankings/lists liable to change without notice or fanfare.
My Top Five Most Heard Songs of the past few weeks:
1 - Vincent - Don Mclean
2 - Love Song for a Vampire - Annie Lennox
3 - Prime Time - Alan Parsons Project
4 - Master Blaster - Stevie Wonder
5 - License to kill - Gladys Knight
Top Five Feel Good/Cheer me up/Anti Depressant Songs that I can think of:
1 - What does it matter - Molly Hatchet
2 - Space Station - Montrose
3 - How about that - Bad Company
4 - Why go - Pearl Jam
5 - Slave to love - Bryan Ferry
Top Five feel like shit/Life sucks/Ultra-Depressing songs of the moment:
1 - Leaving on a jet plane - Chantal Kreviazuk
2 - Jealous Guy - John Lennon (This is a all time depresso awesome song)
3 - Burn - Tina Arena (love it)
4 - Have you ever needed someone so bad - Def Leppard
5 - Black - Pearl Jam
Five funniest songs in living memory:
1 - Don't marry her (fuck me) - Beautiful South
2 - Shut up and sleep with me - Sin with Sebastian
3 - I wanna fcuk you in the (__o__) - Outhere Brothers (This was crazy)
4 - Dur dur detre baby - Jordy (love it)
5 - All songs by Wierd Al Yankovic
Top Five Chick Songs as of now:
1 - When you're gone - The Cranberries
2 - I'm not giving you up - Gloria Estefan
3 - I'll be okay - Amanda Marshall
4 - Rocking back inside my heart - Julee Cruise
5 - Love thy will be done - Martika
Top Five Romantic Songs I can remember:
1 - I prefer the moonlight - Kenny Rogers
2 - Save the last dance for me - The Drifters
3 - Time to say goodbye - Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli
4 - Stop - Sam Brown
5 - Mountain o things - Tracy Chapman
Top five Songs with the Coolest Names:
1 - Borrowed time - John Lennon
2 - Reel in the flickering light - Christy Moore
3 - Debra - Beck
4 - Ya Yo Gakk - Steve Vai
5 - Carnival of light - The Beatles
Top Five Awesomest Cover versions on my current Most Played:
Don't like cover versions
Feel free to tag yerself and let me know..
The elderly couple walked into my office and announced that they had not gotten along for about fifty years and they wanted a divorce. They looked as if they were around ninety - so I said to them, 'Excuse me for asking, but why have you waited so long to seek a divorce?' And the old gentleman replied, 'We were waiting for the children to die.'
7.27.2006
I don't know whether the combination of a toothache and earache brings the beast out in a person but for me it worked slightly different. The medicines didnt work and I had a pounding in moi ear and tooth as I stood dutifully in the NWA queue to check in for the flight. The NWA dude was ready with the checklist in his hands firing away his top 20 idiotic questions for which I was in no mood.
Questions & Answers went like this:
Q: "What is your purpose of travel?
A: Business
Q: "How long are you planning to stay?"
A: 4 days
Q: Who are you visiting?
A: (me losing patience) A client
Q: What is the name of the client?
A: I don't have to answer that.
NWA is irritated (a leetle).
Q: From the time you packed the baggage, has it been out of sight?
A: (pretends to think a leetle - takes a minute actually) - Umm, yes. Once when I went to the loo in moi house.
NWA is visibly perturbed. Tries his stern stare.
Q: Are you carrying anything sharp, pointed or anything that is dangerous and prohibited?
A: None of those but moi hands are registered as lethal weapons
At this, NWA stops. Is in a quandary at what to do. Confused and pissed at the same time. I hear a stifled laff from the lady behind me. I give her a conspiratory wink.
NWA waves me on. I am free to wander. A pitstop at the bar. The rates are depressing. Are we in depression?? I move on to the trinket/book/shawl/etc shop. Pick Thomas Harris. I could read that guy again and again.
A tiny replica of an auto-rickshaw grabs moi full attention. 400 bucks. I let out a minor expletive. The girl attending to the shop asks me,"Is everything okay?" Would you like to buy anything? I gruffly bark, "Just the book, thanks!!"
I fill the immigration form and move towards customs. Moi brass balls don't set the metal detector off. I am finally free methinx. But it's not to be. Yet another swarm of NWA bees is standing at the last frontier with their questions. A nice looking girl alleviates the tooth ache a little. Shoots:
Q: Did anyone give you anything at the airport after you entered it?
A: Just a kiss. And..a pause..Er.. the boarding pass.
Giggles. Waves me on. By now, moi patience has worn thin and I am ready to crash in moi seat. I remember reading in the 9th standard about Gavaskar batting for the whole day with the toothache. The takeoff lends a new dimension to the earache and I am screaming in moi mind for the hostess to bring in the scotch. 15 minutes later, 2 pegs down, I am down and out.
The encounter with yakkety yak Americano on the flight back in similar condition is in the next post..
Questions & Answers went like this:
Q: "What is your purpose of travel?
A: Business
Q: "How long are you planning to stay?"
A: 4 days
Q: Who are you visiting?
A: (me losing patience) A client
Q: What is the name of the client?
A: I don't have to answer that.
NWA is irritated (a leetle).
Q: From the time you packed the baggage, has it been out of sight?
A: (pretends to think a leetle - takes a minute actually) - Umm, yes. Once when I went to the loo in moi house.
NWA is visibly perturbed. Tries his stern stare.
Q: Are you carrying anything sharp, pointed or anything that is dangerous and prohibited?
A: None of those but moi hands are registered as lethal weapons
At this, NWA stops. Is in a quandary at what to do. Confused and pissed at the same time. I hear a stifled laff from the lady behind me. I give her a conspiratory wink.
NWA waves me on. I am free to wander. A pitstop at the bar. The rates are depressing. Are we in depression?? I move on to the trinket/book/shawl/etc shop. Pick Thomas Harris. I could read that guy again and again.
A tiny replica of an auto-rickshaw grabs moi full attention. 400 bucks. I let out a minor expletive. The girl attending to the shop asks me,"Is everything okay?" Would you like to buy anything? I gruffly bark, "Just the book, thanks!!"
I fill the immigration form and move towards customs. Moi brass balls don't set the metal detector off. I am finally free methinx. But it's not to be. Yet another swarm of NWA bees is standing at the last frontier with their questions. A nice looking girl alleviates the tooth ache a little. Shoots:
Q: Did anyone give you anything at the airport after you entered it?
A: Just a kiss. And..a pause..Er.. the boarding pass.
Giggles. Waves me on. By now, moi patience has worn thin and I am ready to crash in moi seat. I remember reading in the 9th standard about Gavaskar batting for the whole day with the toothache. The takeoff lends a new dimension to the earache and I am screaming in moi mind for the hostess to bring in the scotch. 15 minutes later, 2 pegs down, I am down and out.
The encounter with yakkety yak Americano on the flight back in similar condition is in the next post..
7.20.2006
7.13.2006
Mumbai Stands Tall
The recent bombing brought these lines to moi mind as I witnessed the chaos that struck Mumbai.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
-- William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming"
The show must go on. Mumbai stands tall amidst the mayhem and destruction. Salaam Mumbai.
6.28.2006
Awareness - The Last Sin
I keep reading a lot of articles on renunciation being used by all and sundry all over the place. I need to say moi whole pound on this for one and not bother about the tuppence. I say rejoice in everything. Enjoy every moment to the maximum and live life kingsize every minute whether you are walking, sleeping, partying, leching, scratching -- everything!! Transform the mundane into something beautiful. And then indirectly, a certain renunciation starts happening in a subtle way. It cannot be done on purpose. It's a happening. You start renouncing rubbish. Foolishness. Meaningless relationships.
Jobs and work that are not fulfilling to the being. Acts where growth is not possible. And you don't do it shouting at the top of your roof. It happens on its own. Drops off is a better way to describe it. Renunciation sounds like a negative word. Awareness is a better term methinx.I visit so many blogs and find a common thread running through most of them. Everyone is pondering about the meaning of life, relationships, spewing frustration and anger at not finding the answers. Why are so many people going astray? Why can't they walk straight? Why are so many people trapped in bypaths? Everything seems so confusing. No clarity, no preceptiveness. Everyone is trying to dissect the past and predict the future. Life has to be lived brutally every moment as if it's the last moment of your life. Unless a total effort is brought into every moment, transformation is not going to take place. There is no point in being lukewarm. Lukewarm efforts towards anything are bound to fail. Transformation happens only when we put our entire energy into it. When you are boiling at a hundred degree centigrade, then you evaporate. An alchemy takes place. Then you start rising up.
A young man with a fine voice is asked to take part in a pageant play, though he tries to beg off, saying he always gets embarrassed under such circumstances. He is assured it will be very simple, and he will have only one line to say: "I come to snatch a kiss, and dart into the fray. Hark! I hear a pistol shot" and then stride offstage.
At the performance he comes onstage, embarrassed already by the tight fitting colonial knee breeches he has been made to put on at the last moment, and becomes completely unstrung at the sight of the beautiful heroine lying back on a garden seat awaiting him, in a white gown. HE clears his throat and announces," I come to kiss your snatch --no!--snatch a kiss, and dart into the dray -- I mean, fart into the gray! Hark! -- I hear a shistol pot -- no! -- a shostil pit, a pistil shit. Oh, batshit, ratshit, shit on you all! I never wanted to be in this damned play in the first place!"
We need to silence our mind. It is perfectly utilitarian in the daily life but we need to be in control to switch it off when not required. I was amazed at the plethora of thoughts that used to inundate moi mind at any given point of time. If you want to check yourself, do one exercise. Be completely true to yourself and lock yourself in a room for ten minutes with a pen and a piece of paper. And write whatever comes to your mind on that piece of paper. And read the same after some time. You will not recognize yourself. You will be surprised at the amount of crap that is generated every minute. We need to bring a silence in us. In our mind and body.
It makes life much more beautiful. It makes you aware of every small happening around you. I don't think I have reached anywhere but I can definitely say I am in a much better state of being than what I was some time ago. Sometimes the switch works and sometimes it doesn't. But progress has been made. Through meditation.
On a parting note:
A man went into a tailor's show and saw a man hanging by one arm from the center of the ceiling.
"What is he doing there?" the man asked the tailor.
"Oh, pay no attention," said the tailor, "he thinks he's a lightbulb."
"Well, why don't you tell him he's not?" asked the startled customer.
"What!" replied the tailor. "And work in the dark?"
Don't laugh. It could be you :)
6.19.2006
It's Time to Get a Little Conscious
A woman committed suicide by jumping off a ten storey building onto the sidewalk. She was lying naked on her back when a priest came over and put his hat over the woman's vagina.
A drunk passing by seeing the woman and the hat exclaimed,"The first thing we have got to do is get that guy out of there!"
6.08.2006
The Last Tag
Now this is the end of moi tag quota (floated by Blabbergob) before I post some articles which are long due. Some experiences which hopefully I do justice to with moi expressions. One to do with the two week break and another - an epilogue to The Package.
Some of moi singular traits:
1 - I never backspace on moi writing and emails. Once I start writing or typing, the backspace & delete key vanishes unless I am being scored for my work.
2 - I can guess people's personality better by their writing than by their speech i.e. I am a poor judge of people in person :). Judging by the past, moi accuracy has been close to 95%. Sometimes, writing has revealed some startling facts, otherwise not obvious.
3 - I am totally at ease with moi body.
4 - They say curiosity killed the cat but mine has nine lives. The mysterious holds a special attraction for me be it occult, black magic, voodoo, meditation, astronomy et al. Eleven years back, I attended a black magic convention held on the outskirts of Pune with someone who practiced it. And wonder of wonders, I was allowed to witness some events which would be impossible to believe unless seen personally & Which of course cant be made public on the blog. Gurdjieff says we attract forces according to our being. Maybe there is some truth in that statement. I have had a myriad of eclectic experiences with strange people. I love mysteries, new experiences and have this incurable desire to experience the same.
5 - I sometimes lie for no reason. Nothing serious. E.g. I might say I went to the laundry when I might have actually been at the gym. Trivial questions are a bane sometimes.
6 - I can't swim over water. I can only swim underwater like a frog. No matter how much I have tried, its a wall.
Hmm, now to ask someone to mention the unthinkables.
Cocaine Jesus
Devil's advocate
A little read book
Cherrypicker
Elucidations
Blow
Simple instructions:
What you need to do:
1) post a blog with six weird facts about you
2) tag 6 people at the end of ur post...victimize them unawares and pass the buck
3) post a comment in their blogs letting them know that they’ve been tagged and ask them to visit your blog for info.
Some of moi singular traits:
1 - I never backspace on moi writing and emails. Once I start writing or typing, the backspace & delete key vanishes unless I am being scored for my work.
2 - I can guess people's personality better by their writing than by their speech i.e. I am a poor judge of people in person :). Judging by the past, moi accuracy has been close to 95%. Sometimes, writing has revealed some startling facts, otherwise not obvious.
3 - I am totally at ease with moi body.
4 - They say curiosity killed the cat but mine has nine lives. The mysterious holds a special attraction for me be it occult, black magic, voodoo, meditation, astronomy et al. Eleven years back, I attended a black magic convention held on the outskirts of Pune with someone who practiced it. And wonder of wonders, I was allowed to witness some events which would be impossible to believe unless seen personally & Which of course cant be made public on the blog. Gurdjieff says we attract forces according to our being. Maybe there is some truth in that statement. I have had a myriad of eclectic experiences with strange people. I love mysteries, new experiences and have this incurable desire to experience the same.
5 - I sometimes lie for no reason. Nothing serious. E.g. I might say I went to the laundry when I might have actually been at the gym. Trivial questions are a bane sometimes.
6 - I can't swim over water. I can only swim underwater like a frog. No matter how much I have tried, its a wall.
Hmm, now to ask someone to mention the unthinkables.
Cocaine Jesus
Devil's advocate
A little read book
Cherrypicker
Elucidations
Blow
Simple instructions:
What you need to do:
1) post a blog with six weird facts about you
2) tag 6 people at the end of ur post...victimize them unawares and pass the buck
3) post a comment in their blogs letting them know that they’ve been tagged and ask them to visit your blog for info.
6.07.2006
The Purrfect Lover
Blow tagged me on a tough one. Rules of the tag are:
1. Come up with 8 different points of your perfect lover.
2. Mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game and leave a comment on their comments saying they’ve been tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there’s no need to post again.
Moi perfect lover? Mmm!! Reminds me of that quote "I spent a lifetime searching for that perfect woman, but when I found her, I found she was searching for her perfect man" or something like that. Still, since wishes are horses here, I will ride:
1 - A creature of gay abandon. Literally.
2 - A little mysterious. Someone who opens the Bible of her life in the initial warm-up phases is a big turn-off. As it is, I don't care about the past,be it mine or yours.
3 - Has at least a couple of funny bones. Not just understand jokes but crack 'em too.
4 - Passionate about her ideals and sensitive to what surrounds her
5 - Loves books, music and travel (in any order).
6 - A little coy :)
7 - Understands silence.
8 - A coco-nut.
Umm, now the 3rd rule of this game. You are tagged:
Blue Athena
I Write U Read
Blabbergob (Sorry about this :D )
River's Blue Elephants
The Lazy Shall Inherit The Earth
Chakraviyuh
A Slice of Me
Random Musings of An Innocent Bystander (Your blogname had me in splits)
1. Come up with 8 different points of your perfect lover.
2. Mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game and leave a comment on their comments saying they’ve been tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there’s no need to post again.
Moi perfect lover? Mmm!! Reminds me of that quote "I spent a lifetime searching for that perfect woman, but when I found her, I found she was searching for her perfect man" or something like that. Still, since wishes are horses here, I will ride:
1 - A creature of gay abandon. Literally.
2 - A little mysterious. Someone who opens the Bible of her life in the initial warm-up phases is a big turn-off. As it is, I don't care about the past,be it mine or yours.
3 - Has at least a couple of funny bones. Not just understand jokes but crack 'em too.
4 - Passionate about her ideals and sensitive to what surrounds her
5 - Loves books, music and travel (in any order).
6 - A little coy :)
7 - Understands silence.
8 - A coco-nut.
Umm, now the 3rd rule of this game. You are tagged:
Blue Athena
I Write U Read
Blabbergob (Sorry about this :D )
River's Blue Elephants
The Lazy Shall Inherit The Earth
Chakraviyuh
A Slice of Me
Random Musings of An Innocent Bystander (Your blogname had me in splits)
6.05.2006
The Hundred Yard Tag
Picked this from Karmic's den.). I have to reply to Blow and Sujay's tag but since this takes max 5 minutes...Blow, yers is next (required a long think) and Sujay - I wonder if I should make moi oddity public..Musing but will take a shot.
(X) smoked a cigarette
( ) crashed a friend's car
(X) stolen a car (me and a friend did it to learn driving when we were 13)
(X) been in love
( ) been dumped (It's not fun, but my self preservations instincts are strong so...)
(X) shoplifted (Once..)
( ) been fired
(X) been in a fist fight (Abhor violence but once in it, give it moi all)
(X) snuck out of your parent's house
(X) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back (who hasn't?)
(X) gone on a blind date
(X) lied to a friend
(X) skipped school (Lotsa times in moi last two years at secondary)
(X) seen someone die (Hmm)
(X) had a crush on one of your Internet friends (Well..gryn)
( ) been to Canada (Not yet but hopefully this year sometime)
( ) been to Mexico
(X) been on a plane
(X) eaten sushi
( ) been skiing-snow or water
(X) met someone from the Internet (Of course!! Karmic, if ye ever come to Mumbai, holler)
(X) been at a concert
(X) taken painkillers
(X) love someone or miss someone right now (Breathe in love, breathe out love all the time)
(X) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
( ) made a snow angel
( ) had a tea party (Ewww!! Booze party?)
(X) flown a kite (As a kid, fun filled indeed!)
(x) built a sand castle
(X) gone puddle jumping
(X) played dress up
(X) jumped into a pile of leaves
( ) gone sledding
(X) cheated while playing a game (Haha!! Lots of times as a kid. It's fun especially if no one knows)
(X) been lonely
(X) fallen asleep at work/schoo
( ) used a fake ID (Nopes. Somehow don't attest to it)
(X) watched the sun set
(X) felt an earthquake (As a kid ages ago, still remember it vividly we lived on the 4th floor,not fun)
(X) slept beneath the stars
(X) been tickled
(X) been robbed (Yes. Caught the fella but ended up giving a fifty seeing his pathetic state)
(X) been misunderstood
(X) pet a reindeer/goat/kangaroo
(X) won a contest
(X) run a red light/stop sign (Am from India)
(X) been suspended from school
( ) been in a car crash (Am really careful with machines)
( ) had braces
(X) felt like an outcast/third person
( ) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(X) had deja vu (Lotsa times)
(X) danced in the moonlight (Er! In the nude too by the river after skinny dipping)
(X) liked the way you looked
( ) witnessed a crime
(X) questioned your heart
( ) been obsessed with post-it notes
(X) squished mud through your bare feet
(X) been lost
(x) been on the opposite side of the country
(X) swam in the ocean (Floated is more like it)
(X) felt like dying
( ) cried yourself to sleep
(X) played cops and robbers
(X) recently colored with crayons
(X) sang karaoke (Oh yes!! Love it)
(X) paid for a meal with only coins (Still do)
(X) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) made prank phone calls (Still do. Love it)
( ) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) danced in the rain
( ) written a letter to Santa Claus Does writing it as Santa count?
( ) been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) watched the sun rise with someone you care about (Now this I haven't so far but hopefully sometime)
(X) blown bubbles
(X) made a bonfire on the beach
( ) crashed a party (No way!!)
( ) gone roller skating
(X) had a wish come true (So many times)
(X) jumped off a bridge (4 feet bridge counts? :p)
( ) ate dog/cat food
( ) told a complete stranger you loved them
( ) kissed a mirror
(X) sang in the shower
(X) had a dream that you married someone (:o Ye meant nightmare eh?)
( ) glued your hand to something
( ) kissed a fish
( ) climbed a water tower
(X) screamed at the top of your lungs
( ) done a one-handed cartwheel
( ) talked on the phone for more than 5 hours (Are you nuts?)
(X) stayed up all night
( ) picked and ate an apple right off the tree (berries, guavas and lotsa fruits but no apples)
(X) climbed a tree
(X) had a tree house
( ) been too scared to watch a scary movie alone - Huh?
(X) believe in ghosts
( ) have more than 30 pairs of shoes
(X) worn a really ugly outfit to school (Moi uniform was ugly, hugly :p)
(X) gone streaking (That was some experience in Puri)
(X) gone doorbell ditching (Still do)
( ) been pushed into a pool/hot tub with all your clothes on
(X) told you're hot by a complete stranger (Wasn't sure whether she was lying ;) and didn't care when he did..grrr)
(X) broken a bone (not mine)
(X) been easily amused
(X) caught a fish then ate it (and crab too)
(X) caught a butterfly
(X) laughed so hard you cried
(X) cried so hard you laughed
(X) cheated on a test (How else do you clear all the years in school?)
(X) forgotten someone's name
( ) French braided someone's hair
(X) gone skinny dipping in a pool/hot tub/river (Best experience. And then drying moiself in the grass eating coconut malai)
(X) been threatened to be kicked out of your house or been kicked out of your house
(X) loved someone so much you would gladly die for THEM
( ) cheated on someone
( ) talk to yourself when noones around (it's a good pick me up and sounding board.:).)
( ) hate someone you once loved (Not possible. )
(X) love someone you once hated (Has happened)
If someone wants to take a shot - be moi guest..
(X) smoked a cigarette
( ) crashed a friend's car
(X) stolen a car (me and a friend did it to learn driving when we were 13)
(X) been in love
( ) been dumped (It's not fun, but my self preservations instincts are strong so...)
(X) shoplifted (Once..)
( ) been fired
(X) been in a fist fight (Abhor violence but once in it, give it moi all)
(X) snuck out of your parent's house
(X) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back (who hasn't?)
(X) gone on a blind date
(X) lied to a friend
(X) skipped school (Lotsa times in moi last two years at secondary)
(X) seen someone die (Hmm)
(X) had a crush on one of your Internet friends (Well..gryn)
( ) been to Canada (Not yet but hopefully this year sometime)
( ) been to Mexico
(X) been on a plane
(X) eaten sushi
( ) been skiing-snow or water
(X) met someone from the Internet (Of course!! Karmic, if ye ever come to Mumbai, holler)
(X) been at a concert
(X) taken painkillers
(X) love someone or miss someone right now (Breathe in love, breathe out love all the time)
(X) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
( ) made a snow angel
( ) had a tea party (Ewww!! Booze party?)
(X) flown a kite (As a kid, fun filled indeed!)
(x) built a sand castle
(X) gone puddle jumping
(X) played dress up
(X) jumped into a pile of leaves
( ) gone sledding
(X) cheated while playing a game (Haha!! Lots of times as a kid. It's fun especially if no one knows)
(X) been lonely
(X) fallen asleep at work/schoo
( ) used a fake ID (Nopes. Somehow don't attest to it)
(X) watched the sun set
(X) felt an earthquake (As a kid ages ago, still remember it vividly we lived on the 4th floor,not fun)
(X) slept beneath the stars
(X) been tickled
(X) been robbed (Yes. Caught the fella but ended up giving a fifty seeing his pathetic state)
(X) been misunderstood
(X) pet a reindeer/goat/kangaroo
(X) won a contest
(X) run a red light/stop sign (Am from India)
(X) been suspended from school
( ) been in a car crash (Am really careful with machines)
( ) had braces
(X) felt like an outcast/third person
( ) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(X) had deja vu (Lotsa times)
(X) danced in the moonlight (Er! In the nude too by the river after skinny dipping)
(X) liked the way you looked
( ) witnessed a crime
(X) questioned your heart
( ) been obsessed with post-it notes
(X) squished mud through your bare feet
(X) been lost
(x) been on the opposite side of the country
(X) swam in the ocean (Floated is more like it)
(X) felt like dying
( ) cried yourself to sleep
(X) played cops and robbers
(X) recently colored with crayons
(X) sang karaoke (Oh yes!! Love it)
(X) paid for a meal with only coins (Still do)
(X) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) made prank phone calls (Still do. Love it)
( ) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) danced in the rain
( ) written a letter to Santa Claus Does writing it as Santa count?
( ) been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) watched the sun rise with someone you care about (Now this I haven't so far but hopefully sometime)
(X) blown bubbles
(X) made a bonfire on the beach
( ) crashed a party (No way!!)
( ) gone roller skating
(X) had a wish come true (So many times)
(X) jumped off a bridge (4 feet bridge counts? :p)
( ) ate dog/cat food
( ) told a complete stranger you loved them
( ) kissed a mirror
(X) sang in the shower
(X) had a dream that you married someone (:o Ye meant nightmare eh?)
( ) glued your hand to something
( ) kissed a fish
( ) climbed a water tower
(X) screamed at the top of your lungs
( ) done a one-handed cartwheel
( ) talked on the phone for more than 5 hours (Are you nuts?)
(X) stayed up all night
( ) picked and ate an apple right off the tree (berries, guavas and lotsa fruits but no apples)
(X) climbed a tree
(X) had a tree house
( ) been too scared to watch a scary movie alone - Huh?
(X) believe in ghosts
( ) have more than 30 pairs of shoes
(X) worn a really ugly outfit to school (Moi uniform was ugly, hugly :p)
(X) gone streaking (That was some experience in Puri)
(X) gone doorbell ditching (Still do)
( ) been pushed into a pool/hot tub with all your clothes on
(X) told you're hot by a complete stranger (Wasn't sure whether she was lying ;) and didn't care when he did..grrr)
(X) broken a bone (not mine)
(X) been easily amused
(X) caught a fish then ate it (and crab too)
(X) caught a butterfly
(X) laughed so hard you cried
(X) cried so hard you laughed
(X) cheated on a test (How else do you clear all the years in school?)
(X) forgotten someone's name
( ) French braided someone's hair
(X) gone skinny dipping in a pool/hot tub/river (Best experience. And then drying moiself in the grass eating coconut malai)
(X) been threatened to be kicked out of your house or been kicked out of your house
(X) loved someone so much you would gladly die for THEM
( ) cheated on someone
( ) talk to yourself when noones around (it's a good pick me up and sounding board.:).)
( ) hate someone you once loved (Not possible. )
(X) love someone you once hated (Has happened)
If someone wants to take a shot - be moi guest..
5.11.2006
4.26.2006
MOST OF US LIVE OUT our lives in the world of time, in memories of the past and anticipation of the future. Only rarely do we touch the timeless dimension of the present - in moments of sudden beauty,or sudden danger,in meeting with a lover or with the surprise of the unexpected or utterly beautiful MUSIC. Music is something whose effect can't be ephemeral or the entire purpose is lost. If you listen to the modern day twangs, most of the sustainibility present in legends (like Pink Floyd, Madonna, Satriani, Dream Theater, Michael Jackson) is missing.
It happened one night. I was alone at home, sitting on the sofa unable to sleep. Restless. Trying to make sense of Basho. With Late Night Channel V on the idiot box when the song "Falling" began. The depth of her voice made my hair stand on end and I just closed my eyes to the sensation of the singer's voice floating around the hall surrounding me. I jabbed the sound volume to the max and surrendered to the voice. Totally unlike I had heard anyone else. Enjoyed the mist when I opened my eyes towards the end just so I could catch the song title and the singer's name before it faded away. Julee Cruise. Whose music I realised is unheard and unavailable in India. After a long, long search from the music stores to the bylanes of VT to meet the magician Razaq who had so far been able to procure any music for me at my whim. He turned his hands outwards in defeat finally and I had to then wait for a bitter two years for my first trip to US to be able to get the CD.
Julee Cruise is an artiste whose music is surreal. Her album "FLOATING INTO THE NIGHT" is an alchemy, a transformation that is not just verbal. Something different. Listening to her music is risky. Especially in the dead of the night in the sounds of silence. Just like listening to Pink Floyd is nothing less than death and rebirth.
Julee Cruise was capable of prodigious jumps not only beyond the accepted but also beyond the acceptable limits of today. I wonder why she is happy just living with her husband and two dogs in Manhattan. I wondered why didn't she create more music to the likes of "FLOATING INTO THE NIGHT". Maybe it was a complete circle for her. Maybe it's hard to improve upon perfection. Whatever it is - the lone CD lies securely nestled on my music shelf un-accessable to anyone but me. To be played undisturbed, alone and float into the night. Moi favourite song of the album:
Falling
Don`t let yourself be hurt this time
Don´t let yourself be hurt this time
Then I saw your face
Then I saw your smile
The sky is till blue
The clouds come and go
Yet something is different
Are we falling in love?
Don`t let yourself be hurt this time
Don`t let yourself be hurt this time
Then your kiss so soft
Then your touch so warm
The stars still shine bright
The mountains still high
Yet something is different
Are we falling in love?
Falling
Falling
Are we falling in love?
4.20.2006
4.16.2006
Art & Porn - The Thin Divide
Take Khajuraho for example. Ah visited Khajuraho sometime back. The vibes I received made even a art duffer like me wonder about the attraction of the place. The blatant display. It was beautiful. Made me wonder is there a dividing line between art and porn. Whether in Khajuraho or anywhere else in our daily lives. The innumerous paintings, movies, books etc being passed off as inspiration, epiphanies or acts of creativity. So I delved into Khajuraho deeper and deeper. Moi mind finally rested at this:
Superficially there is no difference. Khajuraho, Puri, Ajanta, Ellora -- they are full of erotic art, just like the contemporary erotic culture where the repressed sexuality of thousands of years has become such a burden that it has to be dropped. And suddenly a great erotic revolution has taken place. Pornography is nothing but erotic and obscene - in paintings, in films, in dances. They don’t create in you a longing for the beyond; they simply create in you more sensuality, more sexuality. But on the surface they look alike. And in India and in the outside world, they are being misunderstood.
After India became independent, Mahatma Gandhi proposed that all these sculptures, all these temples should be sunk into mud. They would not be destroyed, so if some foreign dignitary comes to see then you can clean it and show him -- just for special people. But for ordinary people they would be closed. Because Mahatma Gandhi thought in the same way as it is thought all over the world, that they are erotic, they are obscene. But there is a vast difference between the Eastern art in Ajanta, Ellora, Konark, Khajuraho and the modern erotic, pornographic photography, painting, music.
For e.g. there are thirty temples in Khajuraho. There were a hundred originally -- Muslims destroyed seventy temples, which are now ruins. One hundred temples must have been built in thousands of years by thousands of artists continuously working on stone - generation after generation may have died working on it. And they have created the most beautiful bodies in stone. In Khajuraho stone speaks, sings, dances; it is not dead. You can see that the artist has succeeded in transforming the stone into a living form. It looks so alive that any moment the statue may walk towards you and say," Hello". And hundreds of statues.. These statues were not to satisfy your repressed sexuality. On the contrary, they were used as a tantric method to release the suppressed sexuality just by meditating on these naked statues. The method was simply to sit there in silence - only a dim light reaches there, and hundreds of statues surround you. Just watching them, you will be surprised to find that many of these dreams have occurred to you, many are such that they have been condemned in every society -- sexual orgies, but they have happened in your dreams, they are part of your unconscious. And these places like Khajuraho were kinds of universities where people were coming to release, to cathart-repressed sexuality.
And all these statues are outside the temple. Inside the temple there is no erotic sculpture. In fact, inside most of the temples there is nothing- just silence, a cool peaceful milieu, with the vibes of thousands of years of people meditating there. The rule was that when you feel or your master feels that the erotic sculpture no longer affects you, that you are sitting there and nothing happens, it is as if the walls are empty- when you are absolutely sure that they don’t affect you - that is a signal: Now it is time, now you can go inside. Now the door for the inner is open. All that was rubbish has been dropped- cleanliness, weightlessness, and a silence, which is full of beauty and song... It is the greatest psychological method invented by the East.
What is happening today is simply pornographic, obscene. It does not help man to get rid of it, but simply gives a temporary relief. The pornographic literature, photography are all helping you stay normal, otherwise, you will go mad. So there is no harm done when one reads Playboy hidden inside a Bible or a Gita. What he is seeing in a porno magazine brings up his own unconscious. This was used as a meditation technique in Khajuraho. These days it is used to create more thirst for the same sexuality, which has been aroused by the porno magazine, by blue films, by naked dances and striptease. The same method was used to transform your energy into sexuality. These days, it is used to provoke more sexuality.
And then there is a kind of insatiation - almost all painting has gone pornographic, all the movies repeating almost the same stories, the same plot, the same triangle: two women, one man; or two men, one woman, a simple structure - the same story. What attracts people to it? It is not appreciation for literature. What attracts is that in the story - needed for the story or not needed - they go on putting your suppressed needs, desires. It is a kind of relief. But tomorrow you will be repressing again, and again you will need the same kind of photography, the same dance.This way you will never be able to enter into the temple.
Parting thought: I would definitely think of introducing kids with their untainted, unprejudiced and pure mind to the best forms of art and sculpture. Before adulteration and mindless manipulation hits their mind, they can learn to appreciate and approach beauty in its purest form. (I heard from the locals that a few tourists masturbate watching the statues. How grosse can the mind be?)
Khajuraho is well worth the trudge of the journey and the required organized effort. A place highly recommended to everyone. A must visit at least once in a lifetime.
4.13.2006
And Now For Some Zen
One day Mulla Nasrudin got lost in the jungle. The whole day he spent trying to find a way out, but he could not... He was tired, hungry, exhausted, bleeding, and his clothes were torn apart because the jungle was so thick and thorny.
It was getting darker, the sun was setting and the night was near.
The Mulla had not been attending the mosque and prayer lately, and feared his predicament might be a result of his neglect.
So he knelt down on the ground and he said, "Dear Lord, please help me find my way out of this jungle, and I will always worship you. I will start attending the mosque regularly. I will faithfully follow all the rituals of Islam. I promise you! Just save me. Forgive me. I apologize for my negligence. I was a fool, an utter fool!
Just at that moment a bird passed overhead and dropped something in his outspread hands.
He said "Please Lord, don't give me any of that shit. I'm really lost!"
Time and again Nasrudin passed from Persia to Greece on the back of a donkey. Each time he had two panniers of straw and passed back without them. Every time the guards searched him for contraband. But try as they might, they never found any. "What are you carrying, Nasrudin?" The guards would ask."I am a smuggler" Nasrudin would answer.Years later, more and more prosperous in his appearance. Nasrudin moved to Egypt. One of the customs men met him there. "Tell me, Mulla, now that you are out of the jurisdiction of Greece and Persia, living here in such luxury--what was it that you were smuggling when we could never catch you?" "Donkeys."