He: How 'bout me dropping you in my bike, in this drizzle?
She: I'd love that, but, do you want to trade standing here under the shelter, watching the drizzle with that?
H: hmm.., thats also true... and you're looking beautiful...
She: *smiles*
He: that smile, and the little curve it leaves on your cheek, makes it just perfect.
She: ....
He:...
She: Its so nice when you hold your gaze like that...
He: very few people in this world understand what it is to stand under a shelter when it is drizzling
She: I agree. And as if to reinforce, that guy there walking with his green umbrella obviously doesn't know what he's missing...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
My Green Umbrella.
It is at times like today, when there is an unexpected drizzle, I take pride in my decision to invest in an item as rare as an umbrella and deciding to bring it with me this morning as I left home. While it keeps me from getting wet, it also makes a statement about my planning capabilities and intuition (that it may rain), especially to people standing under the shelter without carrying one.
As you're reading this, it might be easy for you to misunderstand me as a boastful person. The mistake you're making is the 'misunderstanding' part. I am very modest and am surprised how easy it is for people dismiss this in a trice.
Do I care what people dismiss and what they confirm? All I know is me and my green umbrella. One happy family. How nicely it sits in my hand, spreading its web above me, protecting me with its might. Its a sight one can only stand (under a shelter) and watch.
As you're reading this, it might be easy for you to misunderstand me as a boastful person. The mistake you're making is the 'misunderstanding' part. I am very modest and am surprised how easy it is for people dismiss this in a trice.
Do I care what people dismiss and what they confirm? All I know is me and my green umbrella. One happy family. How nicely it sits in my hand, spreading its web above me, protecting me with its might. Its a sight one can only stand (under a shelter) and watch.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Happy Birthday Rabi, who sang the Upanishad.
I am reading this wonderful book called "Travels with Herodotus" by Ryszard Kapuscinski. I was reading the fourth chapter titled "Rabi sings the Upanishads". I found the title interesting before I started reading it. Only after reading the first paragraph did I realize the author is talking about Rabindranath Tagore, who read Upanishads with his dad at Sunrise and that how Tagore relished this activity of his childhood. The author refers to Tagore's life and draws paralles with Herodotus (which, we shall discuss on an another day). I finished this chapter and went ahead with the day.
Before I left to the office, someone near my house wanted to know where Rabindranath school is located. I corrected him saying it is Tagore School and not Rabindranath school and directed him.
On my way to Office, I remembered I had to inform my colleague about Rabindra Sethu in Kolkata and how Tagore is made to remember through symbols such as these.
I reach office and log on to google.co.in to find that Google's logo has rabindranath's sketch today. I click on it to discover that today is his birthday! I thought it was a nice way to give him a tribute.
It is when one comes across things collectively like this, that he/she is more eager to appreciate rather than find deeper meaning.
Before I left to the office, someone near my house wanted to know where Rabindranath school is located. I corrected him saying it is Tagore School and not Rabindranath school and directed him.
On my way to Office, I remembered I had to inform my colleague about Rabindra Sethu in Kolkata and how Tagore is made to remember through symbols such as these.
I reach office and log on to google.co.in to find that Google's logo has rabindranath's sketch today. I click on it to discover that today is his birthday! I thought it was a nice way to give him a tribute.
It is when one comes across things collectively like this, that he/she is more eager to appreciate rather than find deeper meaning.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Myself Ashish Making A Billion Friends!
No, I have not changed my name. You don't have to worry. Who is Ashish, then? By the time we get to that, you'll so wish you were doing what he is doing. And, I promise you that.Now, how would you like it if you were to travel all over the country, not just the four corners as Oneiro and I did in the July of 2007, but, really all over the country?
If you thought we were crazy, you must meet Ashish and know what he is up to.
To start with, the map here indicates the places he's traveling to.
More, he travels around with gadgets and updates his stories, while he is on the move.
Ashish’s journey is an evolving story, powered by the curiosity, the need (in the ‘traveller’ in all of us) for vicarious experiences and a sense of déjà vu among those of us who’ve been where he’s going.
Ashish Gupta is a Software Engineer. He left his job a while back, to pursue his other dreams, one to travel.
Even more, he is hosted by the members of OK Tata Byebye in the various cities he is visiting. These members also show him around their cities and towns. And the people behind this website are the ones who have helped Ashish in making his dream come true!
And, after hearing all this, you tell me, don't you want to do what he is doing now and make a billion friends?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Why do you seek categorization?
Is it to keep like things together (inclusion)? Or is it to keep unlike things away from each other (exclusion)?
If you seek exclusion, then, you are progressing towards a goal and don't want to waste your time unnecessarily on things that are not related to the goal and hence, you are excluding.
If you seek inclusion, then, you could be exploring options in order to set a goal, which you don't know or haven't been able to arrive at earlier. Or, you could be plain confused and don't know where to go and hence are collecting information from every place possible and hope to act on it.
Categorize to "Exclude", if you want to go ahead. Categorize to "Include" if you want to ponder.
For example, I cannot imagine the amount of information a person following 356 people in twitter and having a reading list which generates about at least 100 unread items per day. Add to this, emails and links being suggested in twitter.
How much of this information is really useful? How much of this can actually be read? I can categorize by labels like sports, entertainment, tech, blah. But, what is the whole point?
(cross posted on oooligans)
If you seek exclusion, then, you are progressing towards a goal and don't want to waste your time unnecessarily on things that are not related to the goal and hence, you are excluding.
If you seek inclusion, then, you could be exploring options in order to set a goal, which you don't know or haven't been able to arrive at earlier. Or, you could be plain confused and don't know where to go and hence are collecting information from every place possible and hope to act on it.
Categorize to "Exclude", if you want to go ahead. Categorize to "Include" if you want to ponder.
For example, I cannot imagine the amount of information a person following 356 people in twitter and having a reading list which generates about at least 100 unread items per day. Add to this, emails and links being suggested in twitter.
How much of this information is really useful? How much of this can actually be read? I can categorize by labels like sports, entertainment, tech, blah. But, what is the whole point?
(cross posted on oooligans)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Sixty Days and Six Posts
It has been sixty days since I blogged and I experience resentment towards myself. To ease this, I present to you, six posts, all handpicked, until I post again.
1. The tag on 8 different points of my perfect lover. I can't believe I wrote this and, would I still live by the 8 different points mentioned? I may. Yes.
2. A poem on my first participation in a short run in a marathon
3. A revelation. I love this poem. I composed the second two paragraphs. The first two were a part of a forward by SMS. I like the way it has turned itself out.
4. Mud Tea (which I miss so much now!)
5. An accidentally arrived formula. I feel this deserves some recognition for the way I have put it. Today, I can't believe I came up with this, I blogged about it and did nothing about it!
6. Now, I can't decide between: A dialogue (because its original); Four is just a number (because its true) ; Fate of the chocolate that laughed (well.,) ; Saccharinated Edibles ; He & She ;
I really like the ones below as well, but, since they are in the first page, I'll let them be. I would have loved to add more, but, I said six and I have given 10. So, I'll stop.
1. The tag on 8 different points of my perfect lover. I can't believe I wrote this and, would I still live by the 8 different points mentioned? I may. Yes.
2. A poem on my first participation in a short run in a marathon
3. A revelation. I love this poem. I composed the second two paragraphs. The first two were a part of a forward by SMS. I like the way it has turned itself out.
4. Mud Tea (which I miss so much now!)
5. An accidentally arrived formula. I feel this deserves some recognition for the way I have put it. Today, I can't believe I came up with this, I blogged about it and did nothing about it!
6. Now, I can't decide between: A dialogue (because its original); Four is just a number (because its true) ; Fate of the chocolate that laughed (well.,) ; Saccharinated Edibles ; He & She ;
I really like the ones below as well, but, since they are in the first page, I'll let them be. I would have loved to add more, but, I said six and I have given 10. So, I'll stop.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Hotel Shivam
"See, in the road opposite to the Maha Kaleshwar temple, there is a restaurant where they speak kannada. I don't exactly remember the name, but it is next to a garment shop where they have on display some salwar kameez and sarees. The hotel is right next to it"
Ask a woman for direction and you'll only find it in relation to a garment store. But, my friend, what do you know! This direction was impeccable and I found it as had been imagined by this good friend of mine, directing me from Bangalore. I was hungry and lunch had to be had. If lunch wasn't available for some more time, then I would have had to eat the person who was walking in front of me.
Ten more steps and there the saviour stood. No, not the man who was walking in front of me, the building. Next to the colourful salwars and kameez-es that were on display. It bore the name Hotel Shivam. It had a cellar and that is where the restaurant is. I had a long look at the menu card and ordered for "Ujjaini Thali" and a lassi. Thirty minutes later, I was a man who could have bought you whatever you asked for. Oh, you should've been there to ask.
Ask a woman for direction and you'll only find it in relation to a garment store. But, my friend, what do you know! This direction was impeccable and I found it as had been imagined by this good friend of mine, directing me from Bangalore. I was hungry and lunch had to be had. If lunch wasn't available for some more time, then I would have had to eat the person who was walking in front of me.
Ten more steps and there the saviour stood. No, not the man who was walking in front of me, the building. Next to the colourful salwars and kameez-es that were on display. It bore the name Hotel Shivam. It had a cellar and that is where the restaurant is. I had a long look at the menu card and ordered for "Ujjaini Thali" and a lassi. Thirty minutes later, I was a man who could have bought you whatever you asked for. Oh, you should've been there to ask.
One of "them"
In order to be one of "them" I have to do what they do. They travel in bus. If I take the auto, I'll become the tourist. I can walk, but, not 10 kms! At least not when I have made plans for the day and walking doesn't feature in it. So, I travel in the bus.
Its so satisfying to travel in a bus in a city that is entirely new to you. You are one of "them". You get to know the pulse of the city, first hand. Not to pass judgments, but, to adjust yourself to the kind of language they use, or, the way they talk to strangers of their own land. Its so much fun. You speak to the unsuspecting neighbor how far is the stop, you get to witness the fight for a seat. You'll meet a varied bunch of people at the same time. There will be old men and women. There will be kids. College students. Business men. And then, people who stand up and offer their seats to the elderly and the needy. People who keep eternally smiling. Or even cribbing about the lack of facilities provided by the government. People wanting to be woken up. People ready to help. Like when I had to reach to the Indore railway station from Modern Dental College in Indore, no sooner did the railway station appear at a distance, the gentleman sitting next to me almost pushed me out, fearing that I would miss the stop. I mean, HE was getting worked up!
Or when I traveled from Indore to Ujjain in a journey that lasts or about 3 hours, I asked the young boy next to me to wake me up in a while. That guy in fact was preparing for a national level law test and wanted to come to Bangalore to study Law. The gleam in his eye was hard to miss when I said I was from Bangalore. But, being a Bangalorean, at that point of time, I was accessible to him! I was one of "them" for him and that is what mattered to him.
(Where was he going? He was going to his granny's place which is in a village near Indore, on the way to Ujjain, so that he could study peacefuly and not get disturbed!)
You know I love bus travel, don't you? Oh, c'mon, you know. I've told you about it here. Or even this post, for that matter. Heck, I've even traveled in buses in Chennai. I'm sure you don't want me to remind you of what happened in Manali.
Its so satisfying to travel in a bus in a city that is entirely new to you. You are one of "them". You get to know the pulse of the city, first hand. Not to pass judgments, but, to adjust yourself to the kind of language they use, or, the way they talk to strangers of their own land. Its so much fun. You speak to the unsuspecting neighbor how far is the stop, you get to witness the fight for a seat. You'll meet a varied bunch of people at the same time. There will be old men and women. There will be kids. College students. Business men. And then, people who stand up and offer their seats to the elderly and the needy. People who keep eternally smiling. Or even cribbing about the lack of facilities provided by the government. People wanting to be woken up. People ready to help. Like when I had to reach to the Indore railway station from Modern Dental College in Indore, no sooner did the railway station appear at a distance, the gentleman sitting next to me almost pushed me out, fearing that I would miss the stop. I mean, HE was getting worked up!
Or when I traveled from Indore to Ujjain in a journey that lasts or about 3 hours, I asked the young boy next to me to wake me up in a while. That guy in fact was preparing for a national level law test and wanted to come to Bangalore to study Law. The gleam in his eye was hard to miss when I said I was from Bangalore. But, being a Bangalorean, at that point of time, I was accessible to him! I was one of "them" for him and that is what mattered to him.
(Where was he going? He was going to his granny's place which is in a village near Indore, on the way to Ujjain, so that he could study peacefuly and not get disturbed!)
You know I love bus travel, don't you? Oh, c'mon, you know. I've told you about it here. Or even this post, for that matter. Heck, I've even traveled in buses in Chennai. I'm sure you don't want me to remind you of what happened in Manali.
Choti Line
I go to the railway station to enquire when the next train to Mhow is. I am told, "choti line pe jao". Now, having traveled in a local bus, I have to be one of "them" and not show so easily that I am a tourist. So, I pretend to understand and nod in approval. I walk three or four times in loops that are not exactly circles, but, can be approximated to. I search for faces that tell me "I can help you, my son". I go back to him and ask him "where is choti line counter". I can't ask him what is choti line. I have to figure that out myself. And then, he tells me exactly how to go there and reaching there, I find that its a ticket counter too! I am now irritated that I don't know what choti line is. I peep from the counter while the man behind tends to the person in front of me and voila! Choti line is the meter guage line that runs in parts of MP! The rail is only 1 meter wide and the train looks like a toy train! Choti indeed!
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