Happy New Year

Hey Guys

Its 2015. Many of you would have partied hard at night. Others would have had a quiet evening with family at home. And many of you would have also just lazed around like me, wondering what the heck is this New Year celebrations all about. Well, it is all right to thing either which ways. the bottom line is that we have another year to look forward to. And while the year holds a lot of promise to everyone, it would be important to find out what we could not do in 2014 and start afresh. 

We all do have our New Year resolutions, so i am no different. And while i don't intend to share all those in this space, the one resolution i do feel very passionately about is to interact with more people and travel more. The other day i was thinking that in spite of the fact that i love travelling, i can count on my fingertips the places i have visited. India is such a vast and culturally versatile country that once really cant say that he has travelled the length and breadth of it. It is like a huge ocean where there are so many species to spot, and where the taste of the water seems ever so different at different places. 

Coming back to the blog's theme, i.e. the New Year, it is important to understand with what spirit should we look up to 2015. For those of  my age, guys and girls, we all would turn 29 this year, good enough to give us goosebumps of entering the 4th decade of our lives in not too distant future, However, since certain things in life are inevitable and hence uncontrollable, to hell with brooding over it. For me every new year is a starting point towards reviewing what was left unfinished. It is about living life with a renewed vigour, in spite of the harsh realities of life. It is about trying different things...it could be a different drink, a different dish, a different destination. And while i am a firm believer of not getting addicted to anything, at the same time i do feel one must try out most things in life (and not all!). 

And with that spirit i shall be off to Rajasthan, in a few days time, As i plan to undertake this journey, there is this pending job of getting myself registered for my 2nd semester M Phil in JNU, However i do look forward to meeting people i have never met before, seeing places i have not seen before and 

eating a few things, withing the scope of my current state of stomach, which is fragile, that i have never eaten before.

I hope you all, no matter how 2014 has gone for you, are able to look forward to 2015 with the same spirit of always being youthful and joyful, ready to accept life's challenges and create a new chapter in your own lives. 

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2015. 

Dilli ki sardi : a bane and a boon

Frozen hands, dried out skins and garma-garam food. Delhi winter has its own charms, and still is a terror, even after so many years of living here. It is strange how every year we abhor the winters but still somehow get through it. Sporadic days of bathing, teeth shivering and gloves and a water-bags. days go by when the sun does not show itself up. We whine, complain and do nothing, still we end up eating and rather, gorging on various stuff.

There are many cities which experience a pleasant weather throughout the year. Bangalore is one such beautiful place. I spent my last winter over there, and while it was great to wear a simple T-shirt and jeans all day, somehow having tea in such a "moderate" weather in December lacked that verve and that chillness. It was like drinking tea without its soul. Somehow the Delhi winter brings to teh surface the soul of most things consumable. Whether it is eating paranthas with truckloads of  butter or having ginger tea, winters make you go into another zone altogether.

The flip side of Delhi winters is something we feel during summers as well: laziness. The difference lies in that fact that while in summers we somehow muster up courage to go out and do work, winters are literally cages. You feel as if somebody has chained you in warm, cozy blankets. Alarms go snoozing for a full one hour and on holidays, even more. It becomes excruciating and to be on time for work is almost a magic, i.e. if one takes bath and then goes. Your boss is always in your imagination, and it doesn't take long to see him visible on your mobile, appearing as a bubbling lava, waiting for a space in your mobile to vent out his own frustrations of winter's inabilities. The vibration of the mobile is a like a mini earthquake. But still most of us are able to convince the boss with some reason or the other.

Yesterday morning, as i went in a car with my Mama-mami, the fog seemed to envelope us in a no zone. It was literally like entering into a Bermuda triangle. For a few moments i would have my heart in the mouth till i could see a car running in front of us. Hearing news about accidents due to fog is one thing, but totally another to actually experience it.

Everything said and done, Delhi winters offers an opportunity to try out stylish sweaters, jackets, mufflers and sweat shirts and that is the best thing about it. I wont say i am one of the more stylish persons going around, i still prefer to dress up well. It is something the pleasant (emphasis personal) weather of Bangalore or any other moderate climate city cannot offer.

All and all, you dilliwallahs enjoy the winter that Delhi offers. Have paranthas, maggy and a plastic glass of chai from your local pappu paranthe wala. You might as well click a selfie there and cherish for future winters to come.

Tic-tac Tic-tac

As i sit down to write another blog, my mind is totally blank. There is an urge to write but no ideas come to mind. What do i write about? There are loads of things happening in my life but then what is that one thing that i can write about? To sit down in front of the computer and start writing itself requires courage, i feel.

So then, i have just mustered some courage to write. Just to write. Dont know what to write about. There is a clock in my room whose tic-tic sound just reminds me of the time passing by. Moments passing by, Each moment passed by is a moment closer to death; closer to the ultimate inevitability of life itself. I feel at ease but at the same time there is a yearning- a yearning that before i hit the bed i must accomplish something, anything but not nothing. My research topic for Mphil remains in limbo. I keep getting frustrated on thinking about India's disastrous bowling in the ongoing test series against Australia. Why the hell did Sachin not reveal more than a mere summary of his cricketing career.

Thought then goes to my father. Where must he be? Has he already toddled his way into a new family, where he must be beginning to walk? Or is he still taking his time in heaven, probably reminiscing about times spent with his elder brother, who preceded him by a few days?

I do feel life throws up new opportunities everyday. But brooding about something in the past, or thinking hard about an interesting future, i while away my present. It seems crazy at times but this convoluted state, i feel is a bliss. It keeps me going. It keeps me engaged. But is it productive? Some say be productive than be busy. I do feel that is the way to go about life. Met an old and precious friend in Khan Market after a long long time. the walk around the market, seeing the posh south Delhi crowd, does give a high. As my friend and me take a selfie, i feel that i must take out time to write more. It has taken me a mere 5 minutes to finish this piece and i feel as time goes by i am getting more and more engaged with myself. May this continue little longer. Tic-tac tic-tac.

Shopping with Sis and Mom

It had been a while since we all three, i.e. me, my mom and sister, went out for a good old shopping spree. What with various individual activities keeping us all busy, it had been pretty tough to take out time and spend some moments together, But today we finally went to buy some winter clothes. Well it was my sister who did the shopping and you know what, i got pretty damn lucky.

We initially went to Moti Bagh's Begum Zaidi Market. A small cozy market with shops lined up for various things. It was Saturday afternoon with lovely sunny weather and the Delhi cold, making it an exotic cocktail. As we stepped out of the car, my mother tried hard to recollect the name of the shop from where my sister was supposed to buy sweaters. She kept saying Narang, Narang. I went up to a chemist shop and asked him for "Narang", a sweater shop. He told me about a shop called Novex. My mother told me it must be that and so we went to shop no 34. As we went in, i let my mom and sister search for themselves and decided to walk around a bit. 2 shops adjacent to shop no 34, a stout lady was quarreling with the shopkeeper of shoes, about a pair of shoes that she had bought but for some reason had to exchange. In a little corner a middle aged man was at his sewing machine while taking delight in listening to the argument.

I went back to the shop and saw a couple trying out some sweaters, majorly the man. Anyway, my sister chose about 3-4 sweater and we were off to our next destination, South Extension market.

This particular market has a nostalgic charm to it for me. As a kid my mom used to take me and my sister to the market on various occasions while coming back from south Delhi. It's famous for its really tasty Bhel Puri. And so, we entered the market and went to Levi's as my sister wanted to buy a few pairs of jeans. She shopped and shopped to such an extent that i could get a leather jacket and a watch free for that amount of shopping that she did. Of course i was gleaning with joy. Then, of course, we had to go to eat something. So we hit the Bhel Puri joint but we did not have that. Some hot steamed paneer Momos and filter coffee was the menu for the day. We wanted to spend some more time together but since i had a pressing commitment in the evening, we had to return back earlier than we would have liked. But still it was a day spent very well and just added to the moments spent together.  Shopping with sister and mom

AMIGO PARA SIEMPRE

Dear Bablu sir


This is a small dedication from my side to you on YOUR DAY. First of all i wish you a very very happy birthday. You are simply an amazing person and i feel truly privileged to have known you. Do not take it as a testimony, something we used to do when Orkut was a craze and we would dedicate hundreds and thousands of lines on our friends. 


The thought of writing something about you just came instantly to me, as in probably just about ten minutes back. In these past 8 months that i have known you, i have silently observed a lot of things about you most of which, if applied positively on myself can make me much better person. Amongst all the fun and frolic we have in the campus, you are the one who brings a lot of sanity to our group. The way you handle the pressure and demands in the campus truly are worth noting and need to be badly applied by me.


To keep it short i hope i will have the opportunities in future to have many more memorable moments with you, and keep learning something or the other from you. 


Regards 
Siddharth   

On a Journey of Self-Exploration

Many times we come across people whose presence just enlivens us. With them we feel like we are what we truly are. On the other hand there are people whom we just loathe. They give us the creeps for no apparent reason. even if they are behaving well with us we just don't seem to feel comfortable. Why is it so??

 I have often asked myself this question. and as it happens with most of my questions, it takes me back into a journey called "self exploration". I have come to realise that its not they who make me uncomfortable. it is my own inherent nature that makes me feel in a particular way towards them. Sometimes it is just that we are happy to be with people with whom we get on well. AND THAT IS PERFECTLY FINE. Its just that i feel it will for my own personal growth that i interact with each and everyone. Often talking to others make me look into myself and see where the %&*$ am i going wrong. It is a journey in which the other person is the driver and i am the passenger.

Funnily enough, when the gears are not put at the right time, i tend to go back into my cocoon. Its almost as if the car has come to a grinding halt and does not want to open itself for the fuel to be filled. And i guess that where most of us go wrong. We tend to talk to only those with whom we feel comfortable and not even try to break the ice with those who make us twitch.

It is time to change myself. I can not go on like this. Especially in today's competitive world it is almost imperative to interact with all kind of people. However i do not want to change this nature just because it is the nedd of today's world but to change something of me, To make myself just that little bit better. Hope It happens:-)

MERE SISTER KA DULHA

Travails of a brother

Over the past few weeks I have begun to realise that finding a suitable match for one’s sister is a not a cakewalk. For me it all starts with a telephone call on my mom’s mobile, picked up by dad, logging on to my mother’s email-id and final product- the guy’s profile in the hands of my dad, and of course yes- it all ends with my sister’s customary shaking of her head as a sign of disapproval, and then we start it all over again. 

It is a good test of one’s patience as we go through an endless list of profiles, and as we hop from one matrimonial website to another, it gives you the feeling that: Oh God is this ever going to end?

Since my sister has her own set of conditions and criteria for the “Mr. Perfect”, I and my dad have to go through a slew of profiles of guys ranging from fields of IT to Medical to Commerce and the like. Since my father is not computer savvy he puts me in front of the computer to help him with the latest mails that are sent on my mother’s account. Since the list is pretty long I make sure that at least a couple of windows are open alongside the matrimonial website. They generally are Facebook and YouTube. So my first job is to open my mother’s Gmail account and look at the latest mails that have come. Then I give the information to my dad as to who has shown interest in the advertisement we posted in the newspaper or who has followed up on our telephonic conversation. As we hail from an orthodox Tamil family, our search invariably heads towards Tamil guys. While I look through the pictures of my prospective brother-in-law. I wonder to myself: “Is this the one?”

As I take print-outs of the profiles of different guys, I sometimes yell at my sister: “Why don’t you choose a guy for yourself and save us the trouble? She retorts: Ya, as if the guys are on sale in the market.” Is it difficult to find a decent guy? I wonder.

Sometimes I take my wonder a few steps farther. Once the guy is selected, the preparations for her engagement, and then her marriage need to be done.  Just the thought of it all gives me the creeps. However, I realise that being the son of the house if I don’t take responsibility who will? Just as I am about to finish off this piece, there rings my Mom’s mobile again. Off to my computer. Dad, let’s start.