Wednesday 19 December 2012

Hampi

over-packed bag
a bit much for 2 days and a night
intoxication to get through the shaky bus ride
a boat ride across the tungabhadra
waterfall guest house with ramu and vasu playing host
charlie with his gorgeous eyes and rancid stink
hash brown potatoes, nutella pancake, mint tea and lemonana by the dozen
bike rides
more intoxication
maus & pi for company
a dip in the river; the smell lingers
some more intoxication
sleep
breakfast that stretches into brunch that stretches into lunch
scouting for 300 year old trees
through the fields, through the trees, over the rocks to the river
but wait; a foot slips, an ankle twists
hobble hobble hobble back
away from the river, the rocks, the trees
carried over the fields
intoxication to numb the pain
rocky road back to the city
hampi was a blast - and i've a sprained ankle and a fractured wrist as testimony



Saturday 24 November 2012

Pining

Doth distance make the heart grow fonder?
It certainly does, and gives you time to ponder.
But pondering only does so much,
And puts perspectives such and such;
I would now like to screw the distance, pack my bags and go yonder.

Friday 23 November 2012

Rhyming to Ramble???


It’s but difficult to ramble without a machine
Or is it because my writing has lost its sheen
Maybe it has
Rhymes too are scarce (and badly written)
And how long the yucky writing lasts remains to be seen

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Tales from the Locker

In 3 days from now, i will be leaving a place that has become home for the past 4.5 years, The Fuller Life... And part of the process of leaving TFL is also clearing out the locker that's been assigned to you. 


So this locker means or rather holds different things for different people.. Some boringly use it to stow away their bag for the duration of the work day; some others (mostly the cyclists) keep their clean clothes in it, so they can quickly change into them when they step into office in their stinky, sweaty gear; some store miscellaneous client paraphernalia... 


My locker on the other hand, had oodles of character... or to be more specific, 4 and a half years of stuff that i thought i couldn't do without if i threw it away and thank God for that! Some of the things i found are: 


- a brown stuffed dolphin (where in the world can you find brown dolphins) 
- numerous files and brown paper covers 
- many, many books - all kinds of them.. chick-lit, periodic romances, action novels, morbid as hell graphic novels, and my personal favourite, The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid 
- safety pics, paper clips and sticky rubber-bands by the dozen... why, i stored them in the locker rather than the stationary kit, i don't understand
- a mini Indian flag, complete with mini flag-post and mini 24-spoke wheel
- Moov, Odomos and Toothpaste
- 1 Centerfresh chewing gum 
- My PSD and Adv notebook from my pre-TFL days. For idiots who don't understand the aforementioned cool acronyms, they're Product Sales & Distribution and Advertising. And the notebook obviously captured notes (oooooh!) on the intricacies of the aforementioned subjects. 


This notebook came along with my post-grad degree and a bunch of 7 called The Clings. And apart from the notes, it also captured snippets about a day in the life of the Ganga of yore, when life was so much simpler, sillier and oh so lovely. Along with a couple of shots at Name Place Animal Thing, loud thoughts such as "the poppets eyelids got heavier", number puzzles, list of clothes to pack for my cousins wedding and a note to self about calling oneself Scarhands, i also found in the notebook a little feature called "All thought, no show", that i had written. It contained my aspirations when i was young. And funnily enough, i aspire for the same even now. I wish i'd cleared out my locker earlier, so i found this.



And just in case you're wondering, it took me 3 whole hours to clear out the locker!

All Thought, No Show....


"Where the mind is without fear, and the held is held high. Into that heaven of freedom my father, let my country awake. " 

Rabindranath Tagaore, Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo


Where do we start when we aim to achieve a specific goal in due course? The first step is the hardest. Not because it's actually difficult or requires a certain amount of energy to be spent that we think could be better utilized, but because we are hesitant to take that first step. Hesitant as a result of what people might say, hesitant to take that extra effort, hesitant to make a decision supposing it might be the wrong one. 


We tend to either put off for later or put away completely, things that actually require to be finished right now. We assume things we want will automatically fall into place sometime in the future if we merely want it enough - publish a book, own a house, work with snakes, or even a very basic decision to complete a pending piece of work or make a call to an old friend. We procrastinate and postpone as a result of a baseless conviction that it will eventually be done. What we do not realize is people might commend us, that the extra effort we put in is probably worth it, that the decision is the right one. Things do not merely get done. We need to do them. 


What one does with one's life, is in one's own hands. It will not fall into place as one believes. Dare to do what is necessary. Make a move to set things in perspective.  Be bold and fearless. Take the first step. 


You will have served your purpose.

Friday 28 September 2012

But naturally....


There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; 
There is a rapture on the lonely shore; 
There is society, where none intrudes, 
By the deep sea, and music in its roars: I love not man the less, but Nature more...

(Excerpt from Lord Byron's There is a pleasure in the pathless woods)


This pretty much sums up my state of mind at the moment. I am now certain that my career will not go the mundane corporate way and I'm extremely glad for that. 


Friday 14 September 2012

Are we human.. or are we dancer....

So i have it on record for the rest of my life..


gahahhahahahhahahahhahahahah!!!

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Here i go again....



“Not all those who wander are lost.” – 
J. R. R. Tolkien



The forces that power the need to travel - see, feel, touch and experience - cannot be contained. Set them free and they will literally take you places! 

So for the rest of my life, I set out to do the following... 


  • Do the local circuit, visit touristy places, venture into nooks and corners that no humans inhabit... 
  • Travel by foot, cars, over the oceans, fly through the air... 
  • Spend half the holiday money on a luxury resort; maybe slum it in a place with the loo out in the open or at least a 5 minute walk away...
  • Meet people, be asocial to do some soul searching...
  • Experience forests and seas, buildings and grasslands, culture and sport, food and drink.. 
  • Get the f*** out!

Of the million places to go and see around the world, here is my list of the where and what in no particular order... 


  1. Watch the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in Norway.. 
  2. Be a mute spectator at The Highland Games.. maybe take part if they have a version of Discus or drinking for beginners.. 
  3. Watch penguins dance at the South Pole.. just like they did in Happy Feet
  4. Live in the company of baby wild cats for atleast 3 days
  5. Get bloody intoxicated in Amsterdam 
  6. Spend a month or two in the Seven Sister States.. cover the north east!
  7. Be a part of the wildlife census in India, preferably for tigers or snakes
  8. Africa... for its wildlife and erstwhile Pharaohs
  9. Climb a mountain? Hmmmm.... 
  10. Snorkel... actually see the underwater flora and fauna without getting felt up by a lecherous coot
  11. Discover a cave or waterfall or a new species for the first time in the universe... 
  12. Stroll around buck naked on a private beach, where the water is calm and blue
  13. Learn to speak Italian in Italy



As and when a new place catches my fancy, here it shall go on my list. 


And before i'm 70, i will have done them all.... Discovery... open wide thine arms unto me! 

Saturday 8 September 2012

Filter Kaapi makes me Hoppy!





Oh, to eat poli idlis and drink strong filter kappi, 
Makes me fully filled and oh so hoppy! 

Many thanks, Madurai Idly Shop! 

Saturday 1 September 2012

In the blossoming of my 20s...

This is Blossom Book Store.


So Blossom is this book store in Bangalore... With 3 stories of books, i feel at home here... The reasons i love the place are many... 
  • There's so many books - new and old, castaways and fresh off the writing block, hard-bound and dog eared..
  • I go in and am sure to find exactly what i've been looking for   
  • Just 1 book is never enough.. i always, always leave with at least 4 of them
  • I discover new ones; books that i never imagined myself reading - strange ones, funny ones, serious ones, pretty looking ones with crap in them - all sorts 
  • It's a joy to say hello to the staff - Mayi Gowda, Karna and whoever else is there - they smile constantly
  • I love sitting on one of the stools, amidst the tall shelves; while other readers walk around picking out theirs, i usually sit with a strange book to figure if it's worthy of being read 
  • Shopping is indeed therapeutic, when i am looking for books. I feel like a million bucks when i walk out with a bunch of them 
And strangely enough, every time i go there, i feel the call of nature... maybe its the smell.. 

It first happened at the Stella Maris College library when i was 20.. Ask my friends.. they will vouch for that feeling too. That feeling when you are excited at what you will read next and you have to make a quick trip back to the hostel room to, pardon my language, take a dump. 

No wonder i feel at home here! 

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Poetry does have answers...

Words of wisdom from a very inspiring man.. Not his, but borrowed. He however did say that poetry might have answers... And i believe him... 


The Real Work by Wendell Berry


It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.   


And right now i truly revel in the fact that my mind is bloody baffled! 

Soul Searching... here I come!

So, in a month from now, i get an official 'off' from work, for 1 whole month! 

So work is a place that ive been drawn back towards time and again, for 4 years, 4 months and 15 days; on most days it inspires me - i learn something new, i laugh a lot, i spend time with people who could qualify in my just below favourite list and it's super fun! Then there are days where i find myself wishing i was far, far away from work.. most of them after nights where i actually dream in never-ending, solution less circles about the million things that could go wrong the next day. I wake up feeling tired and unenthusiastic, and i cant wait for the day to be done.  On some of these days, i want to give up and literally jump ship!


Thought i've been thinking that i need to find more to do in my life than just work for a long time now, it's only sunken in now that maybe i'm done with the kind of work i have been doing. Like really! Since i've made that decision, and it's been a week since then, i've been so excited to get out into the world. In my head, the first day of my break will be akin to a blind person seeing for the first time. 


Here are some of the many things that i plan to do with my month. 


  • Pretty up Bangalore with The Ugly Indian
  • Work with Dogs. Petstepin seems like an option
  • Volunteer with a book store
  • Bake????? 
  • Get my family back on its feet
  • Get my damn driving license
  • Lose the lard
  • Travel... Himachal?  or a trip by myself?
  • Meet people
  • Inspire

I cant wait! The beginning of the rest of my life, here i come!

Sunday 22 July 2012

To be free, is to be me!

I want to be free..
Of responsibility.. 
Of having to live for others..
Of behaving in an acceptable manner... 
Of relationships..
Of the need to succeed... 
Of the need to please people... 
Of meeting people's expectations..
Of all things mundane... 

I wish for the future to be different... 
I wish to have all that i want to be free from now... 
I wish to make my peace with the world... 
Else, i will not be.. 

I want all of it..
And then some..
Books and music.. 
Nature and animals..
New places..  
Friends, new and old..
Love.. 

Then, i will be me! 

Saturday 21 July 2012

Balloo, the Thing!

Some more rambling in the sleep just when daylight had already killed my sleep.. One could call it delirious rambling, considering the DG was running a tempertature as well... On that note, didn't think DG's were susceptible to human diseases... 

Here goes: 

DG: Balloo, it's called.
Me: What? 
DG: The Thing..
Me: What Thing? 
GD: At 8 o' clock we went to the store no, that Thing! 

and then ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz once again, for 4 more hours; the DG stayed silent! Useless fool! I had to watch the idiot box to keep myself entertained.




Tuesday 10 July 2012

She's got the whole world in her hands...

So for 5 years, I've been trying to teach my mother to send a message from her Nokia (read easy as hell to use) phone. And for 5 years she has failed. 


Both of us are to blame. My mother, for her utter lack of concentration when I go on to explain how easily it can be done. And of course me, for my lack of patience. Wars have been fought over this! And I can remember at least 17 instances  of 'pull hair out strand by strand' frustration over her inability to pick up this technological advancement (in her eyes).. 


Around 3 days back, while I read a book, she says once again "Teach me how to message". Though I wasn't really at my patient best, her enthusiasm to master the art of messaging excited me. This was different. She had never shown such fervour before. 


This time round, she put in all her heart and soul and listened and understood and learnt to message! It took all of 10 minutes, maybe a little less even. And she then says "That's all? You took so long to teach me this!" 


Since then, she spams. On a good day I get about 3 to 4 messages from her. They range from, "You are my pet donkey!" to "Ganga, I Love You" to plain "Gas Book". 


Today's was "However i might appear, all the world's power and strength rests inside me!"


It couldn't be truer! She mastered the art of messaging!  


Sunday 10 June 2012

An ode to the monkey in the bar..






An ode to the monkey in the bar?

He deems it unnecessary. I will sing his praises nevertheless.

For he serves lip-smacking food and oh so many drinks..

I’m well fed and mostly plastered after a visit!

That’s all that matters.

Monkey, you make me feel like a happy monkey!

Many thanks. :D

Saturday 2 June 2012

Vieux Farka Toure, I Love You!

Ai Du -  Vieux Farka Toure's tribute to his father, Ali Farka Toure 


Highly recommended for the following:  


- a Saturday morning reading the dailies.. 
- the drive through the forest from Bangalore to Bitherkad with the bald 'world musicy' sibling..
- shutting out the noise of the Bangalore traffic and of the three-wheeler brandishing con-man.. 
- spending alone time with my mad mad mind.. 
- eating burnt tomato and mushroom pizza..
- simply anything else..  

Friday 1 June 2012

Confessions of a Sleep Talker

These confessions be the ramblings of the demi-god I lie with... Said mostly when the dawn creeps in, they are an insight into his mind... his deep, dark confessions... his mind's journey to places and with people in yonder realms... adventures he finds himself in... plots he is in the thick of... his screwed-up mind... 

They amuse me... they brighten up my day...  even the morbid ones... i love him more... 

Episode 1: Eureka! Eureka! 

Demi-God (DG): I know what we can do with a time bomb.
Me: We'll blow up ppl? 
DG: No.
Me: Then what?
DG: We can use it as a pen drive..

Episode 2: Wtf is a butter example? 

DG: Don't get excited - I'm just going too lie down here ok.This is the butter example.
Me: What is the butter example?
DG: Baby, Salman... 

My work is done for now. More confessions will follow! Gahahhahahhaha! 

Thursday 9 February 2012

My Happy Birthday!

26 years ago on this very day (11:30 am), i was born, a pink scrunchy faced thing. 

The doctors (according to my mother) said  i was the most beautiful baby they had seen (am sure they say about all the other creatures that they bring into the world as well). 

I'm sure i bawled! This didn't change much during my childhood or even through my adolescence. The sobriquet 'Bitherkad* Valaga**' was awarded to me by a cousin for my excellent contribution to the field of Coorg music as a result of the bawling. It's changed a bit now - i only shed a tear for a bit of drama (or sometimes with rage)!  


So as i embark into old'er' age, 


Here's to crossing the silver jubilee..
To getting on the wrong side of the twenties... 
To 'with age comes wisdom'... 
To laughing at those 3 years away form their thirties... 
To thupping at those who are yet to get to where i am... 
To writing more... 
To ageing gracefully... 
To grant my grandmother's wish of giving her 'good news' (read 'Engaged to a rich Coorg Man in the US/UK before my next birhtday'. Poor delusional woman; Good news for me is merely to shed a couple of couple of kilos)... 
To all those i love and cherish...
To some more bawling (i sincerely believe there is nothing more satisfying than a good good cry)...
And finally...


To ME!!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! 

*Bitherkad: Bitheru - bamboo, kadu - forest; also the place where i come from
** Valaga: Traditional Coorg Music 

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Another Short Poem

Is this but a blog gone to waste?
Oh no, that would be in bad taste.
Be back i shall, in haste! (of course)






P.S. I can rhyme. Can you?