the march of 17

There is something conspicuous and fascinating about the climate of March, not just applicable for 2017.

Turnovers, number games, profit and loss, employment jigs, disappointment and optimistic stories. March is loaded with all that a year promises to pack in a 365 day juggernaut.

I term it as the month of U turns, if you love taking those turns. I am one who doesn’t like the word – ‘settling down’, unsettles me quite a bit. I back my decisions, and work hard to make them happen. In a way, it’s true for all of us as long us we are not scared to take that unlikely decision of our life to get transposed to the next level.

March is one such month of anxiety and ecstasy. It ends and begins at the same time. It provides hopes, we can see them either crashing down or being catapulted to the highest order. Much depends on how you see the proceedings unfold – much of a derailed notion to a more teething issue. What’s important here is the perspective, what we have seen and experienced in years to do what we do today. Differently or desperately, results will come through.

For me, March is the Baap of all spoilers and delinquency. Turnarounds, decisions, introspection, celebration, magic. All happens in a spate of randomness and takes us by a storm.

How was your March? Do let me know and we can discuss the gigs over a cup of tea.

Irony

We worship, we slaughter. We despise, we adore. We nonchalantly care for them, we treat them as commodities.

Creation of God whatsoever, what separates us? Caste, Creed or Religion? Well, all 3 I would say.

Rules are meant for all, written by few for all, practiced by very few but the clan is the same, race is the same, behavior pattern is the same.

What’s different? The geography. The map. The outside world. The inside world.

Destiny.

Mayapur – The Sublime Town

I wasn’t very keen when Dad popped up with this idea to visit Mayapur. No, I ain’t an atheist but not the spiritual kind as well. Perhaps, I am the usually found under average human being immersed in success, money and  big dreams. Nevertheless, I did make this weekend trip.

What it turned out to be remains unexplained beyond words. I came back mesmerized, and wiser – if it’s measured by tantamount feelings of realization and sanity.

A world of it’s own, with people swimming around outside civilization and with a touch of spiritual eagerness that at least shows up in the attire – not disputing their intentions in any way, that is. Just being there under couple of days gives you this feeling that there is indeed a world outside the juxtaposed self imposed amphitheater that we all live in. If that looks pretentious, ours is equally appalling. It’s just that we adorn ourselves inside the carpet of civilization that stems out of the roots of the supreme – as they say and as we cease to have faith in.

Interesting stories that kept me hooked up in a sting of conversation that seems to come from a different world, different thought process, different desires, different kind of people. Yes, they are different. Not the outside but the inside that matters. I am to believe that consistently faking yourself is a difficult task and hence my faith remains abducted to my principles that comes from a blessed value system. Long story cut short, I felt strong.

Piece of history was unleashed in front of my eyes and it was a curious visit, if I can say that way – with information about the legend. A weekend of heat and blessed aura that keeps me afloat in testing times.

Thanks to my parents who took my unworthy tantrums in their stride, I owe it to them for all the joy and bliss.

Truly, this is one of it’s kind.

Source of Idol Photos: Mayapur ISKCON Website

how much is really enough?

There was a time when we had no internet, no sprawling streaming sites asking to you get glued and no mobile operators. I guess, life was much simpler then, sans mayhem and greed.

Today, the crucial question is – how much data is enough data? Just when you settled in for 2 GB and happily going around in a month to ensure you spend judiciously, out comes this huge, iconic announcement that changes everything. Customers are bull dozed with data, and just more data, luring customers to go crazy and ask for more. Trust me, 100 GB is not good enough today.

What has changed? Why this surge in data consumption and the drive to possess beyond limits?

I don’t know, may be you can answer better. Or may be, we are just changing. Remember, supply always is meant to meet the demand. We, as consumers have become in-delectably addicted to this urge of being glued to our mobile phones – sizes galore and so does our data in our disposal. We do everything, yes, almost everything with our mobile phones. We have become device maniacs.

We pay bills, we whatsapp all day, we FB like there’s no eternity, we tweet like hell, we check and send emails, we stream and download movies, we do music, we create presentations, we read news, sometimes we just browse – nothing to everything. See, I told you. We do everything with our mobile data.

Now we know, why this evolution that has led to a revolution!! Gosh, we have become paranoid, big data junkies who start the day with GBs and end it with just more and more GBs.

I am profoundly and fondly guilty of data consumption, are you? We are talking now.

Grounded

We all savour that moment in our life and perhaps wait for eternity to get a glimpse – a clean, effortless, magical straight drive. And then, welcome to reality. Still, life looks beautiful. Sober, pleasing and more relished. If we could have the content inside us to draw saturation points, our lives will never need filters.

days, come back.

There are few moments in life when chaos and joy are seen together. I saw these moments in the past few days which tells me that we are indeed blessed in a way to be together with the people we love and do things together that gets us unrivalled in a blissful tale of relationships. 

Lights outside, lights inside our lives. Brightness has an inevitable bond with us, stitched with such eventful days.

I want them back, but decided to move forward with hopes of a reunion. Soon, again.

heat of the moment

yes, devouring and notable moments often come uninvited, unintended and lasts for time enough to truncate the no nonsense period to a forgettable, interesting and often, trivial endeavors.

no, not counting on them. just getting the nuances set for the days that promise sunshine, lots of jelly fish, some time idle and lots of time to introspect.

not really, but this isn’t the moment of truth to pen such lines of fetish ponies that get you deprived of the exuberance that you thrive on. to survive, and to creep ahead.

that reminds me, am late and the saga continues. I am awake with a difference, I am thinking for a cause and fighting to keep the purpose alive.

yes, that again reminds me, I will, by the way, survive to see the end of the tunnel that appears to be the brightest in a saddle of imperious madness.

apparently, yes, I will. the morning is here to call and I responded. Minus smile, plus the grin.

Mayavaram Paatti

For a very long time, I never realised the town had a different name. For me, it never mattered. It was her place of residence and that is all we knew during our growing up days. For us, it was enough. In fact, me and my sister never cared to know her name as well, for a very long time. Again, it doesn’t matter as names and relationships don’t always go hand in hand. Not for me, not for my sister either. She was our dear Granny, my mother’s mother and there lies the inherent respect that we derived and which deemed to exist forever.

We visited her and grandfather during our summer vacations, once in a couple of years. We lived far away but the connect was somewhere, ethereal to say the least. My grandfather was a reputed personality in the adjoining areas surrounding the town and widely respected. I and my sister used to be in awe of the palatial house they lived in and where my mother was born and raised. I am still in awe of that place, I don’t think we can afford to build a house like that in the city, even in today’s economical surge of possessions. The other day, I told my wife that the kitchen in the house used to be the size of our master bedroom, so it’s now easier for you to understand why we were so awe struck. She was the queen of the house and we all ran around like scattered pedestals from a garden of blooming flowers.

The house was perhaps the starting point for the current generation in our family that has grown up and is established in different parts of the world. Our cousins lived in different places and our visit was similar to a reunion – catch up, play pranks, have fun, irritate and disturb my grandfather’s afternoon siesta, and get the flak for it as well. But, nothing changed as our granny used to be at the back of us, supporting our trivial acts of childhood. All that and more, today belongs to the world of folklore.

I will never quote as being very close to her. Distance is one factor, second we did not belong to the classic generation where a spate of people lived under the same roof – grandparents, parents, cousins, relatives. But, the little moments spent with her during our early years will we etched as golden moments in our lives.

As we grow older, she grew old as well. Ironically, the sad part in the happiness of we growing up is the difficult episode of watching our parents growing old. Inevitable and excruciatingly believable, painful at the same time. She went through a similar phase, we lost our grandfather few years back which obviously was a big jolt in her life. From being the queen of independent living, I saw the transition that relegated her to the confines of four walls and very few people around her. Not that love diminished, it’s just that times were changing and she was part of the usual escapade.

With a life lived long enough to watch her children and grandchildren grow up and leading a fulfilling life, were indeed the high points of her illustrious life. Most significantly, her contribution is unsurpassable as we don’t exist if she doesn’t. A unhinged legacy.

Some people don’t leave us, they just distance themselves to keep vigil and see that we are safe. A mother is irreplaceable and her loss will be felt. As for her influence in our lives, time will make the statement at an apt hour of realisation (it does already!).

mayavaram-paatti

Paatti, please rest in peace and help us to remain blessed.

Om Puri – Submissive Legend

There are human beings with talent and proficiency, there are ordinary individuals who come out of their inhibitions and limitations to carve a niche for themselves in the tough gritty world of glorious pursuits. And then, we have actors like Om Puri.

Rugged face, turmoil expressions and a non fancy appeal. Yet, what stood behind was one of the finest that we could ever withdraw from. At a time when we shied away from what was called as ‘Parallel Cinema’, Om Puri made his mark with some iconic acts in films like Aakrosh and Ardh Satya. The latter, was a film ahead of its time. Attacking our system embroiled in corruption, bureaucracy and nepotism, Ardh Satya had some powerful performances from its lead actors – Om Puri, Smita Patil and Sadashiv Amrapukur. in fact, Om Puri had some memorable outings with landmark directors like Govind Nihalani and Satyajit Ray. Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron was a film acknowledged as one of its kind that enjoys cult status today. In fact, associated actors with JBDY look at awe when this film features in the classic bandwagon. Om Puri played a typical modern opportunist and excelled in a small but crucial role. Another Nihalani favourite is Drohkaal, which saw Om Puri playing a cop who infiltrates with his team in to the web of a dangerous terrorist organisation. Nothing glamorous but Om Puri was a class apart.

Our generation has seen very little of Om Puri, which is quite unfortunate. His characters depicted on screen swayed magic and while our character actors always tend to get overshadowed in an industry that’s ruled by Superstars, actors like Om Puri held their own despite very little going for them in terms of roles, weightage and attention. Post 90s, he was one of the very few to cross boundaries juggle between Mumbai and the west in versatile and unconventional avatars. Interestingly, films like Ghayal, Chachi 420, Hera Pheri and Gupt made us realise how we bracketed and dumped a top notch mainstream actor in to a shell of meagre opportunities and ventures.

The world of cinema will not come to a standstill albeit outpourings of condolences but the industry just became poorer with the loss of a titan like Om Puri.

The Year in Photos

Pictures talk, pictures tell stories, pictures emote, pictures gauge situations. Pictures depict moods, celebrate moments and gives a new dimension to life.

With few more minutes to go, let’s bid 2016 adieu with some of the finest, path breaking and magical shots of my life.

Season’s Greetings

16 hasn’t ended, it is going out with a touch of whimper and indegenious wrinkles of desperate glory. I am not saying 17 is better, am saying 17 is the year of reckoning.

Merry Xmas and a dazzling 2017 for all of us. Cheers!