It's run Forrest run at IIML...

Hmm...phew lemme take a breath before my fingers start to put my thoughts in black and white. That is how it is here at IIM (helL) you keep running to get things done. But, the list of pending items seems to keep expanding using some kind of nuclear division technique of asexual reproduction. Before you are done tending to the old ones there are new babies of work crying for your attention. Ah..how can you neglect them (you dare not !).

On a serious note, I think apart from the great peer group and a devoted faculty it is this continuous pressure of endless assignments, presentations, quizzes which develops people here. Everyone here learns to pursue interests and do things they are fond of despite this pressure, continuously trying to bog them down. This is the trick. Trying to squeeze time each day...plan, plan and plan more.

Another thing conspicuous here is passion for doing things. By passion it is not passion of words, it's passion in deeds. People want tangible and quantifiable proofs of anything and everything that one claims to like and do. This requires passion, to follow your heart when everything else is about to fall apart. It makes people ponder over what they really want ? what they really like ? But a downside of this that people may feel the need of developing passion per force. This may lead to some futile efforts, but failures can't really daunt us, can they ?

In the long run I think it is(will be) all great and the pain of late has started to give a pleasure. It is the bitter sweet experience of this fierce competition which will probably make the outside world look sweeter than it actually is.

Looking for the right mate !

I saw Ghajini recently(yes I had not seen it till now !).Kalpana is the female lead in Ghajini the Bollywood/Tollywood version of Memento.I don't understand why the directors and screenplay writers create such characters.

Asin (arguably she is gorgeous,and joins the innocent+mischevious looks league of Genelia and Ayesha Takia) is Kalpana. She is this unimaginable and indescribable combo of beauty and heart(with that combo one can manage w/o the brains :P).
Those scenes where she helps the kids at the museum and the blind man and when she sells her coveted car for Aamir's mother. I mean, these could win heart of the Satan himself. And to top it all, Asin what she herself is. I think all this is pretty unfair on the part of the creators of these characters.Do such people really exist ??

These movies and their surreal characters create an unrealistic experience (although that is what exactly their aim is), but the unseen effect of such storylines is that we have our dreamy teenagers and may be ty-agers as well. However hard we may try and keep ourselves pragmatic. But, it is difficult to not fall for someone like "Kalpana". Ironically the director is prudent enough to use the name Kalpana (imagination, probably becoz he knew, that smone like her cud only be a figment of imagination).The real effect of these could be unreal expectation from the future partners.What I am writing here is not a replication of what these directors do i.e. imagination. According to a series from BBC, called "Love". These days our choice of future mates have been spoilt (or shall we say expectation has been spoilt).Earlier the choice was limited to the right age group mates from a village or a little more than that.

How many did that make ? Say a few hundreds,probably not even those many. Now,that you see thousands of advertisements and pretty/handsome models in them.The brain records the posibilities of future mates.And one might develop expectation(subconciously) for them.Though on the surface people could realise their limitations but inside, deep down under where the "Basic Instinct" (guys stop thinkin about Ms. Stone now) is still strong u dont know what is going on.With all the pedagogy that has modified the way one sees and thinks,that basic instinct remains largely unaltered.

U look for those qualities in ur mate. When u dont get them (very few are actually fortunate enough, to get all that they were looking for) u reconcile. Earlier in our Indian traditional society and ways, we had hope. Hope becoz reconciliation was unconditional. Now, with the concept of one life.Reconciliation and contentment have lost their meaning. Boss, one life ! It's now or never. An unsettling thought indeed.If u dont get what u were looking for(which in itself is an obscure idea) u have that hollow feeling.Am I doing the right thing ? Was this what I was looking for ? U are never sure. While what u are looking for in the wilderness of this life is still a smudgy picture, u have the basic instincts working for u, and keeping u engaged in getting more money, life and love.

Anyway, the whole idea of creating these characters is an unreal experience.And let me tell you they are good at it. U are left to the mercy of mental imagery, of how far u cud go with these inputs. They cud just lead to unhappier lives. Not conciously, but subconciously. So, beware.

"Kalpana" is just a Kalpana(imagination)

So, Dikhavon pey naa jao...Apni aql Lagao.

Trip To Haridwar

This was not the most memorable of the trips that I have had in the quarter of century of my life. Though it had some things which shall remain etched in my mind for times to come. Haridwar, as the name signifies Hari-Ka-Dwar, is considered by the Indian hindus as the holiest of places that one visits in his/her lifetime and the portal to the sacred land Of Uttarkhand / Uttaranchal.As we entered the holy-city, I noticed the bustling overcrowded streets, shops filled with kaeidoscopic array of items, innumerable men/women ,their foreheads smeared with the holy vermillion, people with plastic jerry cans, small leaf plates full of flowers and rice grains, in their hands, and an overcast sky with slight drizzle was making it quite an experience.

Once we parked our car some distance away from the point beyond which the vehicles weren’t allowed ( as usual VIPs and Beaconed vehicles were not supposed to abide by this prohibitive scheme) , we went ahead on foot. I too bought a jerrycan to carry home some water from The Ganges. Soon we reached the place where thousands of devotees earnestly waited for the evening aarti to begin. When it finally started, the unison of voices, the countless hands with the earthen lamps rotating in clockwise motion, made the whole milieu a transcendent one. Where an individual dissolves in the whole, giving a gestalt effect of spirituality.For once, you could feel the presence of something divine (I have used “once” as I am an agnostic of sorts you could very well feel it reinforced ).

Anyway, after the aarti we took a dip in the Ganges and returned back to our car.Time to land back from the spiritual heights to the deep pot-holes of the UK roads (UK is not The United Kingdom but Uttarakhand ).

Serendipity...

As mysterious as the word sounds, is the meaning of it. In standard definitions it is :

a) The effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely (courtesy wikipedia).

b) The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.

But I would rather not delve too deep into the conventional meaning of this mellifluous word.
I would certainly want to share the experience of watching the movie with the name above.

Warning 1: Do not stop reading as I do not disclose the entire story.
Warning 2 :And please stop here if you're lazy enough still not to go and get the DVD of this movie and expect me to give the complete stuff here.I just give a whiff of what the movie is like.

I think this movie is simply an epitome in the entire genre of romantic movies. It keeps you hooked till the end.With so many of "oops" and "my gods" and not to mention "sh**s" from the audience( me "alone".. unserendipity of which I have loads I guess).
Story begins with a very pretty and very english Sara (played by Kate Beckinsale) and Mr charming Jonathan(John Cusack) meeting at the shopping store holding on to one and the last pair of gloves. Lest they lose it to another customer of the store, their combined histrionics saves the pair for Sara.This strikes an instant chord in them and Sara gives Jon a coffee treat.
Sara claims that she firmly believes in serendipity i.e. she believes that destiny has it all decided.And meeting people / making decisions will not fructify unless it is there in store already.
Then they take each other's leave with Sara not telling Jonathan that she is Sara on the pretext that if they need to meet it would be serendipitous.

Then after a series of some wonderful serendipitous incidents....Sara does(pragmatically speaking) a stupid but the most romantic thing. She takes Jons number on a dollar note(w/o looking at it) and spends it in a shop. And then writes her full name and number on a book and sells it in an old book store(not known to Jon). She leaves for her home in England saying that the numbers will reach the right people when the time is ripe.

Of-course they do not meet after that and in a few years time. Jon is about to marry the "so-called" love of his life and soulmate,a beautiful and loving Halle. So is Sara in England with a trance musician, Lars. They still feel the tinkle of that one short stint of good time they had together and believe in serendipity. . .
How things turn up..and finally...I dont know...you see hollywood movies do not always have a happy ending.
So just see this movie...it really is a gem.

;-)

DIS-Continuum...

..........INNER VOICE.......

Hi I am back after soooo long..incidently after 3 months(exact)...
I am like that..have a habit of vanishing and then coming back...can be a recluse at times.
But a realisation..a story..brought my "Inner Voice" back.

What I have noticed is that there are two types of people....
1. One who find reasons to be happy and..
2. Who find reasons to crib about or be sad.

Unfortunately I am not in 1 but in a transition from 2 to 1....A recent event which caused my temperatures shooting up was the Bus facility of my company. I requested them to divert the bus's route so that it would save me about a km. of walk(its especially irritating in the evening).But the wise ol' people would not do so n had reasons obviously beyond my acceptability.

Anyhow I had to take the bus and walk daily.Everyday I would get down at my stop and while I would be halfway to my home I would curse the people who were responsible for this undesirable errand. One fine evening when I was coming back I was as usual not very happy but suddenly I saw a guy who was pulling a hand rickshaw(excuse me I dunno its name but hope u could make out what I mean)..and had put on a hearing device too. I saw this and felt pity for him. At the same time I thanked God for being able to walk on my feet.

It was an eye opener really !!. From that day on I am quite happy to walk this distance. A booster dose to that came from a story about a catholic priest from down South. He had a kidney in very bad shape and got a transplant abroad. Thereafter he came back to India but was annoyed with the chemotherapy + restrictions that followed, take 'n' number of pills everyday and limitations on physical activity n most of all speaking was restricted too. While he was unhappy bout all this, he met a poor taxi driver who he came to know had gotten a transplant of his kidney just like him. He had greater restrictions and had to take 300 Rs. of medicines each day. While he fought for his life, his daughter was diagnosed with a tumor in brain. Now a taxi driver's earnings - Rs. 300 - care for daughter..it is not difficult to imagine what life this man was living. So the priest forgot his pain and started creating a benvolence fund for this poor chap. And in the end collected a decent amount, spreading the word by mouth. Due to this exertion he lost his life but saved this family. Why I call it a booster is that it came a li'll after I had that "moment of realisation". Realisation was actually fading away slowly and walk was getting more and more tiring each passing day. Then this story happened to me and yes the dose has an effect at least till now. Let's see how long it stays.

But I just hope it would save you from cribbing about a few things in your life..C'mon cheer up..I know that roommate of yours is not co-operating and ur boss does not respect your feelings but there are people who don''t have rooms and who don't have jobs...so Njoy !!..move up to type 1..

The Magic Of The WC................

Just came out of the comfy ac room where I was watchin the Qfinal One b/w Arg. and Germany. Phoo..just kept me on the edge all the time.Germans playing on their home turf had a definite advantage which they grabbed with all their might.The Cries of "Deutcheland" reverberating the stadium..and twas all Yellow,Red and Black.From the beginning itself it clearly showed on the faces and in the moves of the players how desperate they were.But, as far as my view on the performance goes it was Argentina's performance which should've taken the game away.The 1st half possession was a healthy 63 to 37 in fav of the Argens. Amidst all the pressure the Argentinians conjured,thru their agile moves, gr8 series of passes but none could be converted to sthing on the "S" board which matters.
Finally just after the halftime..in the 49th minute by a stunning header the Argentinian Sorcerer Ayala did the trick and scored for the Argens a brilliant goal.If u actually look at Argentina they are so quick on the field..unlike the Germans who are bigger..slower and less passionate about the game on the turf. They lack that "Killer Instinct" that Argentina has. And it's only because of a handful of diamonds that Germans finally outshone Argentinians in this game tonight. The equalizer came about 10 min.s before the fulltime...and it was a combination of those diamonds which was so remarkable...Ballack and Miroslav Klose...the two stars and Borowski together got what almost the entire stadium wanted.
This was the time when game began tilting towards the Germans.Argentinians got Crespo and Abbondanzierri off the field befor the equlizer and badly missed them during the penalty shoot outs. Even in the extra time the Argentinians did exceptionally well but like they say..they could not produce that "one moment of brilliance". Germans fumbled with the ball and at times got really clumsy so unlike the Fbllrs. of their level.I seriously doubt their potential of taking this cup,but, as this match ended in the unfortunate way for Argetinians..it could be for anybody else.Well the game ended with a penalty shoot-out ,the score at Full+Extra time being 1-1.In the shoot outs as I mentioned earlier they missed Crespo and Abbondanzierri..and lost it to the Germans.....4-2. A word of appreciation for Lehmann, the German goalkeeper..who kept the Argens at bay thru his outrageous saves in the game and later on in the S-outs as well.

FINAL RESULT : GERMANS go into the Semis......Argentinians go home.....
and it 12:08 I move back into the AC room he..he...time to see what the sly actor Totti does this time against the skilled Shevchenko... Bye

...Flavors...


Just saw a nice movie with name as that of the post..seen quite a few movies about the Indians in America..like American Desi..ABCD etc..This one was a good entertainer.In its small duration..they've touched so many aspects of our Indian ways.(And one funny thing about this post is that while I write this I am chattin with one of my frnds who is movin to US in a month..)
Flavors is actually a restaurant..and where these Indians meet sometimes..no..no..don't get me wrong restaurant is not the main issue here..it just that restaurant has the same name as the movie.The movie unfolds as three..humm.. actually four parallel threads..running together.One has this engineer girl Rachna and her Indian friend/confidante/guide..another is Ramakrishna whose Indian parents have come to get him married to an American girl Jenny..third is an Indian chap and his wife Geeta(excuse me I can recall only a few names) who has just gotten married..fourth is having four roommates(1 girl and 3 boys all Indians.) So, the story goes like..parents are anxious about their kid RK and marriage with Jenny..they are quite understanding as most Indian parents are..then this Recently married chap..he has lost his job becoz of which he managed to marry this girl in the first place..Rachna..she is all freaked out coz of her job..and our three roommate men are looking for jobs...and so the story continues..u should watch it to know the rest. I share just a few things that hit me....and left me wondering

1. Americans have technology comin to them so easily..gadgets..etc. that they are loosin that human touch. They are in the car with their spouse and they keep talkin to their boss..Ok that's possible in India as well but isn't it so unnatural. All the time with all the comforts at each one's disposal..its so individualistic..u have a car..ur cellphone..ur room..ur lappy..ur microwave..u have professionals to manage ur life issues..u don't need bonds..dont need relatives..frnds...pay and get the service...

2. Indian parents with their kids in America.."Bhai..Badaa ladkaa toh California mein hai aur chhota New York mein..proud parents" but I wonder how happy they are..even if they go there they can't stay there..coz they are dependent on their kids completely..& they are not used to the "American" ways.I think they also miss their sabzi/rickshaw waala haggling...and most of all their entire Family..sisters..Bros...n..all back home in India..can they ever be happy away from a place where they spent all their life..growing and seeing their kids grow...

Apart from this I can't say as I haven't been there..but as I learned from smone's writings that this life is too short to learn everything from ur own experiences..so these are mine..might not be true for U.......................


**usage of Ladkaa/male gender is solely conincidental and does not in any way mean bias..its more of a convenience for me.This applies all my future posts**

At last I start..well..weblogging became blogging..and for some a part of life..and now as I try to unleash my thoughts on this virtual paper,I get a feeling that it's a little late. But I have that old hackneyed saying(pushing me to go).. which needn't be mentioned here.
I've named it DIS-Continuum beause I believe that its the greatest truth..life is a continuum..yet so discontinuous.Isn't it a paradox..the greatest paradox ever. You are alive yet you die everyday..with ur dreams..with your aspirations..But..still so full of life another moment.. when you see a baby smiling at you..when u smell the first rain on the parched land..when that piece of music just touches the inside of you. The ecstacy is immeasurable..indescribable..so is the pain sometimes....
Every incident brings a new experience..a new perspective. .to life. So I believe this blog will be just such an incident..will help me intro/retro-spect...do help me with the same with your comments..ciao