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Monday, February 25, 2008


There are a lot of disadvantages about probing too deep..somethings should be left unknown, just to preserve their beautiful, mythic quality. It might be good to distinguish fact from fiction, but sometimes, you should just let things be, just allow them to carry you away into the realm of dreams and fantasy..In my case, this proved one wikipedia entry too many for me...
Ingrid Bergman on Humphrey Bogart about their roles in Casablanca: "I never really knew him. I kissed him, but I did not know him". I don't know about you but that kind of ruined the movie for me..It would have been nice to know that they were atleast freinds off screen. Sigh, sometimes, the truth is best left undisturbed...............



Monday, February 18, 2008

Canine Therapy

My blog is getting waaaaay too gloomy. I am feeling as embaressed reading it as I used to while reading my weepy journal of class 9. So now I shall talk about something or rather certain creatures which always manage to cheer me up even when I am in the blackest mood..namely dogs. This post is inspired by a walk I took the other day in a bad-temper. The presence of a few dogs along the way however unfailingly produced a smile on my face and I felt that this phenomenan deserved a mention somewhere.

I have always been pretty crazy about dogs since I was a kid, having tried several times to bring home strays, much to my parent's consternation. Of late, playing with dogs in the hostel has been the closest I have ever come to owning some, and although I have realised that it is a huge responsibility and not just fun and games, I have only grown more determined to have several pets. So what is it about dogs anyway? How is it that all the chocolates, good wishes or apologies in the world don't make me feel as good as when a single dog runs towards me, wagging its tail?

I think it is simply because dogs are just so cute. Actually, make that adorable. Everything they do is just so, well, cute! The way they randomly look around, when they walk or trot, they way their tounge hangs out, the way they scratch, the way they roll on the ground with their legs in the air and try to bite you while playing, the way they follow you looking expectantly for some treat, the way they poke around for things and land themselves in unexpected situations which they struggle to get out of, the way they eat, they way they wag their tails, that complete peace on their face when they sleep, they way they close your eyes when you pet or scratch them...everything they do moves you to smile, you simply cannot be in a bad mood in the presence of a friendly dog, its like his/ her every action is to make you feel better about life!

So here's to the loveliest creation of nature/ God, whichever way you want it (yes they even beat mountains and hot men)...Someday I will own 8 dogs! (4 strays, a Retriver, a Lab (black), a spaniel and a German Shepard)

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

I don't know why, I really like these Slambook kinda things :)

If I were a beginning, I would be: far behind!
If I were a month, I would be: December
If I were a day of the week, I would be: Sunday
If I were a time of day, I would be: dusk
If I were a planet, I would be: saturn
If I were a season, I would be: winter
If I were a sea animal, I would be: a whale
If I were a direction, I would be: north
If I were a piece of furniture, I would be: a chair like the one in FRIENDS
If I were a sin, I would be: gluttony
If I were a liquid, I would be: tea
If I were a fraud/scare, I would be: Harshad Mehta (what a stud..seriously!)
If I were a gem, I would be: sapphire or amethyst
If I were a tree, I would be: eucalyptus
If I were a tool, I would be: a hammer
If I were a flower/plant, I would be: a creeper
If I were a kind of weather, I would be: windy
If I were a musical instrument, I would be: a veena/ piano
If I were an animal, I would be: a dog
If I were an emotion, I would be: content
If I were a vegetable, I would be: a carrot
If I were a sound, I would be: a soprano :)
If I were an element, I would be: platinum
If I were a car, I would be: any SUV
If I were a song, I would be: 'Over the Rainbow' from The Wizard of Oz
If I were a food, I would be: Masala dosa
If I were a place, I would be: Wellington/ CubbonPark
If I were a material, I would be: cotton
If I were a taste, I would be: sweet-ish
If I were a scent, I would be: Ponds Sandalwood Powder
If I were a religion, I would be: universal
If I were a sentence, I would be: 'What's up?'
If I were a body part, I would be: arms
If I were a facial expression, I would be: smiling
If I were a subject in college, I would be: Corporate law / Music
If I were a shape, I would be: a circle
If I were a quantity, I would be: 55 kgs..someday!
If I were a colour, I would be: blue
If I were a thing, I would be: my guitar
If I were a landmass, I would be: the Deccan
If I were a book, I would be: Alice in Wonderland
If I were a monument, I would be: Mysore Palace/ Eiffel Tower
If I were an artist, I would be: Bob Dylan
If I were a collection of poems, I would be: err...the songs in Lord of the Rings
If I were a landscape, I would be: the tea gardens around Wellington Gymkhana Club
If I were a watch, I would be: the Swatch skin which I have now
If I were God, I would be: a little kinder
If I were a vowel, I would be: O
If I were a consonant, I would be: L
If I were a formula, I would be: "All You Need is Love"
If I were a Science, I would be: Zoology
If I were a theory, I would be: the Pythogoras Theorem
If I were a famous person, I would be: a tennis player
If I were an electronic equipment, I would be: anMp3 player
If I were sport, I would be: Badminton
If I were a movie, I would be: 'The Sound of Music'
If I were a cartoon, I would be: Josie in "Josie and the Pussycats"
If I were an explorer, I would be: Bill Bryson
If I were a scientist, I would be: a bad thing for science
If I were a relation, I would be: a sister
If I were a river, I would be: free
If I were intoxication, I would be: beer
If I were alone, I would be: listening to music
If I were a question, then I would be: 'What's up?" again
If I were a hobby, I would be: collecting memorablia
If I were a habit, I would be: drinking tea
If I were in an atom, I would be: bobbing around peacefully
If I were an end, I would be: never-ending
If I were you, I would be: madly in love with me

Monday, February 4, 2008

One step forward, ten steps backward

Sania Mirza today announced that she won't play in India for a bit, pulling out of the Bangalore Open in the process. The reason cited: the controversies that have been dogging her. Is she being fussy and stand-offish? I for one think not. First criticised for her 'attire' on the court (which is really nothing scandalous..merely a shortish skirt and a decent top that 'covers' everything) and then for apparently showing disrespect to the Indian flag. To her credit, she still had a good run at the Aussi open despite the emotional trauma of the incident. Imagine being one of the four ambassadors (the others being Paes, Bhupathi and Amritraj) for a sport that is internationally so well respected, even if the rest of the country is blind to it, representing the country repeatedly, managing to do reasonably well despite the poor facilities and support, being ignored and given less importance despite performing (why was the fact that Bhupati and Mirza reached the finals of the Aussi open, a grand slam, so underplayed? Because Harbhajan Singh was in great peril of course, what's a grand slam anyway?) and then being accused of undermining the country because of a small error, the small indiscretion of being caught on camera at an inopportune moment. And then comes the decision to not play in your own country because your own country deems you unworthy, guilty of undermining her culture. What culture I ask? Its a wonder that she resisted her initial impulse to stop playing tennis altogether.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have Bombay, a beautiful, cosmopolitan city falling a prey to the parorchial temperment that so characterises our 'culture'. Streets have been filled with mobs ravaging the homes and possessions of North-Indians, roughing up taxi-drivers and attacking homes (some South-Indians I know might even ask me why I'm so bothered). What is more shocking is that in the poll conducted by CNN-IBN, 40% of the people actually said that North-Indians are 'outsiders' in Bombay. Its really awful to see that such petty issues still rule the roost in India and watch politicians making irresponsible statements such as 'the character of Bombay has been spoilt'. What character? When I went to Bombay, I was struck by the freedom and openess of the city, the feeling of being accepted at once..it is one of the few cities where I have almost immediately felt at home even though I have hardly spent anytime there. I always thought this was Bombay's character. Evidently I was mistaken..we all were.

A host of Indians who trusted this country, wanted to do something for her, wanted to develop her, bring her on the international map in more ways than one...software engineers, sportsmen, industrialists, academics, thinkers and several others..and are constantly being pushed back in more and more ways..hurt and betrayed. Is progress ever possible here, you ask? Can you blame people from immigrating? Frankly I don't think so. Immigrate to what though? Racism and a whole bunch of other problems. If you are not loved in your own country, then where do you go?

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Oh Dear

So I finally turned twenty. And I started work in a place where I..well, work..Actual constructive stuff which makes a difference, which is used..not the chilling on orkut/ wikipedia/ in malls kinda stuff that I'm used to. So I have been fully introduced to the life I am expected to lead..
"The legal profession, and it is a truly beautiful profession..At least at the trial court stage, you actually see the law you learned being implemented..those very procedures and practices being put into good use. Going to court is good fun...The judges are always interesting to watch, you're not struck so much by the majesty of the law at this stage (the civil courts being largely weird, badly lit, rickety places with insanely smelly toilets and no refreshment facilities whatsoever), but you still get the feeling that you're helping people in someway. You see the other advocates and notice how hopelessly incompetent they look and you feel proud of yourself..proud that you are worth so much more and yet, you are practicing this profession at its most basic level..hoping to actually reach out and make a difference somewhere. Also, there's the thrill of legal research..finding that one case which says exactly what you want, looking for loopholes in the opposite party's argument, finding ways to corner a witness and so on...one of the best feelings in the world! Really, being a part of the legal fraternity is pretty stunning!"

Funnily, I don't really feel any of the above. Well going to court is nice and all, but its just for entertainment value really. And finding a case...well that makes me happy because my boss will be happy with me then, its pretty mind-numbing work otherwise...Of course I don't really care too much whether my boss is happy because, I don't want to work in this place again. Mind you, its got absolutely nothing to do with anyone else and everything to do with me...which brings me to the essential question:
What the hell am I doing here? Its too late to turn back now, gotta move on. To where?