Shifted!

Changing identities is easy here.

Person remains same, words remain same, address has changed just a little bit. Find me now at: http://mumblingbee.wordpress.com/

अल्पविराम

कुछ शाम है भरी भरी,

कुछ दिल भी है भरा भरा,

कुछ हवा है, बस वही दवा है.

इस जुदाई के आलम का और कुछ ना हो सकेगा, 

यूँ ही कुछ और भर जाएगी शाम, दिल भी भर आएगा.

धुआं भी उठा है, आग कुछ लगी सी है,

नादानी कुछ लगती है, इश्क सी मालूम होती है, 

जो तुम ना हो तो धुआं भी तेज़ लगता है,

रुख नहीं है दुनिया से, काफिर बना दिल चलता है,

तुम आ जाओ तो बहार खिल उठेगी, जग झूम जाएगा, रूह खुश हो जाएगी.

पर जी मचलता है,

दूर हो तुम, तुम्हारी आहट भी नहीं है, 

यादें हैं कुछ, अधूरी बातें हैं कुछ,

कुछ मीठा सा दर्द, कुछ कड़वा सा सच.

बस गयी है दुनिया जिसमे तुम हो भी और नहीं भी,

कुछ समां ये भी बांधे है, कुछ समां हमने बना लिया,

इसी इंतज़ार में की तुम आओगे,

और वो दिन भी क्या होगा, क्या होगी वो रात,

क्या होगा वोह समां जब बनेगी कुछ बात,

तुम और मैं बंध जाएँगे, खो जाएँगे,

फिर भरेगी शाम, बरसेगी भी,

धुआं बुझ जाएगा, यूँ ही दिल भी खिल जाएगा!

Happily Ever After?

Love can make a home. But can it run a house?

All that glitters is not gold. It is silver and bronze and brass and gold and copper under bright light. Remove the shine and see the truth. It’s not dark but it’s the reason why every story ends at happily ever after. 

There is a turbulent, complicated, beautiful, mind boggling ever after.

Open Letter To Facebook Friends

Dear Fellow Facebook-ers,

                                                Warning: If you take offense very quickly and want to kill after reading the first line, stop right here. I don’t want your silly opinion about how what you do is right and what I should do.

Still reading? Okay.

I am tired of you. And every time I open Facebook, I want to cry. And YOU who identify with the traits mention below, are the reason. Facebook has ceased to have any importance because of YOU.

What you don’t seem to understand is that you’ve lost all your common sense, I don’t know where, and have so far not been able to get it back. Here’s the deal: STOP making a fool of yourself.

We understand you want to share your life’s event’s pictures. But trust me, going to city walk every other day or metro pictures, those are certainly not your “life’s events”. Add to them your editing skills – what are you trying to do? On top of that, you want to explain your day using pictures. I don’t care what story happened in that metro. It would seem still sensible had it come once a month. I can’t believe how free you are to do this every damn day.

DON’T share those ugly looking pictures of injured children/battered wives/creepy animals. Your “share” is not going to help; I guess you’re old enough to understand that. You should rather help to take them off Facebook.

When you post “:(”, “I wnT 2 cRyYy….”, “I Wnt 2 DIE. LiFeee……nT sOo GoOD…..” and other similar stuff, you are labeled as one attention grabbing idiot, if I may say so. On top of that, when someone asks you, you’ll reply with “kuch nahin yaar….”. Obviously something is wrong. And obviously the person asking is also an idiot because your true friend would’ve called you even before you posted this message. Also, updating your status every two seconds is NOT a good idea.

Your boyfriend coming to meet you is a major deal, I agree. But if you post 10 pictures/statuses each day on what you guys did and stuff, I’ll metaphorically slap you and sincerely hope you break up. Also, Facebook isn’t ice cream therapy. If you’re sad about a break up, call your friends.

Someone died in the family? Oh let me post it on Facebook. This is the worst attention grabbing technique. Why would you want to tell your entire friend list, which consists of meaningful and meaningless people, about such a grave matter in a Facebook status update?! Seriously? No, even if they are sick, you can’t. There’s messaging and phone and all kind of communication stuff for this. At least respect the person who lost his/her life or is struggling to keep it?

Facebook is a social networking site, if you will. You get back with old friends, keep in touch with new ones all day and if you’re interested, befriend new people. Not your daily log. I repeat. Facebook is NOT your daily log.

We might have, at some point of time, done this (except for the last point, even I’ve done a lot of the above). But we learn from our mistakes. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Why don’t I just hide these updates or better yet, deactivate Facebook? That’s because sometimes there may be important updates there. Some people can’t be hidden since their updates might be important (and once the importance goes, they’re also out of my friend list).

Just common sense and social etiquette.  And the world will be better place to live in. These are only a few of the woes I have regarding you. I wish you a better life and hope some common sense gets instilled in you magically.

Sincerely,
Living on hope.

Photo: http://www.google.co.in/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&authuser=0&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=tOl_F-0ULS8KxM:&imgrefurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9035396/Facebook-worth-1.1bn-to-UK-economy.html&docid=8SFSfiH6QVDC9M&imgurl=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01796/facebook-front_1796837b.jpg&w=620&h=388&ei=vNC7T-b8Hc_rrQf52b2ZCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=536&vpy=148&dur=418&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=139&ty=105&sig=106120958739934562971&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=187&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:169

Vodka Shot Cuatro

Broken dreams are like shattered glass, weren't meant to last. 


But I say, thank you broken dreams, for you showed me what I am really meant to be. 


And so I'll go on, stronger and prettier and better.

Photo: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-6042424-summer.php?st=b9cca96 

A Cricketer Less Ordinary

Being a girl, my cricket frenzy was limited to the looks of the cricketers. At a young age, I collected pictures of cute cricketers from all teams and stuck them in a diary. And that is why, maybe, I could be nobody else’s die hard fan (no offense). It was always Rahul Dravid.

I had no elder brother seeing whom I could see cricket frenzy. My dad wasn’t much of cricket crazy person. There was family friend, much like a sister to me. She was THE fan. She had posters, interviews, pictures, everything you could possibly imagine. Even their birth day dates were the same. I was awed. I read them all and realized that there is something about him. The next SportsStar (Fortnightly Sport Magazine of The Hindu) had a pull out poster of him. I stuck it in my clothes almirah and saw it almost all day daily.

I grew up and continued to admire him albeit with lesser fervor. My fascination for him was well-known among friends and family. During his match in Australia in 2003, where he made the fabulous double century, I was travelling. My younger brother, now slightly aware of the cricket tamasha, teased me throughout the way saying that Dravid will be back to the pavilion at 199. I kept fighting him. That was the kind of trust Dravid placed in us. In 2003, the first time I followed the World Cup was because of him. I was not saddened by the final loss but I was amazed by the way he led the team to the finals. Just brilliant.

In 2007, India suffered a crushing defeat at the World Cup. Our media has forever had the habit of taking a cricketer to Mount Everest and then pulling him completely zameen ke neeche. But Dravid maintained his dignity. He never embarrassed you.

His address at the Bradman Oration in Canberra made us all proud yet again. I read each word of the speech only to be filled with more respect for him.

I can’t comment on the way he played. No analyst there. Though I have seen innumerable jokes on how slow he was. But he took it second by second, it seems – every second speaking for itself. He was used to pressure but the dressing room stories say otherwise. He was The Wall for them too. Indeed, the Mr. Dependable. Never exaggerated his presence, always maintained a subtle appearance. Every time I looked at his picture, I was filled with a sort of calm – this guy is still there.

Now that he’s gone, cricket doesn’t seem so important any more. However much I may dislike IPL, I get to see Dravid in action again. I side with the team he is in – even if that needs me to change loyalties from one team to the other like some fickle minded person. But it’s only Dravid who matters. I watched cricket because of him. And now I won’t watch cricket, because of him being not there.

I sincerely hope to see him in the positive limelight just so that he can continue to remind this generation of Indian cricket’s glorious past. Adios, Jammy. You’ll always be my favoritist. 

photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rahul_Dravid_-_moving_the_field.jpg

Why Twitter is better than Facebook

    1. Firstly, Facebook is a social networking site. Twitter is a micro-blogging site.

2       2. News! Follow at least one news channel/ newspaper/ something’s twitter profile. Also, trending topics give a good amount of information – especially with the new twitter.*

3 

         3. Gossip. Everyone’s the other person’s friend in Facebook. Bitching cannot be open enough. Twitter is slightly better because, trust me, not all your friends know how to use it and they never bother checking after making an account just for the heck of it.

4

         4. You can’t update your status every second (unless you want to incur some major wrath from your friends). You can tweet every nanosecond – your followers will be happy (if you’re sensible, that is).^#

5

         5. With 140 characters only, the tendency to babble becomes less.^#

6

         6. There are no photo albums titled “MeHhhHh <3”.

7 

         7. Followers are more important than friends, though slightly less faithful.

8  

         8. You’re not compelled to reply to every mention.

9

         9. News reaches you first, in every form – sarcasm, fact, mockery, and joke. Anything you want.

1   

        10. You can mention anyone and kick their butts or praise them or do whatever. They won’t notice, they won’t care and if you’re good, you’ll be retweeted!

*  - Most important for those budding journos who hate readin newspapers and like to flip through.

^# - contradictory, but true also. When you want to tweet a lot, you want to sound sensible.

Leftovers

Fragments of your smell in the blanket. Bits of your memories on the sheets. Indifferentiable whispered Iloveyous. Fading feel of your lips against mine. Rising cold realization. Numbing of my mind. Half closed, sleep craving, waiting hollows of eyes. Drying words. Cooling passion and firing up again. Curled toes and trembling fingers. Reminiscence of your breath on my face. Messy hair. Salty thin strings of water from above. Your absence in the presence of your leftovers.

Don't go please.


Or are you gone already?

Freeze

You know when time flies?

I want it to stop.

I want it to breathe.

This is where we belong.

Stop, just stop right here

And see we’re happy.

See we’re smiling in the midst of a few happy tears.

See us love each other like we wanted to.

See us fly but don’t learn.

See us get lost in each other,

And relish the moment.

Cherish us together,

Bring us alive again.

Hold our hands and dance.

Just be, be how we want you to be.

Don’t bring about your end,

Just freeze.  

Smoke

The door opened,

You walked towards me,

Giant steps,

Loud thuds.

I was there,

Soaked in blood,

I lay painless.

You touched me.

You grew on my blood,

Laughed at my tears,

You took my heart in your hand,

Heard its silence and chuckled.

And then you took your steps backwards.

I lifted my hand,

In vain,

I felt dead,

There was no pain,

I was dead.

And then I heard

The last thud

A last chuckle.

You disappeared,

The door closed.

Did You Know Why?

Intoxication, high

Most of the times, you don't know why.

I speak, three wonder creating words,

You smile, I wait for you to be heard.

I see you again,

With a look, same

I speak again

But this time, you don't feign

A smile, you cry

I thought I knew why.

I run my fingers through your hair

Hold you for long, it was only fair

You deserved this,

I didn't know what I'd missed.

I sit down beside you,

Speak words, new.

"You share your dreams, I'll tell you mine,

Together we'll create a dream, make our lives sublime"

You smile at me weakly,

You knew I am beaming,

You shake your head and walk away.

She says she feels sorry and holds your hand,

You wrap your arms around her, not a word you say.

I see you again,

With a look, same

You turn around and so do I,

If only you'd told me,

Why the intoxication, why the high.

Dazed, Amazed, Awed.

“The laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. / And how much" (The God Of Small Things, 311).

And that one quote summarizes the whole book.

First published in 1997, I think it was just the right time for me read this. Not too old to over-understand and then to judge and not too young to confuse completely. Since it’s more than a decade old, there’s no point in me telling you the story. Moreover, it’s very difficult to narrate the story. The book is written in non-linear form, which is confusing yet so brilliant. It follows a narrative style like that of Shadow Lines (by Amitav Ghosh. Another masterpiece, I must say) but the plot, I think, is much more complex. There are even lesser closures and the end couldn't have been more abrupt. Yet, I love it for its themes, the undaunted portrayal of love and the true portrayal of manipulation and power relations. I am still dazed and I think I’ll have to read once again to completely absorb it.

There is a lot of dramatic characterization in the book but that too is quite subtle and punched with bits of direct characterization in between. So it’s quite hard to say which one was my favorite character. But I think it was Velutha. He was absent for most part of the book and it took me some time to understand why he loved the two-egg twins so much. But when I did and when he died, even before I read the final chapter, I’ve never felt such remorse for any fictional character as for him. He was betrayed – first by his own father, then by his Comrade Pillai and then, unknowingly, by the child he loved so much-Estha.

He knew what his caste meant, he knew what repercussions his action would have, he knew there might not be a ‘tomorrow’ and so it happened and yet the only truth in his life and in Ammu’s life was their love.

Maybe it’s only because I’m smitten by the idea of love, but the way Arundhati Roy has explored it is fantastic. The love between Ammu and Velutha broke all barriers, literally. Different castes and what a place to love each other. Baby Kochamma’s love for Father Mulligan – attained truly in his death. Chacko’s unconditional and almost blind love for Margaret Kochamma and their daughter.

The twins’ love for each other triumphs over all of them. Truly, it was never you and me for them. They were always ‘we’.

One character that truly saddens me is Estha. He turned into a recluse, I think, because he realized what he did to Velutha, because he said “But that will be never” to Ammu, because the “orangelemondrink man” violated him and he never opened up to anyone. Estha, “the Practical One” was manipulated throughout the book. Rahel was rebel. She resisted the manipulation, fought it when she could and learned to live on her own. But Estha is one of the saddest literary characters ever (in my knowledge).

I’m awed by her language. Her sentences. Her words. The lack of proper closures, some missing bits which I wanted to know, specially Estha’s life in detail in his father’s house make me restless but I’ll live. :)

It deserves another read. And you can’t understand it one go. There are so many things that I'm missing out on but I can't possible explain each of them. Beautiful quotes in between which you should probably mark out. Great work, inspires me.

Vodka Shot Numero Tres

Hum ne bahane se, chhup ke zamane se, palkon ke parde main ghar bhar liya..

The music of this song randomly popped in my head and I YouTube-ed it immediately to pacify the desperate urge I had to listen to this song. And I realized what I fool I’d been that I didn’t have it in my phone. (Which reminds me that I need a great result for an iPod so I can store all my songs in it. And DU is taking forever!)

Ae Zindagi, Gale Laga Le. Beautiful song, beautiful lyrics. I know everything about the movie, Sadma – the movie in which this song is played but have never had the guts to watch it because what I saw was the last scene. Every time I think about it, it gives me goose bumps. I cannot bear to watch such a wonderful relationship end in blood and how! But I must say, the movie was a masterpiece.

The five minute song delicately shows almost every aspect of their relationship. It moves your heart and Sridevi’s impeccable performance caresses your soul. You can relate so much to the lyrics that it’s almost as if it’s about your life.

I have never been a fan of South Indian remakes but this and Hindustani, both with Kamal Hassan in the lead, mesmerized me.

Go and listen to it first, even before reading this, if you haven’t heard the song yet. 


And then wish yourself a very Happy New Year, from me. :)