Mentoring & being mentored

Mentoring is a difficult job. As I read businesspundit.com and other career blogs, i recall my interactions with my mentor. One predicted that i would rule. Another told me that i would revolutionise. A third said that there was something wrong with me. The fourth said maybe i was in the wrong company. The fifth said that I shoot from the hip. All were right.
As I look back on the past year, I remember the ones I mentored. One said that he had never seen anything like this in 20 years. Another said that what I was doing for the peole was worth Rs. 1 crore. A third said that I had taught him english. A fourth that my reforms would be SOP next year. The fifth said that I had good ideas, but he did not see me getting far in the company. All were right.
As corporate musical chairs promote, fire, keep my mentors and my mentees leave, progress, brand, stay, develop; the shows go on
& on
& on
here, there, everywhere, nowhere, somewhere over the rainbows.

FMS Fiesta Refueled

Happenstance Bhimani's back
ESPN Star Quiz bhai's rack
Harsha Bhogle played cricket
Breaks anek, Adidas wicket
Mac Donalds hopping buses
Late for shoot, shoot later
Croc Lacoste, Central 'gator
Shoes in Noida Nat geo genii
Barcampers untie OSS gemini
Shaw cornered, dear liar
How long? pant our fire.

Sarai performance: This Evening Too- From Lal Ded to Ahad Zargar

An inversion of the emperor's new clothes.

meat for some eyes, poison for others.

Housed talent exhibits.

Lal Ded/Lalleshwari is a 14th c saint poet from Kashmir.

Abdul Ahad Zargar's vacchun was the background tune to Indersalim's performance.

He ate dust, created a black and white palette on his torso which he used to paint the lyrics of the background song on paper rolling from the wall. The words were akin to bull for us as we knew zilch urdu- his hieroglyphics could have been Greek for all we knew.

lal Ded's text was on his back which faced us as he wrote out a century old thought.

Although his performance was thought provoking, mocking us as we struggled to decipher his stasis, i wonder how much we took away from the spectacle.

His body overshadowed the message, which we only dimply comprehended, not sharing his heritage. the plaintive strains of the song climaxed with him as we sought to match the words to his motion.

The performance could have been 1/9 of its length as he circled the text. the sheer length of the play forced us to pause, as we were forced to consider the questions he raised, the answers he tore and handed to us. the paint was still wet.

I feel much of the text's beauty was lost in translation. as Urdu is similar to Hindi, perhaps a handout of Urdu in English script would have helped us match the song to the act more.

However, i have a sneaking suspicion that to have done so would have reduced the importance of the artist- perhaps, he wished to be in the limelight as an enigma rather than as a representative of his culture.

gym gap analyse this

not fat thank dio
blamed it on rio
toner shoner
dumbeller
treader
exercycler
100 calories down
but not out yet.

get 'em fit for lives

Give, give with a heart

I do not have a credit card so am unable to fork out- but whoever can. would be great if you could cough up some small change for Afrikaans so that they can hakuna matata.

Tuscan Verve

Lorenzo de Medici by Vasari

On the eve of Columbus Americanny.

Harunobu's, 18th c.

Suzuki- Samurai

Welcoming Him

hai.

Mush mush.

Daijobu desu yo.

Hokkei's

1820

Kintaro & Carp in a Waterfall

Fight for growth, success call.

Art

Art needs the masala of fart

in the absence of which it is fart.

Much Indian art today would fall in Cat 2.

The Japanese worldview lent itself to abstraction

Centuries ago, as it is their culture.

Food and sleep are the essentails for life.

Nothing is beautiful.

Food indeed, for thought.

The land we call home by sanam n troupe, @ NSD

Albinoesques

Carnatic

Fishview

Dharmaraj, aap agya dein to mein uski zabaan kheech loon...

BFGs

BHAGs
Boys & girlsa acted as rakhshasas in Sophie's world
English Grammar 101 ended
As exams approach
Catters geared
Strategy saved asses
Others call now
Khoon lag gaya hai
Unsuni.com upstaged lawyers
Pangas @ rest
All's right in Malaysia.
Buzz was hohum
Paranthas were better
So was shopping @ winter bazaars
hallmarked toxic bachelors
trousseau unvieled admired packed up
Excel expenses calculated
Living within means
Without angers
Springcleaning
summer winter shifted
memories revived
prithvi theatres last year
tax planning
returning
reviewing
appraising
acknowledging
misa
pisa kuni?
tera number bhi ayega.
pedicuring ham
thanksgiving approaches lands
lord good fjord
morgan
megan
cynthia
united we stand
self fullfilling prophecies
./. they fall
from newtonian trees
on einstein's knees
here's to the crazy ones, hitlerr.

Socials

Upping the ante

Teen patti players

Gulli danda hitters

Still to visit LML

College shootouts

Lyons of Punjabis

What's our reach

If not to exceed our grasp

Heaven?

Gyan Capsules

Fantastic Voyage
Stimulated Adage
However, I maintain
Seeing woods beyond treemen
MacDuffer, that's me.

Ides of November

Utopian Creation, Dhrishtikon, Karma yatras
Danny Mcgill, Sophiya Haque, Johnny Bravuras

Grandaddies of all festivals harmony
SRCC, Mecca, Bachanalia symphony

Musical Instruments, Abhishake
babes in College, asked for cake

Ale Adam's apple of Discord
Cacaphony, Jaccosynthesised

Olympia. BCL Dramatics, Carol Evenings
Abhgyan, The Wall, Rumours, Affairs

Doctors in Spite of Ourselves, Boastful Rabbits
Grumpy dwarfed Goliath's David, Michel skits

The Line, Antigone, Amadeus, Hayavadana
The fiction of St. Stephens, Shakespearana

Karna, Midsummer Night's Dreamed Bottom
The Importance of Being Earnest, Casurina

Julius octaves octet, celeb debates Tharoor
Millenium lectured glasses off stage spoor

The Tempest, Mariana, Miranda, Pandy
Flaming Feathers to a Ray Charles Handy

Ice Candy Man giver provided we amuse
The play's the thing
Wherein we caught the conscience of Ruse

Veltanschung, Gotterdammerdung Deutsche Dutch
Streets of Philly, New York, New Yorkers Pach

Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Abida Parveen
Nusrat, Sangam, Chini Whispered Sheen

Charlie, chary tactiturn Steve
Flmboyance flambe Onion peeve

Pets piranhas Indiana calls to Jone
Jean patchwork mirror gray Dorian

Drones queens workers ants Vaclav Hamel
Leaf fell on loneliness. Encore! Please, Kamil.

July's revolutionaries

Nandigram, Antaragram, Sanskriti
By the pricking of my thumbs upsy
Dazy's lazee, maids of Manhattan
Or Orleans genuflect towards Ran.

Bhagvad

Gita- Arjun's monologue
By Arun Kukreja's provogue
Arjun feels guilty
Confesses sin city
Eklavya preys on his mind
A good flip through mankind.

Eyes Wide Shut@ Giridih

Chowk in Bada Makan

Brothers on top

Women Bottoms Up

Now dietician social worker

Brothers engineers

Catting, Civil Services

Aspirants all to ladder

Climbers suxesfully.

Inshallah.

Chacha's Kiddies Day Out

1, 2

Chachacha

Nehru/Bimal/Harshu

To India/Nutty/Satchi

Or Lilah, Ananya, Arriya

It's always been their day

Night, & evergreens way.

Temper tantrums inherited from us

A love for beaueous dramatics gorgeous

All gone on us, them & funny too. Loyal

Friendly, dancers, toothy grins shy et al.

Vive le enfant terribles!

Orhan Pamuks

slim voluminous read
Death unravelled sped
Towards plays pleasant
Gyan browsed, insouciant.

Professors met, greeted anew
Bhel wolfed, College trailed dew
MainCor people watching also
Today's Engagements, Cafe ho.

Nimbupani ran out, Mohan cawed
Rohtash shut shop, Mince alawed
Rajpal was on, Venky was playing
'Nuff theatre in me, am going.

Metro wrong, circular roads
Auto found, hi me homewards

to you wunly youwho n you know you

:)

XXX.

On the classy Class of 1997, La Martiniere, Kolkata

Senior sisters taught us
In free periods zabardast

When we went to Mumbhai
For Bournvita Quiz Contessa
Mona Lisa smiled @ her colts
Brother's hot, said Vandana Scolt.

Dead Antara Mukhada & me
Scored the highest ever on BQC
Shortest quizzers ever, IIT Powai
Eventual winners, Campion Mumbai.

Anand, M.M. aunt & Stanford alum
Watched over quizmasters elan
Miss Maskhari & Miss Brat foxed
Teachers on their day, Hilda Peacock

Throned preened as merry Jerry
Vented spleen as Maggi Baggy
Sought help from students on Prodigy
Current Affairs: Akhion move Jaipuri

Quilted, kilted silted Dehri-on-Sone
Damodar Valley, J.C.T., Giridih shone
Flaming Mustards teary eyed Roshan
Ara, Noorjahan Mehta we asked for time

Anu Roman, now concubine no more consort
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N: a last Pondicherried resort.
97 Neha, Patto, Nature Clubbers, trekked to
Sandakfu, Nidhi shot peak climber, sister

Rescued muah from falling off Heathcliff.
Vishal burnt my toes, as we sipped Thumba
Domesticated scientific engineered rhumba
Sportsmanship taught us, Modern High

Schooled twins, monitored principals Chulbulis
Question asked, answer found in avuncularities
Crisscross linecrossers croissants etc Young & R
handycams scanners, Radhika's a graduate err

Feynman, Schrodinger's cat, Prisoner's Dilemma
Horned randy brandy goats in our alma mater
Rabbit babysitters, ICSE takers, topped Chater
Founder's Bonfire Dinner Dancers salsa Akhila

Ranganathan, Soraya Husainsagar lake awaked
Agni, Barkha, Shruti Modi Todi, Kanupriyad
Didwania, Aditi Saraogi, Shayoni Mitra Priyamvadad
Oindrila Mukherjee, Ranjini Dasgupta presided

Over weekly meetings in the Nursery of Quiz City
Clubbers advised by Churiwala, rocked Kolkata
Limca Book of Records Quiz, Class then nined
The Big C, Baryscaped Antara Datta rhymed.

Let's make things better, Orko. Phillipenes
Great, better than thou is Doctor Strait
Gibraltar, Shan Chauhan sang distrait
While I timekept Bed of Roses, whined

If I overshoot let it go. 45 seconds wrote off
As a bad penny debtor hostage to face/off
Beat Gregorian chants, Old Spiced Axeland
Kar aunty psyched us out while Chattersand

Choker Bali, monkey troubled snake caged
There's still something about Maria's Huan
Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Stanley David Argused
Dalhousie Instituted Open Quizzes, Sohag Lahiri

Sunil Anil Vaswani, Nilanjan Mitra Sidhangshu
Manovikas Kendra, tendered resignations kyu
Ki Saas kabhi mumkin nahi hai. Yeh ladka mere
Samne mera dil le gaya. Ab kya karen?

Yeh kaisi mushkil hai hai hi (sigh)

:)

XX.

nati binodini.

Happee Chuts Deepawali

It little profits that an idle Rex
Matched with an aged life Vex
Metes & doles unequal laws
To a savage race; That paws
Hoards, sleeps & knows not Ye.

He cannot rest from travel
He does drink life from the lees
London Bridge fell on her knees
While Chaat partied@ home
All roads still lead to Rome.

Much has he seen & known
Though much is taken, much abides
Still strives, seeks as yet unknown
Jerry's merry, TomKat slips slides.

How dull it is to rust unburnished
As though to breathe were life
Danish bavarian black varnished
Suited booted spat polished strife

Cockney Soho Boho chic kababs
The Underground, "Inquilab Zindabad."

Beauty lying in the eyes of the beholder

That's hot.
He's not.
Runaway jury's still out.
Meanwhile, in other news, the Home Video Editing Workshop organised by Adobe this Saturday was extremely informative. Premier elements 4 is priced at $ 99 and has been rated by experts as being one of the top 10 products in the world recently.
Windows Movie Maker being free is usually what newcomers use. However, Adobe's offering is also very user friendly- you can edit, create a picture from images, add subtitles, music et al with ease. Looking forward to testing the product.

e-skholers

holler they are entranced
while stoned romanced
as their time ends
chapters do mends
around gender bends.

oh! kolkata calls kol-men
gigolos giggle, power rain
men black women white
cargo mago makeshift
arrange estrangements
stranger curiouser Lents
Denied selves await Kent
Wooster roosters come home
Sweet thanks giving to Rome

Madhushalas routes many
Varied spiced caravans any
Schoolgirls merry greened
Ganja guys n gals preened
Proud lions Aslan Anga

Metre measured six yards
Ghaghra goris to buy come
With their signature cards
I still want my MTV, Yama
Chacha Taichi watch over
twinkle winkle ripped von
Jean Cloud Huan Cholbe na.

Turning six, Ananya still
Builds rockeries by Will
Whimsy calls again to me
To repair a sighing bridge
Do I dare disturb their universe?

Peaches blossom in Peri gardens
Kamadev ki seema anant verdan
Will she won't be can't pay wont
Still i must try or else...I dont
Cogito ergo summa cum laude
Magna Carta read air bellowe

Fresh tendrils caress the air there
Where children nursed lap fair air
Younger's three, making merry
Hair shines like hayfever feisty
Ponytailed we shall ride in anu
Diwali happy Ram rajya jugnu
Ka tila...Heer misses Ranjha but
Will prejudiced jaundiced uncut
Pounds of flesh demand encore?

Proof of the pudding was in her eating
Dirt skirts issues open widows seething
Raged lawrentian storms on earthworms
In the room the women still come n go
talking of Michelangelo's children.
Mine neices pieces puzzled jigsawed jaws
Mandibles chew cuds while i consider paws

Do I go or do I stay? To rush once more
lemming wards is foolhardy.
Let me play the fool
I am not Prince Hamnet, nor was meant to bee.
Byrds. I will stomach displaced dislocated hate
Poisoned blue swallow once more for goatscape
Requirerd ease once more. nothing really will
Suffice outlaws, Robin. Red rode hoodwards
Woolfland hoy.

Bean me Scotty.

Wish me kismet karmic chameleon too.

Prez dbait @ Chachacha Nehrue's

Was immensely entertaining. Comrads fought, pulled the mandap down, very Parliamentarian in their behaviour.
Bhajpa as usual tried to bring religion up & had their janmabhoomi demolished for their pains.
I'm not sorry.

Is the world still flat?

Post attending the lecture delivered by Friedman, I don't think so. The global playing field may be level now, but as an audience member pointed out, Africa remains the dark continent. The lecture was a rehash of the book. The saving grace was the delivery- very interactive, he had the audience rolling in the aisles. The sneeze which could be heard in Pakistan added to the merriment.
Decolonising the Indian mind remains a challenge. His book has sold 50000 copies in China, which he thinks will own this century. I still think that as the world's largest democracy, the world is now at our feet.

answering the call

as i walked down
i heard a procession
i called near & dear ones
one answered a little late
the other struggles for independence

kyunki saan bhi kabhi bahu thi
tulsi pata moradabad girl
virani hirani vaswani khemani
mon ami, comprendez vous
comme il faut

kyunki fighter hamesha jeetta hai
jeetey raho
when we're good, we're good
but when we're bad, we're subhanallah
wot say, hakuna matata men?

as generation u gives way too
what next, we wonder.
wait n watch...
mmm
m&m.
nothing else will do you.

Mince

Cafe talks
Library "studies"
Brothers in arms
Shrink wrapped
Celebrating summer
A mite too early
For a Siddiqui.
Purple ikat gifts
Treats @ Thar
Desi ghee too much
Linguistics classes
Meghdoot glasses
Barista bumping ins
Scarborough my fair ladies
Blogposts; Keh Mukarnis
Surprise foolish calls
Surrealistic SMSes
Women don't make passes
At old men in glasses/classes.
Angst shared cared
Shakes Soc trials
BCL film vials
Big Chill partings
Momo Point reunions
Derrida sessions
PGWA paratha picnics
Raghu Romeos in VKRV
Agony aunt, sister, poet
Film appreciation sessions
Seminar dissections
Goddess of small things
Eveready for all rings
Engaged, busy; no reply
Bahunara
This too shall pass
AJ PJ or X'mas mass
Poetry prized, MA topper
Dainty dragon fire eater
Dislocated wandering Jew
To a small townie near Kolkata
DGP blue, Ashley Tellus
What makes you tick, beloved.
Ad dei Gloriam
Cetrus paribus
Lover of freshers
Air, art salute
Vodka pochka men
Bowed down mister
Har har mahadev
Kriskrossing rainbow girl
Love always
Confused convincer.

To the best

I knew you by reputation first
Orientation then
Fellow quizzers
We suffered a dry commercial run.

TDP to TDP, MOC 6
BMI defiers trainers
AE meets
Phone shellings
Truth tellings
Market work
Beats were on
Off SKUs
Extended trainees
Usual sob stories

Jani bravo
Nawab of Warangal
Business Class
Head honcho meets

Branch meetings
Troubled greetings.

Appraisals delayed denied
Long nights when I cried

Till morning came
Treats shared cared
Dad appraised
Rossogulla days.

Confrontations galore
Need to know basis
Need to say basis
Need to be stasis

Pamela Shamela
Shorts fats hair ala
Dances in moonlite

Plane Jane salutes
Qwality inn residence
Precedent providence
Best in the country

Breakfasts lunches
Dinner fed to lions
Let the games begin
Champions we were
The world, Ambition

21 gun calls
Beer football
FAL Menz Active biker
Reduction ad absurdum
Spiker, groover, moover
Hoover shaker

Commentor, recommendor
Filipino dancers
Singer
Once more a father
This time, unknown
Yet shortly to reveal
A pearl
Guaranteed.

Trained Nupur.
Hasta la vista, baby:)

Sop Arriya Girl

The Namesake

FPG

Short with short hair
Kolkata talks balti buck
Marks, ragging, roosters
Set to war with boosters
Shots, morning wakeup calls
Sleeping to the radio gogodolls
Makeup commune bonding
Lone Bong senior Stiff onion
Iniation in totem pole iron
Greased poledancer winner
Harmony breakup angst
Long night chats breakfast
Sunsets sunrises unseen 8:50s
Stealing men away victories
History patterns historiography
Kal mangal deep diwali hai acky
Breaky hearts sobbing homesick
naive Bosnia trips moving out quick
Single room inherited loss gained
New friends colonies wah taj bain
Noorjahan Hoykyu marks dropped
Soldiered on to top erstwhile fopped
Fach once always will be one, Chow
Friend, sister, HPS girl talked WoW
Ex why Zee chance meetings pow
Every bitch has her day, yours came
Mine will too, Inshallah, kismet tame
Unleasshed wild sided with truths
Forgetful but remembering, strweth
Love conquers all rules, majorly, minor
We've found what we searched for, diner
Tom, Dick, Harry Potter reincarnated
Punjabi by nature men, item numbered
Sweets for the sweet, sugar for our love
Dove, peace, imagined fairy lands strove
Sought, found, did not yield, untilled cash
Registered full house, bingo, black jack hash
Casino Royale, Gentlewomen preferred blonde
Proud to be Khanni gals, Khanni's our best pal
Ad dei Gloriam.

For a brown girl in the ring

I knew you by reputation first
At the Bournvita Quiz Contest.
When you joined school, friends
Romans, countrymen saluts
Interactor, secret agony talks
Hair pushing back, drama walks
Sociology pep talks. Debator
Hotel manager, fish cutter
Americana sexpressor, sardar
Namaste. Milkbikis, sculpted
Features, new zeal mates
Brat current affairs, prodigy
Hyperactive IQ queen, spelt bee.
Flowers, ships, true lovers
I understood, dishcovers
MBAs both now post BAs
Accounted for, still looking
Cook booking, mind reading
Limca book of Records Delhi
Pool boys, Assamese girls
We are so very veri merry.
Tops given, worn out, stoned
Stupid, retard, brothers mothers
We've share cared them all.
See you later, alligator sister.

Bacon Liver Tomato Previewer

College in Springtime

Maskara khandan in the 90s

Khajur khao, khajur...

Leverians

लेडी लीवर आर्ट गैलरी इस अन एए ओपनर इन्तो थे वोर्ल्ड्स ऑफ़ थे लीवर ब्रोठेर्स। Documentation and evangelism of human history using art gives an insight into why this company has influenced the world and been it's soap opera ever since it's inception.
Always thinking ahead, being proactive, it has a knack of moving ahead by visualising the future before it happens.
As she completes 75 years in India, let us salute the ladies who have consumed and are FMCGs.
Vive le Levers.

अर्ज़ किया hai

इश्क वोह आग है
जो जलाये ना जले
और बुजाहे ना बुझे।

पत्ता पत्ता बूटा बूटा
हाल हमारा जाने है
जाने ना जाने
गुल ही ना जाने
बाघ तो सारा जाने है।

टेस्टी फ्रॉम पापा's डारी ऑफ़ शेर्स, दोहस, पोएम्स

तुम्हारी शान घट जाती
कि रुतबा घट गया होता
जो ग़ुस्से से कहा तुमने
वही हंस कर कहा होता

Let us now praise famous women

Doris Lessing has won the Nobel. Deservingly so. Let's consider again the woman question.
What do women want?
Freud confessed that he was baffled.
How would he know, when we don't either.
We have come a long way over the last century in terms of evolution.
Adam & Eve, Shiva-Parvati, Vishnu-Lakshmi, Saraswati, Maa Kaali, Durga.
The faces of the eternal feminine.
When we are angry, playful, serving our loves, children, parents.
To continue,
Evolution will lead to revolutions.
Meanwhile, men- you can go eat cake:)
Baker, we'd like some too:))
The way to our hearts is also through our stomach.
Goddit?
Vive le ericture feminine.
The Mad woman's underclothes.
XX.
Madame Qry, Salut.

Dengue

Strikes, it bites.
I remember pressing your flesh.
Our first talk & walk.
Phone pals...
My agony aunt
Dutifully, 24/7
Motiv8ed me through
Appraisals.
A solution based approach
Saturday afternoon
magicked you up
Treadmills of the gods
grind slowly, but grind
Exceedingly fine.
Agility, ability
Please work.
15 saal bad...
White lies
Bangkok talks
Mukh East
hum bhi agar stiffonion hote
naam hamara hota Andrew Andre
Gentlewomen prefer blondes too
5 talla, Worli naaka
uninfluencable, block Goa
Excell, S&M baltis
Dali univercities
life, the universal beach.
You remain
A VVIP.
Much love,
Nutty.

Week end

Was good. Don't remember much, but I do remember that I had fun. Teaching kids is very satisfying. I managed to catch a German play too, which used media interchangably to show our being taken over by media. Tomorrow's a holiday. Looking forward to being lazy in DU. Let's see how things pan out.
Read an Alberto Moravia- I like his style-it's very direct while at the same time he questions himself and his feelings constantly, but only to understand himself better.

Who belongs to this this this

Bliss.
nai Dunia has invited me for a Christmas Eve launch in Jabalpore.
!!!
:)
Here's to the crazy ones!

Wonderfool Weakends

Had a blast- literally let my hair down n painted the town red in my head. Went partying at half price on Friday night...Saturday I went to khan Market, bought chokolat n saw Manzil headquarters. Then I wound my way to CP, where i bought People Tree goodies- a batik hairband that was exorbitantly priced--but then, it is for the good earth:)
Sunday was also a funday--went to a wildlife film festival at habitat--saw Marilyn Monroe's corner at American Diner. Bought goodies from a stall that supplies to the national park--now I can do up my desk at office office with a vengeance:)The muffins at Eatopia had finished, so I had a chocolate tart instead.
Lost my way after a long time--went to Lodhi hotel instead of Lodhi garden restaurant for an open air concert--these firangs caught hold of me in khan Market--said Deli Univarsity n gave me a pass:)
The concert was amazing--we lolled on divans in the lawn n maaroed mast adda for hours on endless hours--had falafel rolls:)
Life remains good:) velly velly goot:>

Phoney wars

Left my phone again at home today. No woman is an island. As I have Perk for dessert, I think about North Campus. There is a film on Madhubani artists at Sarai this weekend.
At the eye clinic, I met two blonde babes. Shanti and Asha make a great team. The former is one with blue eyes & the latter 2.5 with hazel eyes. Asha was playing a video game. I played video games when I was ten. Video Go goo video gaga.

I'm Red:)

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorcrayonareyouquiz/

Walking the thought

Yesterday, I walked to office. It felt very refreshing. I also had a dekko at Rajinder Dhaba--of course, being a vegan I was not keen to sample its wares.
Today, I walked in Deer Park. I saw the deer there for the first time today. They have such beautiful, soft, speaking eyes. A crow had parked itself on a deer's back, and the burdened deer was still peaceful:)
Nothing Authentic/No Escape/No Mercy may be different views of the same thought. Changes of air help blow the cobwebs of our minds clean. Or else, spiders trap flies in parlours with chilling regularity.
Nanotechnology, here we come.

Shine, Shine like a star

I went to a stargazing lecture at IHC. This little girl asked some extremely interesting questions. She asked whether if we put on all the lights in the world, will it equal the light of the sun?
She then proceeded to ask whether each star had its own black hole.
Our teacher then shot back that her black hole would be smaller than his:)
Charming.

On Living Free

Too many people compromise on their ideals as they age. Security fears that exist as a child too often impact the adult. Too many people run from the dark side of the moon to embrace illusions.
It's never too late.
We live in our minds, live with ourselves before we meet the world.
It is hence important to do.
Or else, you die.
To forever hold your peace.

Due Diligence

Today was another first-I overslept. Feel so refreshed I think I may subconsciously of course end up doing this more regularly:) Skimmed through No Logo by Naomi Klien--made much sense, specially when coupled with The Long Tail.

Jo dikhta hai, woh bikta hai

On my way to IHC, a bookseller accosted me. I as usual, bought and then was broke. Even at halfprice these editions of The Namesake & The Inheritance of Loss are not worth the paper they are printed on:( Ah well-- guess I will just shut my eyes tight the next time I see a bookseller on the road.
At IHC, a gentleman who had met Faiz Ahmed Faiz delivered a talk on him. He also played recordings of the poet reciting his own poetry.
Blissful:)

On Being Blonde

Marilyn Monrow, Jane Fondaha
Britney Spears, Americana.
Freedom to be what you want me to be
Queendom of me, azaadi dil ki.

S&M, Anyone?

The Internet is a dominatrix
Everywhere you click, it says submit, submit, submit.

Ah, Poetree

I absolutely adore Wendy Cope's work.

Viral marketing is most insidious
SuperCaliFragilisticexpialido.Cious.

One of my favourites

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/bait.php

Da Simpsons

I liked the movie- although as they pointed out, it was like watching TV on the big screen. There were so many kids in the hall--somehow the idea of kids giggling ( and they did) at Simpsons felt niggingly incongrous.
Ah well. One lives, one learns. Then hopefully, earns:)

Indian Idol

I started actively following the show to understand a fellow blogger's review of their performances. now I'm hooked. An unexpected side benefit is an enhancement of my knowledge of Hindi film songs. Of course, having never seen the films in question I tend to associate the said song with the Indian Idol singer rather than the original singer.
I have a soft spot for Ankita. I remember when she got voted out she sang even though she was voted out. That's chutzpah.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows

The way she kept killing characters reminded me of the finale of Hamlet :)

Osian Cinefan

I liked Raami. It was an impressionistic, lyrical sketch that was short (75 minutes) and bittersweet.
Rekados, with three generations of women, who impact each other and their Weltanschauungs through food also touched a chord.
My personal find of the festival was Vanaja. Although I tried to use the synopses on the website to decide which films would be worth a watch, I must admit most turned out to be a different feel from what their writeups suggested. I thought Vanaja would be melodramatic, hackneyed, moralistic. It was none of these. It managed to be funny, shading its characters in grey and the degree film of its director. No wonder it won him an award. The hero did show she was attracted to the son of the house. He does display affection later for her and their child. His mother does berate him and shelter the girl.
I also enjoyed Yojimbo. The score when he walks, his masterly Carpe Diem tactics and Robin Hood acts, toppped by sly digs at cowboy flicks showed a very different side of Kurosawa.
The Birds, too, was a welcome break from "reading people's stomaches."

Koff..koff

Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar on Koffee with Karan reminded me strongly of another couple I know. The man too, is a "hiran" as Javed Akhtar called himself, not a "man about the house" as Shabana Azmi wanted. They toil not, neither do they spin, they are but lilies of the field.
Nine generations of poets.
Some family.

Surf's up

While flipping channels I saw Rakhi Sawant being interviewed on Aap ki Adalat. Rajat Sharma's blushes when that redoubtable selfmade ( literally, by her own admission) woman was flirting with him cracked me up.
India TV then proceeded to air the fake encounter video. Whodunit? And why did not the said who raise a finger to announce his/her presence, to save a life and thereby become part of a positive film instead of a horrific one?
As Juvenal remarked, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Who will guard the guards?
Many hands would make light work. And water, too :)

The Simpsons in India

Homer visited India and corrupted/ educated us. I loved the attention to detail- the Indians were actually speaking Hindi in a charming phirang accent. I crosschecked the subtitles. The piece de resistance was the end- which had the Simpsons dancing, with boss and Indians to 'Pal bhar ke liye koi hame pyar kar le. Jhoota hi sahi..." Methinks a bit of a thud results when the jhuta pal is over, both for the lover and the lovee. But they shook a mean leg, one must admit.

Literally

ImPatience. Pushy P.
Pray who does she
Think she be? What if
WE ALL ROSE?
Status Quo.
Not Quite.
Noise level: Up.

Sister Act

The Eco Times is visibly pink
Blushing ( I like to think)
For TOI's being obviously saffron
Using I-Day as an excuse
To stuff us with refuse
In the name of news, it's views
On & on & on ad nauseam.

Words require their spaces too.
Alphabets, lonely, mix, match
Separate, seek a patch
Of land. Here? Timbuktu?

Mediation

I meditated today.
Was a relief to discover I still can.
The mind has such energy, which we waste.
It's only when we collect ourselves we realise our power.

Jane, Goodall

Spoke to an eager audience @ the British Council, yesterday.

She started with a chimp noise, which was answered by an Indian tiger in the audience.

We learnt of how young Jane got into the chimp line-
I wanted to. I liked Tarzan, but not the wimpy Jane he fell for. When a vacancy for a secretarial position came up, I applied. So, I reached Africa.

We also saw her soft toy-
A chimp with a partly peeled banana. A 25 year old who went blind gave it to me, fo inspiration.

We heard of Dr. Jane-
Scientists did not look upon chimps as living. I knew less than nothing about taxonomy. i just felt the pain in a young gorilla's eyes, when he was seperated from his mother.

Kids-
I knew a gorilla who used a blade of grass as a tool. Another big, broad hottie tried to maul me. Well, we have a Tshirt now- I survived Friedo. As far as human kids go, Nat Geo sent a photographer- and we had a kid as well.

On saving the planet from the apes-
As humans are the fifth kind of apes, it is important that we be sensitive towards our big brothers. Kofi Annan made me a UN Ambassador of Peace so that I could spread the message of sweetness and light all round the globe in an apolitical way.

What more could we say to that irrefutable logic?
We gave her a standing ovation.

Lucky chimps.
Aside- The emcee called her John Goodall. Ah well, perhaps somewhere, there is one :)
Disclaimer- the above post is an impressionistic rendition of her keynote address, not a verbatim rendition of an original.

Yesterday, Tom Alter played Hussain.
Winner of the Golden Bear Award, better known in Indias as a beer hug, the play captured Hussainsagar lake's myriad moods to near perfecshun.
Brushing past him on stage were his paintings.
Honourable mention- the threatening mails which the director has been subjected to from the usual keepers of consciences unknown.
Song, dance, mads and her outlaws completed the rigmarole which wrung m.f. dry.
i'd missed this play in bbay- thx 2 wk- but as it is a skittish version of an original, it was not missed much.
it reminded me of a session i attended in science city- which had javed akhtar reading his poems out, then a bengali reading the translation, and finally, a painting on the emotion of that poem in particular.
Now, that can be called music.
Duty calls.
To work, to work:)

When Push came to shovel

Sometimes, it's easy to leap. When inspiration strikes. Sittingon my seat M15, I had no idea that that night someone would take the plunge. When the actors' director called upon the audience to decide the course of the play, various suggestions came up on how to resolve the snafu.
One soul refused to let the rest of us in on his big idea. He jumped onstage and let in his co conspirators on his view.
Soon we saw his mind at work. He had the actors up a creek w/out their hemming n hawing paddles. Gradually, they bailed themselves out of the bind he had put them in.
We liked that ending best. I think, so must the cast. For i guess, actors too like being subjected to a show.
He should have been part of the curtain call.
Ah well. As he is an actor, I guess there is always another time and place for him to disappear to.
Thanks.

Yesterday's Plays

I think its time to revert to prose now. The danger with poets is that they often forget that Utopia is a fictional landscape. Terra firma is still my home sweet home.
However, old habits die really hard. Hence, my bus escapes, continue. Today I ended up in Qutub Minar. As I had gone there when I was in Class VI on a school trip, I did not remember much, as always.
So I explored the grounds, read the inscriptions, asked for my heart's desire from the Iron Pillar. It is fenced in now, so I could not hug it as I did the last time.
However, my wises remain the same. Ordinary ones. The best, nothing but the best, and always the best.
The inscription on the pillar extolled the Slave Dynasty- their serving appears to have borne fruit.
The deeds we do live on, fortunately. The sheer expanse of space and the way it has been altered to rival the beauties of nature left me awestruck, bushwacked and jaw dropping.
It must have been a treat to live their then, as masters of this particular universe.