I do understand when the effort is not followed by the result but why is desire sometimes not followed by an effort ? It gives me enough reasons to hate myself.
I remember putting up small notes which would never mature into a final blog but in last few months I have been just pathetic. Even those notes which would have, should have or could have converted into something tangible have dried up.I have touched the peaks into this pathetic being. Let alone the effort, I have observed even the desire fading into lethargy. Only time I feel inspired enough to write is when I ride my Bike. I am happy that at least she has not stopped inspiring me.
Well, let me now try to put something up here at least once every week.
Wish me luck.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
After a long time
I am amazed at myself. I am amazed at the length of time that has elapsed since I last wrote something. Laziness, pure laziness. An integral part of me :)
I see that last time I wrote was during my journey back to Pune and again I am writing while traveling. Its some sort of a kick that journeys give me. I am always in a positive mood and I have a lot of time and most important of all, I have my laptop.
Let me write about the most inspiring event of last few days. A few months back, my mom called me and asked me, 'What is a blog'. I fumbled for a while before I went on explaining her about it. I myself am a blogger, even though not a very regular one, but when it comes to explaining a layman about what a blog is, I didn't find it easy. My mom regularly reads a local news paper 'Amar Ujala'. I am a perpetual hater of level of Hindi Journalism in our country (Not that English Journalism is of top class). Media has distorted this beautiful language to such menial levels that it has almost fallen to irrecoverable levels. But despite that, Hindi News papers are able to supply a cognizant reader some stuff which is of his/her interest and at a general level, it is appreciable as well. My mom's awareness about the term 'BLOG' originated from this very world of Hindi Journalism.
I explained her what a blog is, why people write, how they earn money, how does it become popular, who are the readers etc etc. She showed interest. But then I forgot about everything until a few days back when she called me up and asked another question 'What do I need to do if I want to start writing a blog'. It was not unexpected from a lady of her enterprise but still, it caught me by surprise. I did not think she can be serious about it. So I brushed it off. Then she called me again the next day. then again, then again. I finally succumbed. I took out a few moments from my pseudo-busy schedule and created her log in for her on Blogspot. I explained her how to log in, write and publish.
She is quite enthusiastic in such matters but still I never expected her to be as fast as she turned out to be. I was literally stunned when only after a few hours she declared that her first blog is on the net. Man...!! I didn't believe her. It was such a big surprise for me.
How many hurdles she must have faced while doing it. First of all, her low comfort levels with a laptop and then the Internet usage. Then the great grandfatherly speeds that the Internet walks with in my hometown. She sure must have tried more than a dozen times connecting to net before she could actually publish it. On Top of that, the general discomfort that old people face while adopting to newer things. All in all it was not a good deal. But she overcame everything and successfully posted something on her blog.
Well, it may all sound too small a thing to do but what I want to emphasize here is that it inspired me a lot. How frequently do I exhibit such levels of enthusiasm and enterprise. This post after such a hiatus is a proof enough of my laziness. Except for a few occasions like 'biking trips', I rarely come out of the comfort zone and attempt something that I had never tried before or my peers have never tried before.
A very very good lesson learnt. I just hope I can carry this and benefit myself.
I see that last time I wrote was during my journey back to Pune and again I am writing while traveling. Its some sort of a kick that journeys give me. I am always in a positive mood and I have a lot of time and most important of all, I have my laptop.
Let me write about the most inspiring event of last few days. A few months back, my mom called me and asked me, 'What is a blog'. I fumbled for a while before I went on explaining her about it. I myself am a blogger, even though not a very regular one, but when it comes to explaining a layman about what a blog is, I didn't find it easy. My mom regularly reads a local news paper 'Amar Ujala'. I am a perpetual hater of level of Hindi Journalism in our country (Not that English Journalism is of top class). Media has distorted this beautiful language to such menial levels that it has almost fallen to irrecoverable levels. But despite that, Hindi News papers are able to supply a cognizant reader some stuff which is of his/her interest and at a general level, it is appreciable as well. My mom's awareness about the term 'BLOG' originated from this very world of Hindi Journalism.
I explained her what a blog is, why people write, how they earn money, how does it become popular, who are the readers etc etc. She showed interest. But then I forgot about everything until a few days back when she called me up and asked another question 'What do I need to do if I want to start writing a blog'. It was not unexpected from a lady of her enterprise but still, it caught me by surprise. I did not think she can be serious about it. So I brushed it off. Then she called me again the next day. then again, then again. I finally succumbed. I took out a few moments from my pseudo-busy schedule and created her log in for her on Blogspot. I explained her how to log in, write and publish.
She is quite enthusiastic in such matters but still I never expected her to be as fast as she turned out to be. I was literally stunned when only after a few hours she declared that her first blog is on the net. Man...!! I didn't believe her. It was such a big surprise for me.
How many hurdles she must have faced while doing it. First of all, her low comfort levels with a laptop and then the Internet usage. Then the great grandfatherly speeds that the Internet walks with in my hometown. She sure must have tried more than a dozen times connecting to net before she could actually publish it. On Top of that, the general discomfort that old people face while adopting to newer things. All in all it was not a good deal. But she overcame everything and successfully posted something on her blog.
Well, it may all sound too small a thing to do but what I want to emphasize here is that it inspired me a lot. How frequently do I exhibit such levels of enthusiasm and enterprise. This post after such a hiatus is a proof enough of my laziness. Except for a few occasions like 'biking trips', I rarely come out of the comfort zone and attempt something that I had never tried before or my peers have never tried before.
A very very good lesson learnt. I just hope I can carry this and benefit myself.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
.....
"...For this is what we do. Put one foot forward and then the other. Lift our eyes to the snarl and smile of the world once more. Think. Act. Feel. Add our little consequence to the tide of good and evil that flood and drain the world. Drag our shadowed crosses into the hope of another night. Push our brave hearts into the promises of a new day. With love: the passionate search for a truth other than our own. With longing: the pure ineffable yearning to be saved. For so long as fate keeps waiting, we live on. Good help us. God forgive us. We live on....."
shantaram
shantaram
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Retrospect - 1
I guess its a good time to write. 6 o clock in the morning, I leave from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway station New Delhi.
2 months back, I had thoughtfully decided to travel back to Pune by train instead of Air. Somehow the train journey gives me a lot of time to relax and think. I can feel the journey. This is very much unlike the air travel. Domestic flights end before you feel you are travelling and in international ones, you wish you never travelled.
Its true that I can very rarely afford train journeys because of the painfully long time they take but in this case, time is something I have at premium, I say..why not use it. And its going pretty good so far. A few minutes back I was reading Shantaram. It gave me a very beautiful line...'Every passing minute is a short story with a happy ending'. I smiled and started comparing it with my life. My own story of last 15 days unfolded before my eyes.
I won't consider myself as lucky as Mr Greg Dave Roberts to have every story a happy end but then I don't like all stories to have happy ends. Life is a mixed bag and so should be the stories. That is exactly how my story of last 15 days have been. Filled with colors. Multiple colors. And what a rainbow do I withhold. The Violet of frustration, the Indigo of smiles, the Blue of gloom, the Green of calm, the Orange of agitation, the Red of love. And then their shades and tints. They mix up in beautiful combinations and present themselves before me. What I can tell Mr Roberts is that My life of last fifteen days was a canvas. Almost every one I knew was invited to paint me as he or she wished. I was done very generously and at the end of it I stand like a caricature of myself. I have minutely observed every brushstroke and I can say I am unnerved by the density of purposes.
To be continued...
2 months back, I had thoughtfully decided to travel back to Pune by train instead of Air. Somehow the train journey gives me a lot of time to relax and think. I can feel the journey. This is very much unlike the air travel. Domestic flights end before you feel you are travelling and in international ones, you wish you never travelled.
Its true that I can very rarely afford train journeys because of the painfully long time they take but in this case, time is something I have at premium, I say..why not use it. And its going pretty good so far. A few minutes back I was reading Shantaram. It gave me a very beautiful line...'Every passing minute is a short story with a happy ending'. I smiled and started comparing it with my life. My own story of last 15 days unfolded before my eyes.
I won't consider myself as lucky as Mr Greg Dave Roberts to have every story a happy end but then I don't like all stories to have happy ends. Life is a mixed bag and so should be the stories. That is exactly how my story of last 15 days have been. Filled with colors. Multiple colors. And what a rainbow do I withhold. The Violet of frustration, the Indigo of smiles, the Blue of gloom, the Green of calm, the Orange of agitation, the Red of love. And then their shades and tints. They mix up in beautiful combinations and present themselves before me. What I can tell Mr Roberts is that My life of last fifteen days was a canvas. Almost every one I knew was invited to paint me as he or she wished. I was done very generously and at the end of it I stand like a caricature of myself. I have minutely observed every brushstroke and I can say I am unnerved by the density of purposes.
To be continued...
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Azimushshaan Shahenshaah 'Kaaju'.....Merhabaa.
Khabardaar, Hoshiyaar...Shahenshaah-e-jannat-e-mithaai 'KAAJU-e-Ilaahi Jalwa-e-afrosh ho rahe hain......
I can apparently see all other sweets and snack items cringe and hide in their miserable, nondescript bowls. After all, the Kaaju Ka samosa has arrived. Its reveling in its stately handsomeness and gloating over its undisputed numero Uno status. It is not a mere part of the snacks table, it adorns it. It obliges it.
My acquaintance with Kaaju ki Barfi goes back to my childhood when one of the students, my father used to teach, had done really well in his exams and brought a Half Kg assorted sweets DIBBA to our home as a token of gratefulness. We being what we were at that time, tore apart the DIBBA to check out the contents. We were amazed by unbelievably thin size of a BARFI-like-sweet. We were delighted to realize that we can actually eat 5 BARFIs together. Not just the innovative size, it had a heavenly taste as well. We became instant fans.
Time passed by. Kaju ki Barfi became more frequent on sweet shops and at our home as well. Years later, I moved to Pune. The name 'Kaju ki Barfi' had changed to 'Kaju Katli'. Taste remained same.
Then came the days then the Cooking BHOOT was into my head and I was even titled 'Halwaai' by my friends. I tried cooking Kaaju Katli once. And I was successful. Believe me, It was no mean effort and no mean result. I liked what I cooked and people loved what I cooked.
Then the craze died. While in Pune, Kaju Katli became a run of the mill item for me. Over the years, fascination reduced itself to indifference. Kaaju Katli had lost its charm.
But now, while I am in Muzaffarnagar for my wedding, right from the day one, I am experiencing Kaaju's supremacy. I feel like Kaaju is really shaking me hard. It wants me to wake up from my indifference and accept its dominance. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I am observing a lot of things these days. This Kaaju is among those things.
I was at my would-be-inlaws place for some reason. Obviously a huge number of snacks, namkeens, sweets etc were brought on the table. It had been a tiring day for me and I was sipping tea in a very relaxed mood. My Bro-in-Law offered me a namkeen. I took some and kept sipping the tea. Suddenly my mother-in-law gets angry over her son. 'ARE BETA YEH KYUN, KAAJU WAALI NAMKEEN DO'. Without a second’s delay, I was offered the Kaju ki namkeen. I smilingly obliged. After a few minutes, the poor guy offered me a really good looking sweet. He was rebuked again. 'BETA KAAJU KI BARFI DO'. By the time I had realized that I am gonna have some good time with Kaaju on this trip. I gently took a piece of Kaaju ki Barfi. As I ate that bite after bite, the smile and satisfaction on the faces around me deepened. They had done their bit. They have nullified all possibilities of me going out of their house and saying that I was not treated well. It was all about Kaaju. On my way home, I was thinking if My mom would ask 'BETA KYA THA NASHTE ME WAHAAN PE'. But she was too busy to ask. But I am sure if she had asked, she would certainly have been satisfied by Kaaju ki namkeen and Kaaju ki barfi. Such is the Charisma of Kaaju.
Since that moment, I have come across countless variants of this sweet. 'Kaaju ke samose', 'Kaaju Kalash', 'Kaaju ki Jalebi', 'Kaaju Rolls', 'Kaaju Tarbooj, 'Kaaju Kesar', 'Kaaju ke laddu'.....let me tell you they all taste precisely the same. Its just the shape, price and name that is difference. But they all have different places in Status hierarchy. But in any case, one thing is damn sure. If somebody has not offered you a Kaaju item in the snacks, he is either not too well off or he is not taking your AVBHAGAT (Hospitality) seriously.
During the wedding-week in north india, a lot of sweets are exchanged between the two families. The funny thing is that at one exchange people are not ready to offer less than 5 Sweet Dibbas. A minimum of 5 kilos of sweets exchange hands at one go. Who eats that and what happens to that sweet is obviously immaterial. Any Logical 'WHY' is instantly rebuffed by a 'TUM NAHI SAMJHOGE BETA, ACHHA NAHI LAGTA'. And if any such exchange remains unaccompanied by the Great Kaaju, it is as good as incomplete and half-hearted.
Such is the power of Kaaju that it can literally categorize our guests. 'KAAJU WALE MEHMAAN' and 'SAADE MEHMAAN'. The first category has further classifications 'KAAJU SAMOSE YA KAAJU KALASH WAALE MEHMAAN' and 'KAAJU KI BARFI BHI CHALEGI' waale mehmaan. And not just the Sweet items, the salted snacks items also have their own pecking order. 'Fried kaaju', 'Roasted Kaaju', 'Masaala Kaaju', 'Kaaju waali namkeen' and the list goes on.
I firmly believe that if some real nerd exercises his grey cells, he can actually calibrate the Guest Importance. Every Guest can be defined by its 'KAAJU QUOTIENT' or 'KAAJU INDEX'
Well Come what may, I am a happy guy these days. Titled as DULHA among my side of people and DAAMADJI among my inlaws, I am enjoying the maximum possible KAAJU QUOTIENT these days. Oh dear God...!! Go easy on my stomach.
I can apparently see all other sweets and snack items cringe and hide in their miserable, nondescript bowls. After all, the Kaaju Ka samosa has arrived. Its reveling in its stately handsomeness and gloating over its undisputed numero Uno status. It is not a mere part of the snacks table, it adorns it. It obliges it.
My acquaintance with Kaaju ki Barfi goes back to my childhood when one of the students, my father used to teach, had done really well in his exams and brought a Half Kg assorted sweets DIBBA to our home as a token of gratefulness. We being what we were at that time, tore apart the DIBBA to check out the contents. We were amazed by unbelievably thin size of a BARFI-like-sweet. We were delighted to realize that we can actually eat 5 BARFIs together. Not just the innovative size, it had a heavenly taste as well. We became instant fans.
Time passed by. Kaju ki Barfi became more frequent on sweet shops and at our home as well. Years later, I moved to Pune. The name 'Kaju ki Barfi' had changed to 'Kaju Katli'. Taste remained same.
Then came the days then the Cooking BHOOT was into my head and I was even titled 'Halwaai' by my friends. I tried cooking Kaaju Katli once. And I was successful. Believe me, It was no mean effort and no mean result. I liked what I cooked and people loved what I cooked.
Then the craze died. While in Pune, Kaju Katli became a run of the mill item for me. Over the years, fascination reduced itself to indifference. Kaaju Katli had lost its charm.
But now, while I am in Muzaffarnagar for my wedding, right from the day one, I am experiencing Kaaju's supremacy. I feel like Kaaju is really shaking me hard. It wants me to wake up from my indifference and accept its dominance. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I am observing a lot of things these days. This Kaaju is among those things.
I was at my would-be-inlaws place for some reason. Obviously a huge number of snacks, namkeens, sweets etc were brought on the table. It had been a tiring day for me and I was sipping tea in a very relaxed mood. My Bro-in-Law offered me a namkeen. I took some and kept sipping the tea. Suddenly my mother-in-law gets angry over her son. 'ARE BETA YEH KYUN, KAAJU WAALI NAMKEEN DO'. Without a second’s delay, I was offered the Kaju ki namkeen. I smilingly obliged. After a few minutes, the poor guy offered me a really good looking sweet. He was rebuked again. 'BETA KAAJU KI BARFI DO'. By the time I had realized that I am gonna have some good time with Kaaju on this trip. I gently took a piece of Kaaju ki Barfi. As I ate that bite after bite, the smile and satisfaction on the faces around me deepened. They had done their bit. They have nullified all possibilities of me going out of their house and saying that I was not treated well. It was all about Kaaju. On my way home, I was thinking if My mom would ask 'BETA KYA THA NASHTE ME WAHAAN PE'. But she was too busy to ask. But I am sure if she had asked, she would certainly have been satisfied by Kaaju ki namkeen and Kaaju ki barfi. Such is the Charisma of Kaaju.
Since that moment, I have come across countless variants of this sweet. 'Kaaju ke samose', 'Kaaju Kalash', 'Kaaju ki Jalebi', 'Kaaju Rolls', 'Kaaju Tarbooj, 'Kaaju Kesar', 'Kaaju ke laddu'.....let me tell you they all taste precisely the same. Its just the shape, price and name that is difference. But they all have different places in Status hierarchy. But in any case, one thing is damn sure. If somebody has not offered you a Kaaju item in the snacks, he is either not too well off or he is not taking your AVBHAGAT (Hospitality) seriously.
During the wedding-week in north india, a lot of sweets are exchanged between the two families. The funny thing is that at one exchange people are not ready to offer less than 5 Sweet Dibbas. A minimum of 5 kilos of sweets exchange hands at one go. Who eats that and what happens to that sweet is obviously immaterial. Any Logical 'WHY' is instantly rebuffed by a 'TUM NAHI SAMJHOGE BETA, ACHHA NAHI LAGTA'. And if any such exchange remains unaccompanied by the Great Kaaju, it is as good as incomplete and half-hearted.
Such is the power of Kaaju that it can literally categorize our guests. 'KAAJU WALE MEHMAAN' and 'SAADE MEHMAAN'. The first category has further classifications 'KAAJU SAMOSE YA KAAJU KALASH WAALE MEHMAAN' and 'KAAJU KI BARFI BHI CHALEGI' waale mehmaan. And not just the Sweet items, the salted snacks items also have their own pecking order. 'Fried kaaju', 'Roasted Kaaju', 'Masaala Kaaju', 'Kaaju waali namkeen' and the list goes on.
I firmly believe that if some real nerd exercises his grey cells, he can actually calibrate the Guest Importance. Every Guest can be defined by its 'KAAJU QUOTIENT' or 'KAAJU INDEX'
Well Come what may, I am a happy guy these days. Titled as DULHA among my side of people and DAAMADJI among my inlaws, I am enjoying the maximum possible KAAJU QUOTIENT these days. Oh dear God...!! Go easy on my stomach.
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