Burrow friend

Here's another story from the life and times of a little boy with a restless mind. This is from the phase where I had found an awesome friend in a red rubber cricket ball.
It costed Rs.4/- and was usually bought after a lot of pestering and promises that this time I wouldn't lose it. I loved the design on the ball which had markings that vaguely reminded me of the seam on a real cricket ball. It was enough to make me imitate seam positions with my little fingers and sometimes even rub it on my pants just to feel "even I'm in the league"

With not many kids in the neighbourhood and my two sisters hardly bothered about cricket, I used to have a tough time motivating myself to get to play cricket or any other ball game. So it usually used to be one department a day...say bowling, batting (hang ball) or catching (rebounds from the uneven, stone compound wall) It would begin with religiously watering a stretch of the ground that I had demarcated as a pitch. Then rolling it, yeah rolling it by riding my bicycle on it several times. No half measures here. For the pitch to be ready at the right time of the day, I had to start early in the afternoon, and that meant completing home work as soon as I finished lunch. So home work was just another thing on the way. Ok the pitch is ready. Now the stumps go in place, the ones cut and sawn from trees around the neighbourhood.
Six of them.... I had to be professional!!!
Then the unending process of marking the run up and bowling innumerable deliveries to an invisible batsman at the other end would begin. Thank God there was a compound wall at the other end which helped in stopping the ball. The thrill was in getting that perfect line and yet not hitting the stumps.
Then there would be comments to oneself on how the batsman should be made to play and quotes from the commentators on TV. Towards the end of the day at twilight, I would give up and then go for the kill. Would love the sight of the stumps going cart wheeling. Bails used to be very interesting. A thread wound around a small bamboo piece to get just the right extrusion.

Something made me realize that I wasn't alone in all this.
Like there were times when I would hit the ball around in the space outside our house. There used to be these burrows dug by rodents that I had only heard about from my parents. The ball would find it hard to avoid these holes......there were too many. Once it was in there, I would speculate and see if no one is around. Then ever so carefully, slide my hand deep into the burrow, as far as I could go and try to feel the ball with a hope of retrieving it back. It was sometimes possible only when I would take off as soon as the ball reached the hole and instantly put my hand in.Then there was once this horror moment when I felt something in the hole that was moving. Horrified, I thought I wouldn't attempt it again but every time the thought of spending the day without playing would
depress me so much that I would eventually end up taking the risk.
There was something very interesting and weird about these burrows. They were interconnected. I realised it very late. It so happened once that I was playing and the ball headed to its usual destination. The only difference being this time my parents were around. I rushed towards the zone....and as was my practice, bent down at the hole. My parents warned me to stay away. Disappointed I gave up and resigned myself to not play for a few days now. Spent the whole night thinking about my friend and what would I do the next day.

Morning came, and I was ready to leave for school. Around 7:30, when I went outside in the garden, I was overjoyed. Almost magically the ball had appeared at the entrance of the burrow. Wondering how it all had happened I was off to school. On returning back I couldn't resist asking my mom about it. She said, "Maybe it was the rodent inside that pushed the ball outside, so that you could play" I was convinced. Then one night I saw this huge thing moving about in the garden along the wall. Called my dad and showed it to him. It's the same burrowing creature that has created all those holes, he said. I looked at it closely and thought it was "cute"and smiled....coz at the back of my mind, I knew, the next time my cricket ball would be inside the burrow, it is he, who would give it back to me. Another friend to the list.

UP @ 8

It was today that I was up at 8,
Though it's not that I like getting up late
Breakfast is something that I hardly hate,
But it's only been 5 times this semester that I ate

Off I rushed to meet Tarun and he made me wait
Sat outside his cabin thinking about my state.
The day grew longer and evening felt great,
I realized the world was so different beyond the main gate.

Enough of this rhyme it's just not happening mate
Poetry is something that's not on my plate

The List

Another first to the list.
Had made a list before leaving home for this semester.
Though this one didn't figure in it, I would nevertheless add it now.
A moonrise over a river........at 11:00 yesterday night from the hostel terrace.The wish list isn't extravagant and a long term one coz I don't think one should plan too much. Hope I keep adding to the list...

Is it that difficult?

What is it that is so difficult to understand.....??
I don't understand why people need to be told that they are being a nuisance to their fellow men.Yeah like a simple thing of shutting up one's mouth when in a public library which is meant for silence and some serious work. Had wanted to write about this since quite some time now but it had to be today. I was peacefully reading (well even if I wasn't) until the so called "sensitive designers" came in and what transpired then on was sheer disregard and inconsiderate behaviour.

My humble requests for maintaining silence kind of fell on deaf ears with loud mouths. Well a whisper there or a few odd words here and there are certainly okay but sometimes it becomes disrespect to the person sitting across you or in the room. I did not want to get up and change my place for the simple reason that I had come first and was peacefully reading and just about starting to settle in. Why should I, inspite of being on the right side act like an escapist?

There are specific places one goes to, anticipating silence and the possiblity of concentrating, not to hear what is wrong with the other person's dress or which faculty should be treated how.

There are specific places for discussing that too....the world is not inconsiderate towards the inconsiderate

There are a number of things....(though they may appear disconnected)....like:

1. Moving away from the person sitting or standing next to you when you receive a call on your cellphone. Why on earth would I want to hear how annoyed are you with your boyfriend, or what is the latest piece of clothing that you want him to buy for you.
2. Why should a person remind someone about the money he had lent?
3. How much does it take to move your butt and throw your plastic glass in the dustbin. In a mess party everyone is ready to shake theirs....huh!!
4. Acknowledging the fact that every city is different and has its own plusses and drawbacks and that's what makes it unique.
5. That every faculty member doesn't have to spoon feed you. You are 23 years old.
6. That recognition doesn't essentially mean good work.
7. That asking a person to change is disrespect to him/her.
8. That it if the person isn't responding to your remarks, means he's enjoying it.
9. Abusive language is the only valid form of showing anger.
10. That it is okay if you are alone for sometime.

.........and a lot of other things
Strange how people forget things taught during their upbringing so coveniently and remember everything when it is time to teach the same things to their kids.
Is it really that difficult?

Hahaha

And today I get to know the deadline for which I skipped lunch and 
some nice sleep; has been extended till the 31st of December......... :)
So much for being a sincere and punctual kid

ONE NIGHT STAND....

Well, I'm sure the post won't be as exciting as the title sounds......
but yeah it was a one night stand....almost
With the project not moving as expected (though I'm spending all my time with her), there was an added activity going on. Everyone was busy sending their entries for the international design workshop which is in February as part of the Icograda Design week at IDC, Mumbai.
If your entry is one of the 150 selected ones from all over the world you get to attend the 3 day workshop for free. Or otherwise like us, you only get to attend the conference on two days through a registration fee which is after the workshop.

So, the theme for this competition was 
"Design Local : Stops at all stations"
to be applied to our own contexts and realm of day to day activity.
What better context than NID......which has become the current centre of my life.....so here is what I came up with. Given that the deadline was today, I had decided yesterday evening to give it a try...and started at 12:00....worked till 4 and said okay....I'm done...I'm not sending it.
Then came the morning.... I thought well...what good is this if I don't send it....so let's complete it. Stuck myself to the chair and was up only at 2. Lunch, bath and other chores had gone for a toss. Finally ended up with three alternatives......not too bad...for a one night stand

(p.s. the format was given : a tiled square)

BLO@#$*CKED

Two days.....three movies.....two of which were back to back, thanx to laser rec.....
Kabul Express, Don :The chase begins again (yeah..watched it again, and enjoyed Khaike paan...even more than the first time) The Departed

I think that's enough to explain the title of this post.Am not even thinking of writing the reviews. Well, 2 weeks down (3 if one would include the convocation week....where everyone worked, though a few did work only for themselves....industry interface was much more important than doing public service) and nothing seems to be working. It's not the usual story, for someone who is quite clear about things and the way to go about doing it. Kindly ignore the boastful undertones. But it's a fact; seems like the most lost phase of my life.

Hope Sunday morning brings in new hope and enlightenment to move forward and complete all this academic stuff. Plus the next week has a lot of things lined up. Travel, Christmas, home and amidst all this my dear pixel(s) (my topic for the project) will not be getting the attention she deserves. Sorry love, hope you understand!!
But hey, I can spend the whole of next week with you. I'll try to give you as much time as possible and I promise to spend even my lunch and dinner thinking about you. Not to mention the dreams and the walks, you shall always be there on my mind. I hope you understand, and anyway I'll be back with you for New Years......so let's get started.......

RIDE OF YOUR LIFE

John Gregory
from the motion picture "What a girl wants"
Yes I actually sat through a chick flick....but the song for the credits sequence made up for it i think ;)

Wishing on a shooting star
But dreams alone won't get you far
Can't deny your feelings anymore
The world is waiting right outside your door
What are you waiting for?

Come on, here's your chance
Don't let it slip right through your hands
Are you ready for the ride of your life?
Your dreams are riding on the wind
Just reach out and pull them in and
Get ready for the ride of your life
The ride of your life

In your heart, you know what must do
You've only got yourself to answer to
Don't let fear of fallen hold you down
Your spirit's flying high above the clouds
You're glory bound

Come on here's your chance.....

You are on your way no looking back
There's no future living in the past
You're free at last yeah
You're free at last

Come on, come on get ready
Yea, yea, yea
Your dreams are riding on the wind
Just reach out and pull them in
Get ready for the ride of your life

:)

"Sometimes, things aren't exactly how you imagined............
They are even better"

W...A...L...K

Something that I've always believed in all through my life...of whatever I've lived, is experiencing and relishing the journey.
Something that Suresh just reinforced today at a casual "sit around" in the BMW......Suresh and his stories....
"It's the experience of the journey that matters, not the threshold"

It's the whole feeling that a walk evokes, a sense of sensing and feeling the spaces that one moves through. Little things that matter......

Like as a kid, there was an undying love to go to school and utter disgust at missing it, even if it was for a day. Simply because I used to get to play in the recess time, and more importantly for the time I used to get before the school would start for the day. So if school was at 8:20 for others, it was at 7:30 for me.... :) The walk back would generally bring along a stone or a flower or a weird looking leaf home everyday, poor stone would get kicked by my soiled shoes all the way from school to home, evading all the traffic and following a path which was never there, but was made as it travelled along.
Another flower would regularly accompany me to school, plucked from random plants on the way, with the hope of one day landing up in the class teacher's hands. But looking at the beautiful roses brought in by my other classmates, the poor flower didn't make it even once. Of course, the bicycle put an end to this story since there was no time to pluck flowers.
Same with church.....I would always be ready to get up and get going on Sunday morning. Why? because of the winding road leading up to the church (which seemed miles away, then),that would cross my school, the fort, another school, the wooden bridge on a stream, and the small wait to see the water gushing through it while returning back. To hear the "ting ting" of cowbells from busy buffaloes beside the stream on their sunday grazing session. Once in the church, it used be the longing to get back and feel the air outside and soak in the winter sun. Strange things happen when you walk. Or rather, you seem to notice some things only when you walk.

Like I said, the bicycle subdued some of these but at the same time widened my horizons, aspirations and ambitions. It brought along with it a new array of experiences and explorations, which just walking couldn't have got us to do. From drifting away into "No trespassing" zones, to chases amongst friends, to a very innovative cycle based hide-and seek at a ruined monumnet outside city limits. The "missions" would generally revolve around history, geography and things like artillery, shooting ranges etc etc. Damn the textbooks. Ending up at unexplored monuments and ruins within the city, as kids we would try and figure out why it was built and what would have been the actual reason (the great scientists and philosophers....that we were:) With cycles parked like Mercs in a row, we would stand and stare....hands on the hips and ponder.

Then go up to it and explore every corner and the secret passages to reach the top. The afternoons were generally reserved for all this. It would begin with, "Mummy I'm going to get my bicycle fixed", or simply an "honest" "I'm going to a friend's place to complete today's homework" Then there would be a pre-decided meeting spot away from public eyes where a couple of friends would gather for a pre-event briefing and the mission would be detailed out.....though not always. Sometimes it would just be a free roam. No one was ever late :) beacuse there weren't too many of them party to this madness.

Then with the lengthening shadows of the evening when the sun would be down and finally out, there used to be small fears of being caught telling lies or sometimes even fear of the darkness and night (though it would only be like 7 p.m). Thank god there was no technology advancement then, no phones, no tracking down. Pity the kids living in the current age.
Of course misadventures like being chased by dogs, and being shouted at by the Military guards in the cantonment area for intruding private areas were a part of the package......like the army helipad (we rode our cycles on them like stupid kids...till the guard came shouting at us), the swimming pool, which was called the "cavalier's lagoon", the private theatre for the army officials and the officers mess, were places we would enjoy trespassing the most. Also high up on the list would be the accidental discovery of a tank museum...which was later declared open to public, and numerous hillocks and variable land zones....like pastures and swamps.
An uncalled for visit to the church campus, cycling on the edge of the moat along the fort and once to a graveyard were also some of our exploits and moments of pure unadulterated fun and satisfyting one's inquisitive side.

The w...a...l...k continues (atleast I hope it does).....though names and places change and days go by.......

CONVOCATION O6 continued

lone rangers

CONVOCATION 06

Couldn't help but think of this line from Spiderman....for all that happened yesterday
"With great power, comes great responsibility"
Not too sure of the "great power" part though

WOLF WINE

Before I'm off to sleep....some inspiration to get started tomorrow

Don't ask if it is allowed,
Don't ask if it is possible,
MAKE IT.....!!!!!

wolfgang weingart

SDM studio, NID, 6th Nov.2006

DOOM-2 to DOOM-3

Well, the cliched title of "DOOM" says it all.
Anyway I was dhoomed the moment I made up my mind to watch this movie.......falling for the trailers and its decent predecessor.

 

Thank God for making Hrithik Roshan the way he is. The only saving grace of the movie. He's the only one who comes out unscathed and manages to weave his own aura on screen. Plus he can act too....what more can one ask for.

Abhishek Bachchan, ACP Jay Dixit.....hardly seen without his retro shirts, the"oh-so-cool stubble" and worn out jeans throughout the movie, for once, is completely overshadowed by Mr.A, as Hrithik Roshan is called in the film. Mr.A leaves behind a very funny looking metal "symbol" at every crime scene which he claims to be an 'A' (which hardly looks like one......typography man....can't help it ;)

Aishwarya Rai looks "tempting" up until the moment she opens her mouth. Her dialogues "like" are very very sad and she fails miserably especially in her first encounter with Mr.A struggling to show off attitude and the "golden cool look"....whatever........

Abhishek Bachchan
Sadly, hardly lives up to expectations (poor fans......the girls) and looks almost funny dancing around the perfect Mr.Cool moves...Hrithik. ACP Jay Dixit could have been rendered a lot better I must say. He seems to have lost this one to Hrithik. Abhishek can do a lot better.....I will certainly not forget him in Yuva....awesome.............
Well well, that was the past.........back to DOOM-2

Bipasha Basu
(Shonali/Monali), well, just an add on....again....only eye candy. The "second half version" of Bipasha is the biggest mistake and blooper of Doom-2, I guess.

Uday Chopra......Aali (like Monali calls him)......do I "have to" write about him. Pathetic. If you thought he was funny in Dhoom, forget about him being even 1 percent of that here. Another disaster element.

Is there anything left....oh yeah...he plot, editing, cinematography, music......you can't make a film without all that, can you?....Well they've actually gone ahead and made one!!!
A disconnected plot, very "Hindi movie" looking robberies (Dhoom 1 atleast tried to be slick) Editing is nothing great to write home about. Cinematography, is plain to say the least. Only Rio adds a bit of colour and freshness to the overall setting which cannot actually be credited to the cinematographer. A huge number of frames are spent in slow motion when the characters are shown doing simple things like leaving airports or walking on a street (though Mr.A looks the best in that scene on Marine Drive). All of them have seem to have been given the same set of instructions.........
"Walk 4 steps...now ever so slowly...look towards your right, walk two steps, now turn to the camera....four steps more.......and please loads of attitude......right...." Good shot.

Music....except for the title track, the rest is not even close to hummable. I don't understand why people curse and blame only Himesh Reshammiya.
Action is simply unexciting.

All in all, DHOOM2 tries way too hard to pass off as this cool flick with lots of attitude and slick stuff. The characters look stale and the plot is very loose that hardly generates any excitiement or build-up to the climax.

DOOM 3 on its way....any takers??

ROUND 4 LAP 1

The first lap...like in F1 was the warm up lap with nothing exciting happening the whole day.
Well there are 4x30, say 120 laps (roughly)more to go....
I hate getting down to numbers, but have to sometimes, coz otherwise it just remains a "concept".

With the engine revved up now, I'm expecting to clock some really faster laps. Let's see how it goes. It's no longer about "C"s and "A+"s (as if it was)......yeah...but its now about the bigger picture where you are just about to be introduced, rather thrown into.

The usual buzz around NID is back with familiar faces bright with beaming smiles, highlighting the "just returned from home" look.....and thankfully the mess has also re-opened now.
You sometimes tend to understand true worth, only when things are not around anymore and treasure them once they are back.........

> || >>

 I'm sittin here in my boring room(not really)
Just another lazy Sunday afternoon.......

India is playing South Africa in Cape Town, ID has gone for training, most of VC is yet to be seen on campus, the autumn leaves are all over the place, the lawn looks tender and fresh and I'm sitting in the NID amphitheatre and writing this. Thanx to technology....Wi-fi and all that. I have grown fond of this place which harldy figures in anybody's list. It's nice and peaceful, no irriating voices around you, nor people moving around you, almost like a cutoff but still within NID. I call it a place for reflections and projections.

Tomorrow, I begin my last semester at NID. Already..... seems not so long ago that I had come to this place, with hardly any expectations, unlike most others for whom NID had fallen short of their imagination and sky high 
expectations. I say this from all the CRIB talk that I've been subjected to, over the past three semesters, and, what's more, it cuts across all disciplines.

Well, the last semester; one last chance to freak out, one last chance to run wild with your imagination, feel the winter here (of whatever little happens), one last chance to have a ball, 
one last chance to play along, literally one last chance.....coz whatever happens after this will just be a measured and calculated move for most....even for me maybe.
So before I take the plunge this is my "pause || " and a look at what lies ahead of me....though as I've said earlier, one should not plan too much. So, I'll take it as it comes, one day at a time....

| L | I | N | E | S |

from the Tata Safari ad
"The only thing stopping you....is YOU"

from "Feel" by Robbie Williams
"I sit and talk to God.....and he just laughs at my plans"

from "Teach your children" by csny
"The past is just a goodbye"

from "Happy together" by The Turtles
"Me and you, and you and me...
no matter how they tossed the dice.....it had to be"

and the latest Sony Ericsson ad (i think it's the coolest ones of late)
"I (the SE logo) the rain"
"I (the SE logo) long queues"
"I (the SE logo) losing myself"
"I (the SE logo) being the substitute"
"I (the SE logo) missing the last bus home......."

a few of their print ads...down there   >

Too cool huh!!

 

WHY ?

Why: sometimes you have to do it?
Why: sometimes all reasoning betrays you?
Why: sometimes you feel so compelled to say something,
you wouldn't otherwise say, even in the wildest of your dreams?
What's more, you actually go and say it...!

Why: sometimes everything just seems to be in harmony?
Everything seems there for you and right in front of your eyes,
yet your instinct says no, not now!
There seems to be a perfect union of your inner self and someone else's
without even exchanging words.
You strike a chord...that perfect harmony....magic

Why: sometimes words aren't sufficient to say what the heart wants to?
Time isn't ample to say the words one wants to, and listen to the others say.
Yet amidst all this chaos there is that moment where
time seems to stand still, you hear the unspoken words and go
"Huh"...only to realise nothing was said.

PLEASE TICK ONE

CHOICES!!!
Someone said, "You always have a choice at every stage in your life"
Yeah we sure do...but the way I look at people who make choices that they actually don't intend to, is something like this....

There is an exam where only one question is asked to every person present. Each guy/girl gets the question paper with the question.
Now, everyone is given four alternatives to the answer, out of which they have to tick one.
Fair enough. Now there is this guy who gets his, which has only one option as an answer and the line after the question reads : please tick one

This is something that happens to many people, but we look at them and say...well, he had a choice and look what he has chosen,he could have easily done xyz and gone there and done blah bla blah....without realizing what he's been through.
Maybe he got a question paper like the one i just described...too bad for him...isn't it? So the next time you judge a person's decision,(which one isn't supposed to anyway)think of this please tick one" situation.