Notes...

An evening. Puzzled, confused! Restlessness is overshadowing the moments and I fail to understand why. There is a variety of reasons for this to happen, which I do not think I should discuss here.

I have been reading this novel 'Sphere' by Michael Crichton. The best part of the novel is that I know what is coming but the way it is brought up is very shocking and different. The characters in the story have been developed very well as the pages turn.

I am using Pandora more often, the reason being that songs and singers are better linked. Eddie Vedder Radio created on Pandora is a fave. Wonder why the concept of Pandora took so long to develop? I searched for a Bollywood version of the same and could not find any.

With trip for India planned, I am thinking more about it. Looking forward to that trip, would be an understatement. With festivities beginning back home comes a lot of excitement and nostalgia.

Enjoy every step!

Weekend update

So the longest weekend ever in my school life is coming to an end! 4 days in a row can't get any better. Though most of it was spent amongst friends, shopping or reading a Sci-fi novel 'Sphere', it was much more than that.

American football: This was fun to watch. However, let me squeeze in another experience called Tailgate. Tailgate is a pre-game get together where people come together, grill some food and drink some beer. Its more of bonding and networking opportunity. People are on a high to hit the game and otherwise on the food and drinks. Though it was raining my classmates had enthu to gather in a parking garage and enjoy some air-time. Fun!!

Getting to American football. It was a game that BC dominated against Kent State school. They demolished them 21-0 by the second quarter. Yellow and Maroon supporting BC overcrowded even the sky. As the 2 big screens in the stadium flashed we were understanding the game. I am 23.89% more comfortable with the game now!

Soccer: I would have proudly said 'football' while in India, Soccer was a game of fun today. Though some jokes were cracked by American and Mauritian friends on IST, I was trying to convince that we have a good crowd heading and it will be a great game. With 4 players on either side, it was a fast moving game. With both the teams scoring 7 goals each, it was down to the golden goal. The last few minutes were roller-coaster ride. We attempted thrice and almost hit the pole once, but we lost it to white-T-team.

So, overall a good weekend! Now let me get back to the book. Adios!!

Pop-goes-the-cork!!

Has this ever happened to you? You have been sliced and pushed down with so much of pressure that you hardly find time to breathe. To top it off, you get stuffed in all the aspects of life such as your professional, personal, too-personal and social sides covered in deep-sh** and you cannot even run away and face them with all the weapons you have in your store, is the only option.

So, what you do is learn the skill of fighting in all the rings or war-fields and all of a sudden you blink and it all disappears! Its like you are standing in the middle of a ghost-Detroit-town and everything and everyone’s gone. You have the same puzzled look and peace masks as your enemy. Staring into the Sun till it transforms into the cold dark look of a moon-less sky you are horrified by the missing action.

Well, all you need to do is kiss the worries good-bye, smile and enjoy the free time at hand. Force yourself into that discomfort and watch the movies with popping corn in your hand. Take it easy!

Stop!!!

Humans are so funny. They love challenges but can't contain themselves with achievements. 

Here is a short fictitious story. There was a simple guy, Richard. He used to walk everyday to his school. He had been watching the same buildings every time of morning and sunsets. He loved the journey so much, that it became a part of him. However, one day the road was under construction and he had to take the other route. He got so mad with himself that he started running in every direction he could. A simple common man was watching all this and stopped Richard and asked the reason. Richard explained everything as fast he could, to continue running like a wind. Man told him, 'Accept the road you have been given. Its going to school that is important and the new paths will keep appearing. Just keep appreciating them and walk on!'

Random behavior can be bothering but accepting it as a part of existence can make journey more meaningful. 

Road and gravel

So, you think that you know yourself well? Tried, tested and checked? Wait till the time you get to a new place and you will be either overwhelmed or shattered or both.

Travelling surely is fun and so is exploring new places, people and opportunities. However, its an unending journey sometimes towards and at times away from yourself and your goals. For that matter even the goals can be as dynamic as night and day. Just keep walking is the mantra. No matter how difficult is the terrain, have faith in yourself and your destiny. Now some people will buy it as it has paid off for them in the past. Some will discard it as a squeezed lemon.

As a friend said in the morning, ' Everything happens for a reason'. Let that follow the truce of time and you will be surprised by what is in store for you. However, don't just throw away the ability to work hard for this reasoning. Make every effort to walk the last mile and walk a little more, everyday. Walk with a dream in sight. Walk for a better day, for the time that you craved for. Ask whether you want something more and for whom?

Giving up on dreams just because it looks shimmering is inking your own defeat. Instead of justifying why not to do it, think of the positive outcomes and ask yourself 'Why not?' Beat the road, heat the rods so much that they will give away. Dream the dreams and work harder for them because the day has just started and you have it completely for yourself.

Fading shades of Nostalgia

The emotional urge of visiting and re-visiting the past is so strongly needled in our tattooed brains that we just drag ourselves in the dungeons of illusions. The colors of happiness, success, love, pain, wrath and fear linger in the hearts, for the past has so many different window panes to see through. The tall buildings built on the pillars of memoirs are surely the best architectural witnesses of our choices. Remember the dome of security that you had carved with the chisel of love? It still stands and show me the colors you got for the evening!!

The hurled stone in the water still has ripples to be offered which can quake the reality of your world. The stamped coin lying on the train track is still hot by the heat and friction and has the fragrance of the early morning. The climbing hill still has the same gradient in your mind that it had when you got scarred as you fell down. The dark clouds, the floating logs, twisting and hugging leaves, the wet scent of first rains, little steps of your sibling, story with happy endings and the pregnant mango tree are still engraved in some corner of your mind, ready to be unleashed. The settled dust on the past is just like the magic casted by a magician on a childish summer afternoon. All it takes is a brush and a mind of child and not any great archaeologist.

The dashboard of forgotten fantasies still blinks high in the dark night and it has so much to add to. The crooked finger of your grandpa which you held more tightly than your dropping candy on a summer afternoon can never be forgotten. Angry voices in your head when you were torn between your head and heart as a child, still emerge through the grey clouds of youth. Fear of losing those you loved most is still as gripping as the memory of a train blast.

Though the past has so much to offer, it becomes necessary to move on. For the present holds so many promises for a new future just like a beautiful virgin lady. Though the taste of your grandma's recipe is still deliciously tasty what your future offers is what you can have. For by-gones are by-gones. Holes on a sea shore, whirlpools in the water, casted shadows on a dark night, early morning light in the winter. Blind alleys in a new town, first page of a new handbook, impression of the wooden ruler, chalk dust in eyes, demanding friends, stomach-aching laughter are all yours just like pillars of a dome.

After B comes C

Ok! I know the title would be looked as a something like red umbrella on a summer morning. But its quite apt if you think of it. And I am surely not talking about elementary English or B schools here.

I had been a great follower of the Canadian romantic singer BAD (Bryan Adams). Not that I have stopped listening to his great compositions which start from climbing Empire State to Running the night to get back to the lover. Its just that I have added another flavor of a band called as Coldplay. Some people will say that they don't sing well, I cant agree more for a few songs but the words that they color their songs with are like a blessing in disguise. You can so easily connect with them that you feel like you could have written something similar.

Yellow is one such song. The lyrics give goose bumps difficult to keep to yourself. When I heard the simple yet profound words like 'I drew a line, I drew a line for you,..., and it was all Yellow' I was lost in the beauty of simplicity. The strumming of strings is so evident that you feel the vibrations and if you have seen the video you remember the changing background as the song progresses. Feels like remembering your first morning after somebody said 'Yes' to you, rays entering your window and the warmth they bring on a winter morning. However simple an idea is, if put across better it can surely 'turn into something beautiful'.

Happened to watch the video of 'In my place' today. Again an example of how the band is gaining popularity. Just watching the mellowed Whiteness in the room is so appealing. Clouds walking through the crack of your door, occupying the space, feeling the emptiness with sheer love. The pain in the voice singing 'Crossed lines that I shouldn't have crossed' is as shrilling as the noise of a hammering nail. Something scratching against your window but you like it for the pain it imparts in the evening orange. 'Come back and sing it to me' is what your heart will sing out when the music pauses just before the lines start.

X & Y, is another master-piece, literally. You will say its very painful. Yes it is but the desperation to stop the ticking bomb exploding is evident in the wordings and approach for it is AWESOME. Music again wins hands down. You will have the same feeling of 'Vertigo from U2' just that it wont be as loud. A perfect song on a Sunday morning with nothing but your bike to accompany you. Ok, thanks for reminding me again that I don't have one. :)

Every song gives a feeling of floating in the pool when the rains falling in your eyes. Something like poking ray on a Saturday afternoon, straight through the drapes on the window. I am sure that with every dropping second the fan following of this band is growing leaps and 'Ka-chings'. But they deserve every penny of a sensitive fella on the street. Complete 'Paisa-Vasool'.

PS: Watch the video of 'Don't Panic'.

Beat Goes on

I fall. I swirl around with the bike being my partner as we draw a figure 8 on the road scratching the surface. Screech.... the loud noise.

Rewinding it back. We had a long night and on the way back, I suggested a cuppa tea to help my friend keep himself awake as he rides his Yamaha. We order for three cups and in that chilled out morning, when the clock was ticking at half past 5, it tasted the best tea in my lifetime as I gulp down the first drop of it. I observe as few old men try to ignite the fire with the help of papers. The wood seems to refusing to light up and someone suggests few drops of fuel and it catches fire like sun just got its first ignition kick.

As I gulp down the last sip of the tea, I watch them packing the bags for the journey back. I hurry up and kick start the bike and smile to signal that I am ready. We switch gears and start the back journey. Though tired I feel delighted by the roar of the engine and the beautiful road I conquered. Every minute I feel happy for the time we had, must be the best one in my lifetime.

I fall. I swirl around with the bike being my partner as we draw a figure 8 on the road scratching the surface. The bike refuses to let go its power and I start rolling in a fashion I never thought I could ever do. I can see the details which I see in a speed of 45 kmph. I can see the other bike going away and only thing I can do is try and control my swirling. I feel a numbness in myself and thoughts give up as if the source is gone, like a power controller switched off.

I see two strangers running in my direction and see a concern on their face as I settle down and take a look at the bike. It has been badly bruised. The tea has shown its effect and otherwise I would have been wide awake. I get up and press the clutch and the gear but it does not work, so I press the clutch and drag the bike on one of the banks of the road. I feel my vision blurred, head trying to calculate the next steps and then I hear a voice. "Are you OK?", a funny question for the situation I think. I nod and they start blaming the government for ill-maintained road. I ask for water in the most bleak voice and drink from the bottle they handed over. I gulp down a few drops and feel like giving up. I try to gather myself but then comes a sudden pain and I vomit as I feel myself losing my vision again. I feel breathless and cant gulp down the saliva. I feel like this is what people go through before they lose it all.

I observe my torn jeans, a scared hand and a badly bruised ego. I feel like I cannot move and have lost all the reserve energy. I wait patiently as a few drops wait in my eyes and then I see them returning back. He stands by the bike worried and she looks at me with a big concern. I say I am sorry for spoiling the trip. She says its all fine and its over. I hug her and feel her shivering as she tries to clear the dust and dirt from my wounds. She gives me another hug as I feel happy for surviving first of my accidents with few dents here and there. She says don't worry and I say it will go on forever in my mind.