Hi people.
It's been ages since I wrote anything. Life's been fine indeed. It could have been better, but then it could have been worse too. I'm into something new now—writing stories. I found them to be a better medium for expressing my angst, apart from other emotions. ;) They are any day better than plain rants that I used to come up with on this blog. This blog will remain. Whenever I feel like expressing my rants, I will come here. Meanwhile, if you still want to read me, I can be found on http://unhingedcreativity.blogspot.com/.
Hoping to see you there and looking forward to your criticisms and witticisms.

A Recap and a Wish List

For this post, I thought let’s review the last year’s wish list and see what wishes came true.

Ø The first wish was about my college and college mates. College has come to an end and I have made some good friends there. No more wasted weekends. Thank God! The wish stands fulfilled.

Ø The second wish was about Delhi Jal Board and their goof-ups. Now that we have got a submersible water pump installed in our home, DJB’s goof-ups won’t trouble us much as they used to earlier. But one still needs drinking water and I hope they do not do any more mischief. The wish is partially fulfilled.

Ø The third wish was about my lenses. My eyes have stopped watering, now that I’ve had my lenses changed. They do trouble me occasionally, but it’s okay. That wish has been fulfilled too.

Ø My father still does not occupy the bathroom by 8:25 though sometimes after much persuasion he has been kind enough to enter the bathroom by 8:15, but only sometimes (Such sometimes are rare). This wish has not been fulfilled.

Ø Well, the lectures haven’t stopped. In fact, the number has only increased with Bitch No.3 too entering the arena. So, this wish too has not been realised.

Ø Tanaz has left. So, there’s nobody to say “so sweet” repeatedly. I wish her well though; she was a nice girl. The wish too stands fulfilled, although not in a manner I desired. Nevertheless…

Ø My hypocrisy levels remain where they were last year. And now that I look back, they may have come down, but only a bit. Too bad. Not realised!

Ø There are all the more reasons to crib this year. This means that God is still to hear me out on this one.

Ø I suppose God granted me many more wishes last year. Fulfilled.

So, God gets 5-1/2 out of 9. Just about average. He’d better pull up his socks this year and brace himself (or herself, I'll let him/her choose this at least) for this year’s wish list.

Ø I wish I derive more satisfaction out of my work, which is now becoming tad too boring and routine.

Ø I wish that boss sees senseand reverts to the five-day routine and punish those who do not come in time, not the entire unsuspecting office janata.

Ø I wish that my exercise regimen finally works the way I want it to and help me reduce my weight as quickly as possible so that many of my problems get solved.

Ø I wish to get a nice appraisal and a promotion (for a bonus mark, God) so that I’m able to buy myself a nice laptop by next year. (Apple Macbook, perhaps. Hope I'm not asking for much.)

Ø I wish that my dad considers everyone’s point of view, not just his. I cannot do anything about the size of my bathroom now that it has been constructed, but he should allow me to move my stuff upstairs and not create any more pangas in that.

Ø I wish my mom does not grow panicky every time I’m 15 minutes late and does not call me after every hour just to know where I’ve reached.

Ø I wish all my friends stay close and that we do not fight as we had been doing a few weeks ago. Peace and love must reign.

Ø I wish to find at least one decent guy, who is worth thinking about, to say the least. And, here I’m not talking about my guy friends.

Ø I wish that all the last year’s unfulfilled and partially fulfilled wishes are realised this year.

Ø I wish that God grants me at least two more wishes this year just in case I need to ask for more.

Cheers and have a brilliant year ahead!

Love in the Times of Riches

I had been commissioned to write some pieces for a website, which was supposed to be this next-hottest-thing on the Internet. However, the owners chickened out of the deal at the last moment. This is one of the four articles that I had written and now that I will be no longer paid to write for them nor would these articles be used, I have taken the liberty of putting them here. I have struck off a few lines as they do not go with the general nature of this blog.

Please go through them and tell me was this article good enough to be used or not. One can say that this is my idea of revenge, but then this can be taken as healthy criticism as well. Anyways, both bouquets and brickbats are welcome. Here it goes:

These are rich times. We love our comforts and serve to increase them, making alliances that help us climb the “success” ladder.

Success—a relative term yet again. Some define it as an ability to earn as much material comforts as possible. Then there is this other school of thought, according to which, success is your ability of being remembered long after you’re gone. They say that you do it by spreading love.

But we live in busy times where one does not have time for love—here it means romantic love. Every actor has at least once in their lives claimed that they can’t afford to fall in love. But ultimately, they do. That’s the beauty of it all.

However, somehow, in our quest of wealth, we all tend to run away from love. We have a tendency to consider it as a burden, something that will chain us and yet, come on let’s face it, still love those lovey-dovey numbers by Kailash Kher and Savage Garden, not because of the music alone but because of the lyrics as well.

So, then why does such a contradiction exist in our lives? To this, my dear friends, I have no answer. I won’t pretend to be a saint, nor would I be hypocritical about it—I am still hesitant to embrace love.

The article may not make sense to many. They may say that I’m being too vague and random in my thoughts. However, there are many who do know what I’m talking about, who’ve been here and understand my feelings. The next paragraph is for them and for those who’ve stuck with me till here.

The Eagles have doled out some great advice in the form of their haunting number Desperado.
Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds boy,
She’ll hurt you if she’s able,
You know the queen of hearts is always your bet.

Despite this being one of my favourite songs, I find myself unable to follow what it preaches. What about you?

EM vs MI

Sitting, doing nothing… No… I’m doing something; I’m dreaming, or shall we say day-dreaming.

And then there’s this Major Irritant (let’s call it MI), a fly. Buzz, buzz it goes, disturbing my afternoon of peace and dreams.

The Exasperated Me (EM) decides to swat it, kill the intruder. It deserves it, EM murmurs. Armed with a copy of the magazine EM edits (Well! This is what the magazine's worth considering the kind of bozos who think that they write for it and the morons who head it and own it), she sees MI squatting on the computer she so dearly loves (she has recently scored more than 9,000 points in a Solitaire game recently, obviously she loves the computer). Pattttttttt! There’s a sound. EM looks hopefully. To her dismay, MI has escaped.

She looks around wildly, determined to punish it for sullying her afternoon’s chasteness. And then she spots it. There it is, sitting quite comfortably on her beloved black bag which she got for Rs 1,500. EM had spent half her allowances on it. She could not bring herself to swat MI there in case its blood polluted the sanctity of her bag. So, she decided to make it move a bit and thus, raises a hand to make it fly away.

MI decides to settle down on the CPU. Despite the camouflage, EM’s sharp eyes detect it. She goes for the kill. Pattttttttttttt! And she wins the match. The evil wins again in this Kaliyuga.

EM settles down for yet another daydream. Ah! Peace at last. Five minutes into the dream, buzz……..

Life in Metro Part III—Of Aunties, Seats and Sardars

What is it with aunties and seats? They just can’t get enough of them, even if it is for a 10-minute journey. This is a case with every woman who falls in the aunty-category i.e. a woman in her late thirties and above. Now a woman in her thirties cannot be so old that she cannot stand for as short a time as 10 minutes and that too in an AC coach, which is only a bit overcrowded. And if they so badly want to sit, why don’t they exercise themselves a bit, like we do.

That day, the metro station in question was overcrowded and me and Bitch no. 3 decided that instead of taking the one straight home, we should take the opposite metro and then double back. This way we will escape the crowd and get a seat as well. And we did just that. On that very metro station, as usual, people entered in hoards, pushing and jostling with each other, trying to make even those, who want to get off, complete—or if you want to put it like this—stretch their journey. We were sitting in seats made for two just where two coaches meet. Both of us prefer these seats as we can chat properly without anyone around and they’re damn comfortable to sit on, with proper siderests and all.

However, as is the case with all good things, our good fortune and the pride in it came to an end—an abrupt one. This particular aunty—must be around 40s—comes and says, “Please adjust kar lo”. Me and No.3 looked at each other’s faces. Hello? Seat… Do you see this is a place made for only two? Where would you like to sit? On our heads? In fact, before I could even think of such supposedly funny witticisms, I, to my horror of horrors, realised that I just didn’t know what to say. Such gross foolishness… But then, I realised you can expect such things out of aunties. No.3 shrugged and got up. I, then, decided there was no point sitting with that stupid aunty and I would rather stand as well. I gave my seat to an elderly woman, one can call her aunty too, but then this one was different from the crowd. She was old, must be in her 60s and even then didn’t ask for “adjustment”. I respect her for that, but had she asked for a seat, I would have readily given it to her.

I joined No.3 at the joint (for the uninitiated, it is the point where two coaches meet) and started venting my frustration about that stupid woman. She too was rather angry. After all, we had spent 10 minutes in trying to make ourselves comfortable in the metro. “I mean, honestly, how can she say stuff like that adjust kar lo? Typical sardar talks,” I spoke rather loudly, actually not that loudly, but, I think, it must’ve been enough for the people at the joint to hear me. No.3 tapped me and asked me to look behind. And to my horrors of horrors yet again (too many horrors for a day if you ask me; I’m getting rather tired of them), there was a sardar standing just behind. I turned back quickly and tried to console myself saying he most probably didn’t hear me. No.3 though insisted that he must have as she thought I was loud enough. Who gives a damn about what she thinks? But actually I do.

But the Sardar didn't react and thankfully for that. No.3 asked me to be careful about what I say. Well! she of the sanest of all individuals. Hrrrrmph! But by now, I had gotten another reason to crib about apart from that stupid aunty, "Why is it that whenever I crack Sardar jokes does a Sardar have to be around?" I kept riling on it for long and not without reason. This always happens with me, but thankfully, I have never faced the music. I get away with it. :)

But that aunty, I hope she never gets away with it again.......

Gateway to Heaven

Clicked in Connaught Place... Should have focused more on the sky... What to do.... I'm learning...

The colours of today

View from atop the Pitampura Metro Station. Lovely ain't it?