The City that Never Sleeps

I clearly remember the day when our train reached Mumbai.It was 26th June 2011. We all stepped down at Andheri station and looked here and there to get a gist of this city that people fondly call as MayaNagri. A swarm of people was rushing here and there, oblivious to our presence. We came out of the station to stand in a queue to get an auto. Yes, I repeat that. A queue for an auto. Now this was a new sight for us. A policeman was guiding this whole process of assembly line autos coming from nowhere and gulping in passengers. One such auto readily took me and my friend to the guest house that had been allotted by Deloitte to us.Ofcourse, this incident was an exception. We realised later on, that its easier to get a girl to bed on your first date than to get an auto in Mumbai despite of being omnipresent and even omnipotent,in some situations.
After the autowala threw us at our destination and charged us by looking at the most important innovation in the history of mankind after Graham Bell's telephone, The METER. Trust me, that's a gadget that comes with a halo not at the back but in front of it, literally. This gadget comes with a sheet which has some conversions done through a strangely applied formula that might even put the 'IMDB formula' to shame. When every citizen thinks that he knows the sheet by heart now, (as he has gone through all the permutations and combinations while travelling his side of the city), the sheet replaces itself with a fresh one. The numbers have increased and the autowala grins at you with a victorious smile. You pay him and go on with your job. And again ofcourse, this was a parallel universe I was talking about where you have managed to get an auto.
So now, back to my story.What all happened after we reached our guest house, I will have to fast forward that because truly speaking, I don't remember much of it either. All that I can remember seems like a set of visuals moving back and forth on a picasa album. This is what the city does to you. It makes you forget about your past and epitomize the oft repeated phrase 'Live your present'. The never-ending heavenly rains, bustling local trains,vada pav and pav-bhaji, the night clubs,Bandra Bandstand,good looking women,BEST buses,ferry across the sea, malai kulfi at chowpatty, the frustration when it takes an hour to move a distance of just 100 meters, and when you forget completely about that frustration the moment you set your foot on Marine Drive, the Western Express highway, piles of flats on top of each other, slums cramped up in places you never thought existed, the joy of spotting a star walking past you, watching a movie with an audience full of movie lovers like you, entering the Taj Mahal Hotel as if you owned it even though all you would do is take a piss and come out (or if you can afford something from the menu that starts with a Rs.400 tea exclusive of taxes), potholes in which you can take a holy dip......this film reel can never end. But the most important thing in that reel which I missed, which is true about every city, is its people. The friends that you make in a place you are new to, decides if you are actually going to like that place or not. Without some good company, I believe, even a Las Vegas or a Hawaii would appear boring. And fortunately,I found one hell of a company here! With my short stint of 8 months in Mumbai nearing its end,it would be hard to forget anyone that I met over here.

Now before this memoir or whatever you want to call it, runs out of steam and starts sounding like the article that Konkana's character writes in the climax of 'Wake up Sid', It would be wise to stop typing and just enjoy the beautiful Arabian sea in front of me.A person sitting alone with his laptop on Marine Drive and typing, with a plethora of passionate couples around him busy smooching each other,isn't exactly a sight that you would normally expect. But then, this is Bombay for you.

The Secret in Their Eyes

"The worst part is I am starting to forget. I have to constantly make myself remember her. Every day...-And I dont know if its a memory ; or a memory of a memory I am left with."
These and many other such beautiful lines from this highly intriguing and Oscar winning movie continue to haunt me. 'The Secret in Their Eyes' is a movie that I came to know about when I read on somebody's wall mentioning its name. I checked its rating and info on Imdb. It was an Argentine Crime thriller which had won an Oscar in the Best Foreign film category in 2010. I immediately put it on dowload. Though, it ran like any normal good-old thriller would in the initial minutes- murder setup, federal agent assigned its investigation, some hints of comedy here and there, some sub plots etcetra. But slowly and gradually the movie starts holding you. The mesmerizing acting of Ricardo Darin and all the other actors sucks you into this gem of a thriller. I knew for sure this movie won't have the ending that was being formed subconsciously in the back of my mind. And ofcourse , it didnt disappoint me. It had one of the best endings I have seen in crime thrillers like these. Except that this movie cannot be included in any such genre. While our protagonist is on the hunt for the killer, there are many layers of emotions that the movie goes through and touches upon several issues. And with the climax scene, it turned into something else.
There is also a long story associated with this movie which makes it all the more special to me. A story which I hope to discuss some day in my blog. Meanwhile, do yourself a favour and enjoy this wonderful Argentine art.

Thank you for Smoking

Not to be confused with a similarly titled 2005 Hollywood movie, I have given the following piece of work this rubric as I take this as an opportunity to thank all the people around me for –obviously-smoking.
Now before I submit myself completely in expressing my gratitude towards those unfortunate souls who have never been given their rightful due, I just wanted to pay my obeisance to the great Marlboro Men: David Millar Jr., Wayne McLaren and David Mclean. These great men were no less than any martyr puffing away one cigarette after another, and in the end, meeting a poetic demise succumbing to lung cancer. [FYI, Marlboro men were the advertising ‘heroes’ of Marlboro, the largest selling brand of cigarettes in the world].
There are many reasons for thanking all these people but the constraints of space and time can only allow me to mention a few. First of all, I wanted to thank some of my friends whom I grew up with in school where we used to design posters highlighting ‘Smoking is Fatal’, ‘Don’t blow ur life in smoke’ and other such hypothetical statements with great passion. They have finally understood that posters are only for telling others and apply no logic to the people who make them. Secondly, I would like to thank the people whom I met in college who despite being so vulnerable, resisted the temptation of living an ‘air’free life and chose the tortuous path of smokes, emphysemas and ashtrays. And how could I forget all the other innocent beings around me who have made their own life shorter just to make our life seem longer. They deserve all this adulation as they have not only contributed to the already populated environment one more cause of concern but also expanded our dictionary by defining ‘passive smoking’. Hence,in the process, giving mere mortals like us a chance, to help them share their load passively. They have time and again, lived upto the claims of ‘smoking causing impotency’ thus assisting in bringing down the inflating population. With their lungs being reduced to the size of table tennis balls and lips getting a shade blacker with every passing day; they have given an oppurtunity to the less blessed people around them to look more beautiful than ever. Despite the warnings printed on every packet that Smoking is injurious to Health, they practice the ultimate dharma of keeping their eyes closed towards every step that might push them away from their untimely heroic death. I know this could go on forever but I have to stop somewhere. So lastly, I would just like to thank all the people who unwillingly read the above 470 words and also request them to please help me and billion others find atleast one reason why smoking isn’t STUPID.

“Cigarette is a pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other!”
-Anonymous

IF...

This poem by Rudyard Kipling is one of the most inspiring poems I have come across and it continues to remain my favourite (p.s. i m not into poems AT ALL but this is an exception). So I just wanted to copy it here as I really wanted to have this in my blog. So, here it is..

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

The Last Lap

4 jan 2011. The first day of my last sem at this college. Sitting in my room, with a coffee mug in one hand and the other hand bearing the extreme cold while being forced to type this blog, all the images and anecdotes of the past 4 years keep hovering in my mind. It has not been a smooth journey, far from it, but the one that made me learn (and also unlearn) so many things that one requires in the remaining journey. AAargh...I hate writing this silly and 'pretending to be nostalgic' talk about college life. I hate to see my friends who have already left college now for their internships writing mushy and sweet messages on facebook and elsewhere about their old memories and their blah blah... and their over-generous posting of otherwise stupid pics with friends on these sites... And the list goes on.
But I cannot rule out the fact that I too, am a part of this whole clichéd movement. Its impossible to not feel sad, no strange ,would be a better word, as we move towards some of our final days in this place. The ever-growing list of crushes, the semester wise resolutions of studying that sem and then breaking them proficiently, the begging for snacks to eat in the middle of night in each other's rooms, the race against time to reach the witch mountain aka lecture halls..and this list too goes on...aarghhhhhhh...I need a break....

fate IS fiction

While writing down the name for my blog, i didn't think much about it. It just came to my mind as i wasn't getting any other openid available. Over a period of time I started liking that title a lot. Being a strong believer of this fact, that fate can be changed, it definitely seems like it should be fiction...right?
Well, some times it does get the better of you. Infact, MOST of the times. You cannot rule out the possibility that even if whatever you do, however hard you try, nothing seems to work. It seems like you are destined to lose. Certainly destiny does play its part. I realised that today. I learnt a great lesson today when I couldn't get through a written test for a placement. In spite of putting in all my efforts ,things didn't turn out to be as planned. This time destiny defeated me and how!
Still, even on this note, I would keep supporting my eternal saying( which i have filed a patent for) that fate IS fiction. These are big words but if fate is 1 up this time, i can definitely strike the next time. Destiny always has something up its sleeve. It pushes you to the extreme,challenges you,giving the chance to come up harder and bounce back. That's only the role it plays and nothing more. You could either pen down that book called fate or let fate become the writer of your 'life'. Its your choice all the way.

An ‘experience’ called life

I had been thinking upon writing something apart from movies for quite a long time but was not able to get any substantial discourse. But then my recent turmoil (couldn’t find any other word for it) that I had been going through for the past 7-8 months; pushed me to write about it.

Our whole life we keep on thinking about just one thing –the end result. And in most cases this end result or destination( as some people like to put it to make it seem more sophisticated ) is how much money we can make out of a particular input –in short Profit. We are forced to choose a career based on just one thing….how much will we earn out of it..what is the starting package…and what is the highest salary that we can get there. Nothing wrong in that though; but when we still look deeper, we apply the same principles to almost everything. Why am I doing this thing.?? what benefit will it give me in the long run? Will this person or thing help me in reaching towards my goal?  Again..the same thing..End result. That’s all we want today.

It would be a blatant lie if say I don’t care about the end. Infact I am too a part of this ‘running towards the end’ phenomenon. But what I have came to realise after pondering over this for a while is that our main concern should always be  what I call is the EXPERIENCE. We have all forgotten the value of this invaluable gem. We are always reading these things in every book available on motivation to ‘live the moment’ , ‘every second counts’, but how many of us actually follow it ?  The point I want to make is that even if we are not earning enough money during a particular phase of our life; or going through a difficult time, we should enjoy that experience also. Easier said than done..agreed; but if we follow this principle ,eventually we will start enjoying our life more than ever. And when we start enjoying doing something, success is bound to follow.

Enough gyaan given for the day…even I am feeling heavy now after reading this.