Hello there Clarity-and-Rationality!
Please don't abandon me again. I have missed you very much. I am sorry I replaced you with something that probably wasn't worth it. You make me see people for what they really are.
Happiness is right around the corner with you around. I absolutely love reunions.
Much love. Forever and Always.
Your biggest admirer,
Me
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Ideas worth spreading
Dear TED,
I am so very sorry I ignored you all these days. I had forgotten how much information, food for thought and inspiration you used to offer. Please keep changing my days.
Sincerely,
Me.
P.S: Bedi said "Life is on an incline, you either go up or down" and "When life throws a 100 things at you, 90 of them were made by you, other 10 are out of your control". I think she is very right.
I am so very sorry I ignored you all these days. I had forgotten how much information, food for thought and inspiration you used to offer. Please keep changing my days.
Sincerely,
Me.
P.S: Bedi said "Life is on an incline, you either go up or down" and "When life throws a 100 things at you, 90 of them were made by you, other 10 are out of your control". I think she is very right.
Futurama
12/28/10
Lesson 1:
For most people priority lists are like billboard charts.
If you are a *keeper*, like an MJ number, you can top that list for a longer period of time. What you need to realize is, audience never shows no past allegiance. It doesnt matter if you have been on that list for four long years, you can be knocked off it in a matter of months. Because, that's how fucking life works. That's how it has worked for years now. You do not question how life works, or try to change it, or try a new approach. How crazy are you to try that? So probably poverty and lack of opportunity is something the world should accept. I mean, there is only so much to go around, then there is survival of the fittest, and oh, someone's got to be the palanquin bearer, right?
Lesson 2:
Start assuming everything/everyone you have in life is temporary.
Except for non-living things, of course. Perhaps, even the people who you have to accept, like family. Those you can love unconditionally. There is nothing called 'forever'. That term, like free will, is an illusion man created to allude you into believing life doesn't suck. Nothing is forever, and should never be. Because, that's how fucking life works. Accept it. The control it gives you over your life is just amazing. Imagine to be *in* *control*. Not be at the mercy of someone you trusted. Not be at the mercy of someone's very practical loyalty (yeah, oxymoron of the 21st century). No matter how much you care for someone, you should care for yourself most. You can care for them, and watch them suffer. Because...that's right, you are catching up...it's how fucking life works. People move on all the time. Pain is part of life. You don't avoid it. You feel it and get strongggger! Because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Because...yes, that. I mean, practices like marriage are merely a means of convenience. You wake up one day and pretty much tell yourself, I am bored of this game now, let's just do what everyone does in life, get married to the one I woke up with today. She is nice (because that is a very laudable genuine quality, very rare to find, especially in a world filled with people like me). Forget emotionally connecting with people, or the value they add to your life. You can always manage that with anyone right, just keep an open mind and put your will to it, and you can believe yourself into anything. But waking up with someone nice, at the right time in life, now that, is true magic. And don't we all know magic rarely happens.
Lesson 1:
For most people priority lists are like billboard charts.
If you are a *keeper*, like an MJ number, you can top that list for a longer period of time. What you need to realize is, audience never shows no past allegiance. It doesnt matter if you have been on that list for four long years, you can be knocked off it in a matter of months. Because, that's how fucking life works. That's how it has worked for years now. You do not question how life works, or try to change it, or try a new approach. How crazy are you to try that? So probably poverty and lack of opportunity is something the world should accept. I mean, there is only so much to go around, then there is survival of the fittest, and oh, someone's got to be the palanquin bearer, right?
Lesson 2:
Start assuming everything/everyone you have in life is temporary.
Except for non-living things, of course. Perhaps, even the people who you have to accept, like family. Those you can love unconditionally. There is nothing called 'forever'. That term, like free will, is an illusion man created to allude you into believing life doesn't suck. Nothing is forever, and should never be. Because, that's how fucking life works. Accept it. The control it gives you over your life is just amazing. Imagine to be *in* *control*. Not be at the mercy of someone you trusted. Not be at the mercy of someone's very practical loyalty (yeah, oxymoron of the 21st century). No matter how much you care for someone, you should care for yourself most. You can care for them, and watch them suffer. Because...that's right, you are catching up...it's how fucking life works. People move on all the time. Pain is part of life. You don't avoid it. You feel it and get strongggger! Because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Because...yes, that. I mean, practices like marriage are merely a means of convenience. You wake up one day and pretty much tell yourself, I am bored of this game now, let's just do what everyone does in life, get married to the one I woke up with today. She is nice (because that is a very laudable genuine quality, very rare to find, especially in a world filled with people like me). Forget emotionally connecting with people, or the value they add to your life. You can always manage that with anyone right, just keep an open mind and put your will to it, and you can believe yourself into anything. But waking up with someone nice, at the right time in life, now that, is true magic. And don't we all know magic rarely happens.
Monday, December 20, 2010
The snow project
I thought it wouldn't snow until after I get back, because all the snow that fell was starting to melt or harden into annoying icy layers on the roads and pavements. As it started snowing heavily in the evening today, it looked gorgeous. I turned off all the lights, rolled up my window blinds, and stared out till it stopped snowing, with Paunchy Man in my lap. There is something about darkness that is comforting at times. In my desperate attempt to capture the moment, this was created. Turns out my camera doesnt have video functionality (how modern).
There is something beautiful about stitching frames, it has the suspense element of turning the pages of a book, or perhaps the sheer simplicity of a movie flipbook. I always wanted to make one as a kid. I guess this is how it transpired.
Snow is gorgeous when its fresh, when the daintiest of branches is adored with a layer of soft snow. Snow is also gorgeous when the flakes are prominent and have their signature structure.
As much as I am getting used to snow, it reminds me of wolves. Now I totally understand the Germans' fascination with husky-mixed or gigantic dogs. Very Balto :)
Schnee from Alak Renu on Vimeo.
There is something beautiful about stitching frames, it has the suspense element of turning the pages of a book, or perhaps the sheer simplicity of a movie flipbook. I always wanted to make one as a kid. I guess this is how it transpired.
Snow is gorgeous when its fresh, when the daintiest of branches is adored with a layer of soft snow. Snow is also gorgeous when the flakes are prominent and have their signature structure.
As much as I am getting used to snow, it reminds me of wolves. Now I totally understand the Germans' fascination with husky-mixed or gigantic dogs. Very Balto :)
Blues
Nothing like dancing and moving to good blues music at a fantastic blues bar in wonderful blues-bar-central Chicago! Kingston Mines will now be religiously visited. It's one of those places that can make you dance without a drink in your system. Crowd is great and varied. Young and old. Crazy and calm. Love the ambiance too. It's one of those places that looks as if a cabin in the woods has been converted to a thriving music joint. Louis Armstrong and Hans Zimmer have always brightened up my mood, and never disappoint; Armstrong despite his voice and Zimmer in spite of the lack of words.
Currently tripping on Ella and Louis numbers.
Currently tripping on Ella and Louis numbers.
The story of companionship
You start with sitting on a parapet wall staring at blinking yellow traffic lights and not saying a word for hours, despite the company. You like that you can connect without words. You go from writing diaries for years and suddenly stopping because you have pretty much stopped mulling over all the small qualms you have with people or anything in your life, because you have found this great friend who sat with you for hours not saying a word, silently telling you he will be there, wanting to know everything you think about(or so you thought). He becomes the first person who has ever heard the dreadful three words come out of your mouth. The first. When you thought you were probably not capable of ever saying it or expressing yourself. After all you'd never said it to your mom or dad or the sibling or anyone/anything else. You go from never to borderline chanting. So, slowly the magnanimity of life is ignored. Most everything you think about can be fit into a small box. You have moments when you regret that you let it happen, but you are somehow comforted knowing that it's a phase, and it too shall pass. Because you are happy and content, and you can mull over that for only so long. Because happiness CAN be a routine(as hard as it was to accept). You forget to consider what all that attention is doing to the other person. Then, one day you lose them. You resort to the written word, hope that you don't go back to becoming the person who had difficulty saying things out loud, but then again, you are not sure if you really hope that or not, because you don't know what works. So you live, and try not to think about it. Now you focus on the magnanimity again, and put the pursuit of Happiness to rest. The parapet walls can wait.
Friday, December 17, 2010
On being in Love
Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses. You build up a whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life. You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' or 'how very perceptive' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love. I hate love. ~Niel Gaiman
Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love. Especially something that makes you feel so good, and so alive.
Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love. Especially something that makes you feel so good, and so alive.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Humour
One of the most watched videos of 2010 apparently.
Firstly, yummy.
Secondly, so stupid.
Thirdly, its amazing the kind of things that go viral these days. I am not complaining. This video apparently made Isaiah Mustafa (the Yum) so famous that he bagged a 2011 Jen Aniston movie deal!
Not complaining AT ALL. I can definitely take 90 minutes of such gorgeousness and baritone.
and oh, who the hell needs an Ad for Old Spice anyway, Right?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Random thoughts
(because I can. there.)
I was in a Jewel-Osco, the HEB of Chicago apparently (What sort of a name is that anyway, oh how I miss you, Austin). So, I was in a Jewel-Osco, doing my first round of groceries in cold cold Chicago. I caught myself in front of an aisle of Planters roasted nuts. I was eyeing the cashews. Those delicious boxful of salted, roasted cashews. I talked myself out of it after some 5 minutes. Yes, 5 long minutes, and got something that was a mix of a few (roman numeral-ed) cashews bundled into something called a south-beach diet mix. Ew. Over the past 3 weeks I have noticed I carefully picked out all the cashews and devoured them. Now I am left with a box full of roasted almonds and macadamia nuts (which apparently taste good ONLY in a white chocolate chip cookie), not wanting to eat them anymore.
Why again did I talk myself out of a full box of only cashews?
~
The moon looks gorgeous today. Eid-ka-chand gorgeous. I usually listen to NPR/Chicago public radio while driving to/from work, but today I was playing all Hindi songs. That didn't help the mood at all. There was the drop-dead-gorgeous Eid-ka-Chand and mushy Bollywood songs, inspiring me to come up with mildly poetic, mildly(much to my chagrin) Urdu dohey. It kept reminding me of a night that I walked along a beach. I guess it was all the moonlight from the night.
~
I love Coupling (the BBC version). love it. What humour. No one judgmental of the other or touchy of what one says. I need that - not being touchy. I am out of touch with it. I am out of touch with being myself. That should change in 2011!
Anyways, Jane - a character in the show. She is so extremely annoying that she is my favourite! :D
I was in a Jewel-Osco, the HEB of Chicago apparently (What sort of a name is that anyway, oh how I miss you, Austin). So, I was in a Jewel-Osco, doing my first round of groceries in cold cold Chicago. I caught myself in front of an aisle of Planters roasted nuts. I was eyeing the cashews. Those delicious boxful of salted, roasted cashews. I talked myself out of it after some 5 minutes. Yes, 5 long minutes, and got something that was a mix of a few (roman numeral-ed) cashews bundled into something called a south-beach diet mix. Ew. Over the past 3 weeks I have noticed I carefully picked out all the cashews and devoured them. Now I am left with a box full of roasted almonds and macadamia nuts (which apparently taste good ONLY in a white chocolate chip cookie), not wanting to eat them anymore.
Why again did I talk myself out of a full box of only cashews?
~
The moon looks gorgeous today. Eid-ka-chand gorgeous. I usually listen to NPR/Chicago public radio while driving to/from work, but today I was playing all Hindi songs. That didn't help the mood at all. There was the drop-dead-gorgeous Eid-ka-Chand and mushy Bollywood songs, inspiring me to come up with mildly poetic, mildly(much to my chagrin) Urdu dohey. It kept reminding me of a night that I walked along a beach. I guess it was all the moonlight from the night.
~
I love Coupling (the BBC version). love it. What humour. No one judgmental of the other or touchy of what one says. I need that - not being touchy. I am out of touch with it. I am out of touch with being myself. That should change in 2011!
Anyways, Jane - a character in the show. She is so extremely annoying that she is my favourite! :D
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Idea sold!
If you think that the Obama's campaign was good at selling, the ingenuous methods that I have come across will make you reconsider that.
Strolling casually on the streets of the university campus and finding footpaths (yes, not sidewalks) with detailed marketing 'posters', chalked out (literally) in various colours - telling you about a talk or a protest or even a bookstore and its discounts - makes you stop and read it. If you haven't managed to read it while you walk that is, because it is definitely spaced out to be convenient for a medium-paced walker.
Amongst the gazillion walks that I took on Guadalupe st, reading these quirky messages was one of my favourite parts.
Oh! coming to walks, how I miss Austin and its conducive-to-long-walks charm.
The walks on the quiet streets and by-lanes of West Campus usually started around dawn (or in the quiet, forlorn, misty mornings or at the hour when the beds beckoned you and the city was tucking itself in)
with the golden orange hue of the setting sun - showering through the spring greens, the crunchy spread of autumn leaves, or through the chilled breeze of winter, just the same.
Major Austin nostalgia.
The other day I was on commercial street (its what makes namma bengalooru very namma) - a maze-like series of alleys with hoards of people haggling for some fashionable branded rejects that were 'Made in India'. I bought me-self some very awesome, very summery Marks and Spencers shirts, amongst other things.
Why was I all alone on commercial street in the first place, you ask. To get a very awesome haircut would be the answer. So I hit the streets, spent some gazillion thousand rupees. At the end of it all, I was desperately looking for an auto because I wanted to get home. My throat was parched. However, I had managed to satiate my hunger with some delicious dahi puri. I got into an auto not wanting to haggle with the autowallah.
In Bangalore, every autowallah claims someone needs to pay for his ideal time and the time he spends scouting for passengers. They also claim every destination is out of the way or isolated or that they will never find passengers there. So, you have to pay 20-50 Rs. over the meter fare.
However, this particular autowallah who agreed to take me home said 20 Rupees less on the meter. I was baffled, and I thought, perhaps the thirst is really getting to me. Can thirst really make you crazy?
Before I can converted my WTF facial expression to a sentence, he pulled out a glossy pamphlet and said, "Our saree showroom opened up near by, if you spend 10 mins in the showroom I will give you this discount". I insisted that I am thirsty and I really just wanted to get home. He strongly insisted that I take this wonderful opportunity to quench my thirst with some 'tanda at the dukaan' (a cold drink at the showroom). I was tempted, I thought I will humour him and me, and take a look. There were at least 10 other autos in the basement of that building. All bringing in customers with this 10 mins-20 rupees discount.
I cant differentiate the tail from the head of saree shopping. When the store guy asked me what price range of sarees i wanted to look at, I asked him back "what is a high range and what is a low range". Although I should tell you, he was one good salesman. I almost ended up buying a gorgeous Mysore silk saree which was only 700 odd rupees. Which I thought was very very reasonable (I did verify with mom!). I used to adore the Mysore silk sarees that my mom had, they are the most elegant of silk sarees, in the same league as the Kashmiri silks. If it wasn't for the thousandS I already spent, I would've bought it.
As a teenager one thing I heard most from dad was "You can lead a horse to the pond, but cant make it drink".
I can hear the store owner saying "You can lead a horse to the pond, and tempt and tease it real hard".
Strolling casually on the streets of the university campus and finding footpaths (yes, not sidewalks) with detailed marketing 'posters', chalked out (literally) in various colours - telling you about a talk or a protest or even a bookstore and its discounts - makes you stop and read it. If you haven't managed to read it while you walk that is, because it is definitely spaced out to be convenient for a medium-paced walker.
Amongst the gazillion walks that I took on Guadalupe st, reading these quirky messages was one of my favourite parts.
Oh! coming to walks, how I miss Austin and its conducive-to-long-walks charm.
The walks on the quiet streets and by-lanes of West Campus usually started around dawn (or in the quiet, forlorn, misty mornings or at the hour when the beds beckoned you and the city was tucking itself in)
with the golden orange hue of the setting sun - showering through the spring greens, the crunchy spread of autumn leaves, or through the chilled breeze of winter, just the same.
Major Austin nostalgia.
The other day I was on commercial street (its what makes namma bengalooru very namma) - a maze-like series of alleys with hoards of people haggling for some fashionable branded rejects that were 'Made in India'. I bought me-self some very awesome, very summery Marks and Spencers shirts, amongst other things.
Why was I all alone on commercial street in the first place, you ask. To get a very awesome haircut would be the answer. So I hit the streets, spent some gazillion thousand rupees. At the end of it all, I was desperately looking for an auto because I wanted to get home. My throat was parched. However, I had managed to satiate my hunger with some delicious dahi puri. I got into an auto not wanting to haggle with the autowallah.
In Bangalore, every autowallah claims someone needs to pay for his ideal time and the time he spends scouting for passengers. They also claim every destination is out of the way or isolated or that they will never find passengers there. So, you have to pay 20-50 Rs. over the meter fare.
However, this particular autowallah who agreed to take me home said 20 Rupees less on the meter. I was baffled, and I thought, perhaps the thirst is really getting to me. Can thirst really make you crazy?
Before I can converted my WTF facial expression to a sentence, he pulled out a glossy pamphlet and said, "Our saree showroom opened up near by, if you spend 10 mins in the showroom I will give you this discount". I insisted that I am thirsty and I really just wanted to get home. He strongly insisted that I take this wonderful opportunity to quench my thirst with some 'tanda at the dukaan' (a cold drink at the showroom). I was tempted, I thought I will humour him and me, and take a look. There were at least 10 other autos in the basement of that building. All bringing in customers with this 10 mins-20 rupees discount.
I cant differentiate the tail from the head of saree shopping. When the store guy asked me what price range of sarees i wanted to look at, I asked him back "what is a high range and what is a low range". Although I should tell you, he was one good salesman. I almost ended up buying a gorgeous Mysore silk saree which was only 700 odd rupees. Which I thought was very very reasonable (I did verify with mom!). I used to adore the Mysore silk sarees that my mom had, they are the most elegant of silk sarees, in the same league as the Kashmiri silks. If it wasn't for the thousandS I already spent, I would've bought it.
As a teenager one thing I heard most from dad was "You can lead a horse to the pond, but cant make it drink".
I can hear the store owner saying "You can lead a horse to the pond, and tempt and tease it real hard".
Thursday, July 1, 2010
How I start my day these days
I love the whole Africa theme that is going for this FIFA.
This song makes me want to learn Zumba.
and I absolutely ADORE this song, and want to be 60 years old and be able to sing it just the same, because I love the lyrics.
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
but Violent prone, poor people zone,
But it's my home, all I have known,
Where I got grown, streets we would roam.
But out of the darkness, I came the farthest,
Among the hardest survival.
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Except no defeat, surrender retreat,
So we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we'll be free,
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day,
It's not far away, so for now we say
When I get older, I will be stronger,
I make it better, Struggle no longer
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
So many wars (wars)
Settling scores (scores)
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor
And in a situation, When that's a compensation
They got no occupation, No buy no medications
See it's a combination, of no education
We can navigate, and save tomorrow's generation
cos they cant control us, nor they cant hold us down
We gon pick it up even though we still struggling
fighting to eat and
We wondering when we'll be free,
So we patiently wait [WAIT!!]
For that fateful day, [GO!!]
It's not far away, so for now we say
When I get older, I will be stronger,
I make it better, Struggle no longer
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)x4
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And everybody will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And you and I will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And we all will be singing it
(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)
When I get older I will be stronger(stronger x3)
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
This song makes me want to learn Zumba.
and I absolutely ADORE this song, and want to be 60 years old and be able to sing it just the same, because I love the lyrics.
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
but Violent prone, poor people zone,
But it's my home, all I have known,
Where I got grown, streets we would roam.
But out of the darkness, I came the farthest,
Among the hardest survival.
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Except no defeat, surrender retreat,
So we struggling, fighting to eat and
We wondering when we'll be free,
So we patiently wait, for that fateful day,
It's not far away, so for now we say
When I get older, I will be stronger,
I make it better, Struggle no longer
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
So many wars (wars)
Settling scores (scores)
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor
And in a situation, When that's a compensation
They got no occupation, No buy no medications
See it's a combination, of no education
We can navigate, and save tomorrow's generation
cos they cant control us, nor they cant hold us down
We gon pick it up even though we still struggling
fighting to eat and
We wondering when we'll be free,
So we patiently wait [WAIT!!]
For that fateful day, [GO!!]
It's not far away, so for now we say
When I get older, I will be stronger,
I make it better, Struggle no longer
When I get older, I will be stronger,
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)x4
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And everybody will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And you and I will be singing it
(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)
And we all will be singing it
(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)
When I get older I will be stronger(stronger x3)
They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,
So wave your flag
now wave your flag
now wave your flag
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Year 22 checklist
1. Skydive - check
2. Teach science in a primary school - failed trial
3. Be a visiting professor in a university/have a highly-opinionated (popular) blog on world economics
4. Bungee jump (would 'from the top of macau tower' be pushing it?)
5. Learn to swim - check
6. Finish learning carnatic music
7. Sing a self-composed (preferably in Urdu) song while playing the guitar to it
8. Live in London and Africa for a while
9. Backpack across the length and breadth of Peru and Chile
10. Go on a vacation to the Amazon Rainforest
11. Win a quiz competition in India (I owe it to my past. It might be the toughest on the list too)
12. Make a 5ft X 5ft oil painting
13. Get a cat/dog - check
14. Get an MBA and/or a PhD
15. Write a column for a newspaper
16. Become a published photographer
17. Backpack across India
18. Go to Europe with family
19. Finish reading 500 books (counting here)
20. Do something for my high school
21. Build the dream house
22. Learn pottery
23. Get a tattoo
24. Backpack across Europe - check
25. Find my passion in life - check
26. Go to all National Forest Reserves/Parks in India
27. Run a half-marathon - failed trial.
28. Startup in India
29. Learn Tamil. Watch a Rajnikanth's movie and all Maniratnam's and understand every word :D
30. Learn a European language - check
Year 22 - Score - 6/30
What remains true:
I can do at least 3 more in the next year :D
and 3/yr should get me there.
Hopefully I will have this blog or some form of it until Year 30 and I can give updates on how far I have come every birthday! :)
2. Teach science in a primary school - failed trial
3. Be a visiting professor in a university/have a highly-opinionated (popular) blog on world economics
4. Bungee jump (would 'from the top of macau tower' be pushing it?)
5. Learn to swim - check
6. Finish learning carnatic music
7. Sing a self-composed (preferably in Urdu) song while playing the guitar to it
8. Live in London and Africa for a while
9. Backpack across the length and breadth of Peru and Chile
10. Go on a vacation to the Amazon Rainforest
11. Win a quiz competition in India (I owe it to my past. It might be the toughest on the list too)
12. Make a 5ft X 5ft oil painting
13. Get a cat/dog - check
14. Get an MBA and/or a PhD
15. Write a column for a newspaper
16. Become a published photographer
17. Backpack across India
18. Go to Europe with family
19. Finish reading 500 books (counting here)
20. Do something for my high school
21. Build the dream house
22. Learn pottery
23. Get a tattoo
24. Backpack across Europe - check
25. Find my passion in life - check
26. Go to all National Forest Reserves/Parks in India
27. Run a half-marathon - failed trial.
28. Startup in India
29. Learn Tamil. Watch a Rajnikanth's movie and all Maniratnam's and understand every word :D
30. Learn a European language - check
Year 22 - Score - 6/30
What remains true:
I can do at least 3 more in the next year :D
and 3/yr should get me there.
Hopefully I will have this blog or some form of it until Year 30 and I can give updates on how far I have come every birthday! :)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Evangelist Autowallah
I got out of the salon in Himayathnagar, after spending Rs.650 on grooming activities. I was feeling very good that I was finally spending money on extensive grooming, having shunned it all through college. I was, after all, embarking on this very exciting yuppie life. So, in my desperate attempt to get out of the sun and pollution as soon as possible and get home, I flagged an auto down. In an irritated tone asked the Autowallah if he would go to Taj Krishna’s vicinity.
He quoted a Rs.50 fare, I tried to haggle, and asked him to turn the meter on. He said “The meter is kaput, it’s jumping”.
We reached liberty crossroads and he started talking. “My son, he finished inter 1st year. He is doing CEC (Civics-economics-commerce), how is this CEC? Is it any good?”
I said, yeah it is pretty good. (Well, it is known to be better than the worst option out there – HEC (history-economics-commerce), although, I am not sure how this is the worst).
“He wants to be a chartered accountant”.
“That’s good. My dad is a chartered accountant”.
“Does he earn well? Where does he work?”
“He works in the US. Yeah he earns well”.
“Does he earn a few lakhs per month?”
[After completing a mental calculation of salary conversions] “Yes he earns a handful amount of lakhs per month. How did your son do in inter 1st year exams?”
“Oh, he didn’t do that well. He got 306/500 marks, so, around 61%. He is writing ‘improvement’ exams. He is hoping to get a 30-40 mark improvement.”
“Oh ok. How many kids do you have? Are you the only bread-winner?”
“I have four kids. This one is the eldest. I have two sons, one in 9th and 6th, a daughter in 3rd. Yes I am the only one that works. I rented this auto, so I pay 250 Rs in rent every day and Rs. 250 for fuel. I save around 200-300 at the end of the day.”
After discussing various topics such as, the weather in the US, if people travel around a lot, vacation spots, we discussed religion. Yes. That’s right.
“Do you go to church there?”
(Thinking it was one of those million times when people mistake me for a Tamil Christian) I said, “haha, I am Hindu.”
“Did you ever read the Bible?”
“But yes, I did read some parts of the Bible; I went to a Christian missionary school.”
“Oh, I was Hindu too. But Bible is good. You should read the Bible.”
“hehe ok.”
Impulsively, I give him 70 rupees and a big smile. He smiles back and I walk home with several questions about how a family of six lives on Rs.6000-10000 per month, and the topics the Autowallah brought up. The topics he brought up are the ones that occupy his mind, I would think. It ranged from his ambitions for his son to dollar dreams to religion.
C’est la vie.
He quoted a Rs.50 fare, I tried to haggle, and asked him to turn the meter on. He said “The meter is kaput, it’s jumping”.
We reached liberty crossroads and he started talking. “My son, he finished inter 1st year. He is doing CEC (Civics-economics-commerce), how is this CEC? Is it any good?”
I said, yeah it is pretty good. (Well, it is known to be better than the worst option out there – HEC (history-economics-commerce), although, I am not sure how this is the worst).
“He wants to be a chartered accountant”.
“That’s good. My dad is a chartered accountant”.
“Does he earn well? Where does he work?”
“He works in the US. Yeah he earns well”.
“Does he earn a few lakhs per month?”
[After completing a mental calculation of salary conversions] “Yes he earns a handful amount of lakhs per month. How did your son do in inter 1st year exams?”
“Oh, he didn’t do that well. He got 306/500 marks, so, around 61%. He is writing ‘improvement’ exams. He is hoping to get a 30-40 mark improvement.”
“Oh ok. How many kids do you have? Are you the only bread-winner?”
“I have four kids. This one is the eldest. I have two sons, one in 9th and 6th, a daughter in 3rd. Yes I am the only one that works. I rented this auto, so I pay 250 Rs in rent every day and Rs. 250 for fuel. I save around 200-300 at the end of the day.”
After discussing various topics such as, the weather in the US, if people travel around a lot, vacation spots, we discussed religion. Yes. That’s right.
“Do you go to church there?”
(Thinking it was one of those million times when people mistake me for a Tamil Christian) I said, “haha, I am Hindu.”
“Did you ever read the Bible?”
“But yes, I did read some parts of the Bible; I went to a Christian missionary school.”
“Oh, I was Hindu too. But Bible is good. You should read the Bible.”
“hehe ok.”
Impulsively, I give him 70 rupees and a big smile. He smiles back and I walk home with several questions about how a family of six lives on Rs.6000-10000 per month, and the topics the Autowallah brought up. The topics he brought up are the ones that occupy his mind, I would think. It ranged from his ambitions for his son to dollar dreams to religion.
C’est la vie.
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