This, That and Some More

This incident dates back to my school days, I used to study in a very up market school full of snotty rich kids belonging to the most famous political and industrialist families of India. There were a few kids from middle income groups to stabilize things; otherwise the school would have been rather empty. Now I come across my school mates smiling out of the page 3 sections in the newspapers or making their mark in politics or media and I wonder that if I were to meet them today, would they recognize or talk to me? Back in school everything was simple; the rich - poor divide was not very evident in the lower grades. A good friend, daughter of one of the most eminent Indian business families often called us over. Being her friends, we were given the royal treatment, the red carpet was rolled out and our every whim was catered to. We demanded a rice dish called 'papad chawal', tri colored puris, hot ginger or cardamom tea every now and then, movies, go swimming courtesy her prem...

Maybe some or all things that happen in our lives are predetermined. There are some incidents in my life which make me believe in it as the days go by. My Grandmother wanted me to marry into a certain family, perhaps because that was the only family with an eligible Brahmo bachelor! She could not find a suitable Brahmo groom for her daughters (they were married off into Hindu families), so it was her most cherished dream that her grand daughter should marry a Brahmo . Several discreet and not so discreet attempts were made to initiate the alliance, in one such attempt I was pushed in front of my prospective Mother in Law with necessary introductions. She looked vague and I was promptly dismissed. How did I even agree to such a situation I am not sure but when one is young one gets pushed into situations. My Grandmother passed away after a few months leaving my mother to shoulder the enormous responsibility of marrying me off. I didn't help things by producing a boy friend who wa...

This is a song by Enigma which looks as good as it sounds as the entire video is a rewind and it has been one of my favorite songs for a very long time. Everytime I come across an article which advises us to eat complex carbohydrates (whole whear bread, brown rice etc), do yoga and meditation and studies about alternate fuel and electricity sources, I am reminded of this song. The industrial revolution has depleted the Earth of its natural resources and the 'good life' along with the pollution generated by industrialization has depleted our health. The oil they say will last us only for 20 more years, the levels of oceans all around have risen by a few inches in the last 20 years, the ozone layer has depleted considerably, ground water contamination due to toxic land fills and use of fertilizers leads to chemical filled fruits and vegetables and unsafe drinking water. The use and throw culture leads to tonnes of garbase, paper is shredded, torn and wasted without a thought for ...

It resembles a battlefield at times, full of adrenalin charged youngsters running around everywhere trying their best to put the ball in a net or a basket or trying to snatch it away from the person who has it. Aggression reigns supreme, battle cries of 'pass the ball' echo everywhere, deliberate nudges and pushing is the norm and so is the good natured camaderie after the game is over. This is the usual scene I witness everyday when I drop my son for his basketball lessons, last two days I was feeling lazy and didn't go for my walk / gym, so I just sat and observed the various games in progress, counted the planes that flew over my head, watched the dust rise up and settle down and observed big ants on the ground who very smartly avoided human footfalls and hid in cracks. During all these aimless observations, a few kids caught my attention. Three girls were playing with a ball, passing it to each other standing quite close to each other. A very simple sort of a game for g...

I am so busy doing nothing that my mind refuses to think up of something to write. I can hear several idea bees buzzing around my brain, hopefully I will be able to give them some shape very soon. Till then just let me sleep on them!

My Father passed away when I was eleven years old; I remember foggily that in the morning he complained about chest pain when I was leaving for school. When I came back my mother told me that he was no more, I predictably broke down but at that age the comprehension levels are rather low. I felt that he had just gone away on one of his office tours and would be back after a very long time, perhaps I was more upset about not being able to celebrate my birthday which was just next week because we had made grand plans for it. I feel awful putting this down on paper as I am admitting to being selfish, insensitive and a low life by admitting that it was my lost birthday I was crying over rather than my Father's death. I was the adored daughter, special and pampered, my every wish was fulfilled and I was given the best of everything by my Father. Before the childish affection could grow into a relationship, my Father passed away so I never really knew him as a person. After his death I n...

I find a lot of similarities in them, they could be twins if they were not separated by this vast expanse of time. I am not a political observer, I cannot keep track of politics most times, I have no interest whatsoever in politics. But even a layman can see the impending doom that our local Nero (Vilasrao Deshmukh) is bringing upon this city. My catty side observes that his son, is doing a better job than his Dad, atleast he is trying to act and his performance is tolerable. Vilasrao, however is a different story altogether. If body language is an indicator then he appears to be lazy, uninterested, loves the perks of the job and has conveniently forgotten the duties that go along with it. On occasions he has appeared to be downright silly when he went with a begging bowl to Delhi but could not state reasons as to why he needed the money. Forget Shanghai, we are not even close to Bangalore and Chennai. Even the cities like Hyderabad and Kolkatta are better managed now. The stink of ga...

Recently I helped my son with some project work where my son had to list down 20 adjectives (all good) describing himself. Of course I had to help with the list of those words and after I crossed 12 it was kind of difficult! Now if I were to do the same exercise for myself I would probably take days over it. The words are easy to come up with but are they really about "me"? DO I really know myself well enough to come up with words that describe me? I learn a little about myself each day and I unlearn a bit about myself too everyday. Perhaps I am like a snake that sheds skin periodically, discarding what I don’t need and cultivating what is required. At times I surprise myself by doing something totally unexpected on an impulse and at times I have gone against some of the core values that I have been brought up with and managed to shock myself (without repentance!). Why do the negative adjectives pop into my mind ahead of the positive adjectives? Are we as a race programmed to...