tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61944444454876444492024-02-22T12:46:56.576+05:30Life In AbstractTidbits of Life... My views... Capturing moments... Attempts at being philosopher... Simple words but long musings...NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-80789122214656210602012-12-24T20:53:00.001+05:302012-12-24T20:53:06.550+05:30Where Art Thou Father Christmas?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas of Black Tears</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">I
still believe in Santa Claus. I still believe in the fables we heard, read,
learned & carved in heart as kids - those tales of how the Good always overpowers
the Evil. We also learned that naughty children don’t get Christmas presents
from Santa; thus, we have to be good throughout. Childhood was simple – be bad,
the bogeyman will take you away; but be good and you will be the best kid on
Santa’s list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">The
girl ‘Amanat’ from Delhi must have done something terrible this year to have
encountered that terrible fate. The bogeyman or rather the whole bogeyman clan
came for her on that dreaded bus. Similarly, that poor lawyer from Mumbai must
have been so bad this year that she was molested and murdered inside her own
apartment by a security guard who was supposed to ‘secure’ her! Or is it so
that being a girl, none of the fairy tale and religious teachings applies to
the ‘weaker sex’? The little bit of feminist streak in me pokes me when I say
we are the weaker sex, but the unfortunate fact is that <i>we are the vulnerable gender</i>. We are sandwiched between pervert characters
and rigid social attitude. Many ‘spokespersons’ and authority figures of the
society often find critical points in putting the blame on girls although they
proclaim it is for the safety of girls –</span><br />
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">She was not dressed appropriately.</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"> Apparently jeans are more provocative than fitted <i>churidars</i> and midriff-baring <i>sarees</i>! Don’t get me wrong, I love
Indian wears, especially <i>sarees </i>which
make a woman look the most beautiful. But what a girl wears shouldn’t be
considered an indicator of her morals. Yet, the archaic mentality is still
plaguing the mass opinion (which also includes many women, sadly another
horrific angle in the story)!</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">What was she doing out at that late hour? </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">Same what your good son was doing – catching up with friends
over dinner, trying to relax after a long, tiring day at work or simply trying
to get out of the regular routine of cooking and cleaning utensils. If you have
ever tutored your son to respect a girl’s modesty at any given time within 24
hours, this question would never arise in your mind.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Thus,
as per the guidelines of the ‘social moral guardians’, most of us girls might never
figure in Santa’s good list, unless we remain inside the walls of our homes. Oh
wait, so those cases of sexual offences like rapes by family members or marital
rape are just figments of our imagination or what?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">It appears
laughable to think that Santa stands for the Good in life. But he must exist
because we know for sure that the evil bogeyman exists. Yet we are not finding
any reason to rejoice and celebrate the season. Santa seems to have forgotten
our kind, good or bad. It is idiotic of us to expect Christmas gifts from him
unless it is pepper spray. Safe place at any given time is a mere mirage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
sexual offenders are psychologically deranged and the chance of eradicating
such perverts from the face of the earth completely is, sadly, nil. I think
such a feat can be achieved only by either a whole bunch of superheroes or the apocalypse.
So as the vulnerable fraternity, we the women are always at the danger of being
groped, eve-teased, harassed, molested and raped - despite being on the good
side. Unfortunately, there are hardly any concrete measures taken by our
authorities to prevent and lessen the number of such cases. There is no fast
and strict means of punishing the offenders which could </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">instill</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> fear </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">among</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> future offenders. So in every plausible way, we are in the neglected list of
Santa. Yes, this is the third list of Father Christmas which some forgetful elf
must have misplaced. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">No
this year I am not finding any reason to be grateful, to celebrate the spirit
of Christmas or New Years. For me and for most women, the season’s greetings are
empty black alphabets with no ‘Ho Ho Hos’. I don’t want to sound pessimist but
some part of me actually wanted Doomsday to happen on 21.12.12 as it would have
ended everything – good, bad and ugly. Since it </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">didn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> happen, I can try to be
optimistic about my childhood beliefs and ask Santa to give us at least one
reason to rejoice – (a) safer world where crime can be prevented (</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">doesn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> hurt
to think of futuristic crime prevention as shown in ‘Minority Report’) or (b) fast
& strict judicial system dealing with offenders or simply, (c) a normal
life for all the rape/molestation victims without any social stigma. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Dear Santa, </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">I hope you are listening</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">!</span></div>
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NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-44529202941004892162012-08-04T18:06:00.000+05:302012-08-04T18:06:10.316+05:30Stories… Memories… Legendary Lores… Friends!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXciSoA0U17OgWFj5jvOVESfVUQNaLmdX-y47s0wKoddws6ZTJT4ZjrtzFUi9_mG9Ieo7fHLXcohuibFt360jDMYydO4UjdiBmcD4yr6FXgVr_e-s6E3RHraOj4t01JPenVoa2R_OqriL/s1600/155022412142885811_WFXaUgBW_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXciSoA0U17OgWFj5jvOVESfVUQNaLmdX-y47s0wKoddws6ZTJT4ZjrtzFUi9_mG9Ieo7fHLXcohuibFt360jDMYydO4UjdiBmcD4yr6FXgVr_e-s6E3RHraOj4t01JPenVoa2R_OqriL/s400/155022412142885811_WFXaUgBW_f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“. . . the companions of our
childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later
friend can obtain.”</span></span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">―</span></span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mary Shelley</span></span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sharing lunch boxes, books, audio cassettes (yes, we
had those in our adolescence and teen days!) and anecdotes about anything and
everything: from dreams & ambitions to music & movies, from life’s dilemmas
(you know, the ‘teenage’ rebel dramas involving school authority, parents,
heart troubles!) to many little joys, and of course, the opposite sex. How much
I miss the golden school days! We may not be in touch with most of our school
friends today, but isn’t it already ‘romantic’ to realize that you made maximum
number of friends only in school! We may not know where most of them are today,
but we still remember everyone’s name. One small reunion and the Pandora’s Box
of memories always open up. School pals will always enjoy a special cherished
place in our hearts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Friendship
is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I
thought I was the only one.”</span></span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">―</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">C.S. Lewis</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first day in college and in my case, hostel as
well… You search for someone with whom you can identify or connect immediately.
You might hang out in a humongous group of batch-mates, but you end up being ‘friends’
with a limited few due to that connection. Those few friends end up being very
important part of your life. They give shape to your persona, your life as you
gradually step into adulthood. You become ‘philosophers’ with them, trying to
decide on a direction of life. For me, they were my family away from home. They
are my 4 AM friends till date. Even our parents seek them out if they can’t get
through us… “Her phone not reachable”, “Is something bothering her?”, “She is
being adamant about that xyz, please talk to her!” and so on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The same story continues with a very few individuals
whom you befriend after you finish academic life… </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They may be from work-sphere,
your flatmate or someone introduced to you by some acquaintance. They are the
ones who help you relax and rejuvenate after hectic work schedule. They hear
out your frustrations, providing the shoulder to cry and let you get into high
spirits. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank god for these friends for life, those
memories. The late-night or rather, till-dawn talkathon, midnight snacking and
odd ice-cream cravings, SOS plea to guys to get those ice-creams, bunking
classes to watch already-seen movies while lazing under the cozy blankets,
experimenting in kitchen (guess we turned out to be fairly good cooks due to
that without mom’s training), that crazy night on the roof during the rains, endless
shopping sojourns and of course, the house parties. Given a choice, I will any
day prefer those fun house parties where we cook our food ourselves and spend quality
time with friends (ending up really high-spirited in every possible way) over the
so not memory-worthy parties in posh night clubs. The photographs and memories of
those house-parties always bring smiles even in darker times. Oh, the stuffs
that happen during college days will create legendary stories for our next
generations… our stories are at par with our favourite sitcoms like ‘Friends’. We
are very proud of those stories!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“A friend may be waiting behind a
stranger's face.”</span></span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">―</span></span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maya Angelou</span></span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then there are those strangers whom you don’t know
personally, may be you have not even met them. But there is always a warm
connection with them. You feel happy to bond with them as you feel they
understand you in certain way. You don’t even feel the need to talk to them
directly. Pen pals (in older times) and a few social-networking pals today can
cheer you up when you are feeling down and out. A few message exchanges… you
can unburden your thoughts to them without being judged. I feel I am fortunate
to have a few such friends who know me without really knowing me. It’s true,
life can be stranger than fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“We'll be
Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?” asked Piglet. </span></span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Even longer,” Pooh answered.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">― </span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Winnie-the-Pooh</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am not trying to classify friends. Truth is, friendship
can’t be defined. There are no true friends… There are only ‘friends’… rest are
just the people you know, or at least you hope you know. Friends, you don’t
need to pretend to know them and you are also sure, they are also not
pretending to know you. They simply understand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So here it goes… Happy Friendship Day!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-25762504905940007772012-03-17T18:30:00.000+05:302012-03-19T10:28:04.165+05:30Parting with Memories of Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cleaning and organizing your closet is not an easy task. One
of the most time and energy consuming tasks ever. Now I will admit that I have
a certain level of OCD and like to see my closet well organized. One thing out
of place… and my mind and hands start itching. Thankfully, hectic office hours
and other things (read ‘too tired to even sleep!’) restrain me from indulging
in this chore on regular basis. But after a point, loud music and cleaning
spree gain momentum on one fateful day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It always turns out to be a fateful day. I shall like to
believe that majority of girls would understand what I am about to elaborate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There will always be at least one item in the closet which
is old, almost of no use and breathing its last few airs. An old T-shirt, a few
junk jewelleries, some old notes… The list can’t be exhausted. These stuffs
always stay; surviving each wardrobe-cleaning frenzy. We keep on holding to
such a few stuffs in spite of the fact that they are mostly useless. Or are
they really useless?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Us ladies are an emotional
species, aren’t we? Those old its-&-bits of stuffs are just itsy-bitsy
memories we hold onto. How? Just a few examples:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Memories
of friendship:</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> That Janpath pair of earrings gifted by a
roommate/classmate, who was not your BFF. You probably don’t wear them anymore.
Yet you keep them inside the earrings trinket box.</span></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Memories
of love:</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Those gift-wrapping papers which adorned the special gifts.
Even the countless Archies/Hallmark cards and may be a few flowers (dry and
dead) still sit pretty in that big paper gift box!</span></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Comfort
and warmth: </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That old T-shirt or kurta, which you probably sneaked
from a loved one’s wardrobe (could be anyone from your dad to your boyfriend).
You love to sleep in that since it’s the coziest clothing item even though you
own best of the night-wears</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Men may never understand these
logics. Actually, this ‘girly behaviour’ is not entirely logical. But again,
thinking from heart is not silly. The emotional value of those old stuffs score
higher than many branded and expensive items you own. Throwing such items accounts
for a painful, cold-hearted decision. Which is why, I said that cleaning the
wardrobe always takes place on a fateful day… a day when you might have to take
some hard decision to part with a certain memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">However, we continue holding
onto some items. And this is understandable. It is never surprising if those
silly old stuffs survive each cleaning… Spring… Summer… Autumn… and Winter. Girls
are emotional and we love to preserve memories which are dear to us. Come what
may!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-37852169684363022792012-02-12T20:04:00.000+05:302012-08-06T12:39:13.985+05:30Crazy Stupid Love… Or Is it?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-g03mRzidhbXmOvOzCU30BkolgdpB9O7XXQAqa8dQrfWMiruJnfxBtHpmL7OEFeINzS2Y5kv8TeQNV8vj9R_nGteCgyrAj0H9mhO5pKPVzWVUcD2-JYfQY8ALf2nv5wVLLt4N_WdOu-H/s1600/Downloads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-g03mRzidhbXmOvOzCU30BkolgdpB9O7XXQAqa8dQrfWMiruJnfxBtHpmL7OEFeINzS2Y5kv8TeQNV8vj9R_nGteCgyrAj0H9mhO5pKPVzWVUcD2-JYfQY8ALf2nv5wVLLt4N_WdOu-H/s320/Downloads.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So that day of the year is here again. I have a love-hate relationship with the Valentine’s Day. I love the fact that a special day is dedicated to that special feeling called ‘Love’ (despite what many cynics have to say against it). I hate it for a simple reason – there is a dearth of ‘human touch’ in love and relationships of the 21st century and this day has turned into just another commercial pot-boiler. These days, my grievances are increasing because of a week-long celebration of ‘special days’ leading to 14th February. I have discovered the existence of days ranging from ‘Propose Day’ to ‘Promise Day’! Wow, I feel so out-dated. In my days, there were just good old Rose day and Valentine’s Day (as far as I can remember!).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Those were the silliest yet sweetest days! There was anticipation… lots of brainstorming and planning was involved to deliver the perfect V-Day surprise. It was not anything extravagant. It was always simple and personal. Like a hand-made scrapbook with photos, poems (self-composed) and hours of effort invested to design that ‘personalised gift’.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the risk of sounding like an admonishing ‘aunty’, I genuinely feel there is less of heart-power and more of money-power involved in today’s relationships. Those splurging on materialistic stuffs appear more an effort to win some kind of unofficial competition between all the couples in the world. I, fortunately, belong to a generation which has seen best of all the worlds – from love letters to paper greeting cards, from email to social-networking sites and from SMS to Whatsapp or BBM. So I know to appreciate the best and the worst of everything. I rue the fact that there is simply no human touch in those ‘LOL’s and ‘smiley’s. The warmth of a hand-written, self-composed love letter can’t even be compared to those mundane online chats. The very idea of romancing someone through SMS, chats etc. is such a turn-off!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The beauty of romance, the concept of wooing that special someone has somehow become too mechanical and commercial. Of course, true love still exists. But too much ‘Branding’ of love, a pure emotion, is objectionable (at least from my point of view). Can the magic of romance take place through mere exchange of expensive gifts and wireless messages? I still view romance with little bit of rose-tint on my dark glares! Even though I can laugh at those fairy-tale climaxes of chick films, I love to watch them and wander into a make-believe world occasionally. For me, Simplicity is the magic word. Simple… go for KISS… Keep It Simple Silly! Let love be crazy and stupid…</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Being a girl, I can’t give up on those mushy chick flicks. So today I wrap up with a dialogue by the spunky Emma Stone from the film ‘Easy A’. Take a hint guys…</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<i><span style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80's movies? I want John Cusack holding a boom-box outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number, for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life.”</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnBAqcFBLXw" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnBAqcFBLXw</span></a></span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wish John Hughes or even Karan Johar would have directed my life!!!</span><br />
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</div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-57583466912040147692012-02-02T16:00:00.000+05:302012-02-02T16:00:59.910+05:30Karma, Ego & All That Jazz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KlUAOhefUKFUPIBU9Iwfj0ycPdypPWPoKMivKYYZZEw9p8-OQVYrpqAv7BfEVgG-3gPxSruR6do5gf_Xbjntjx4euaOow-TyxmgoWx7-BRn1kPxLUvuRmMXNKqHPYduRx5kjBDBRcOYJ/s1600/karma+is+a+bitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KlUAOhefUKFUPIBU9Iwfj0ycPdypPWPoKMivKYYZZEw9p8-OQVYrpqAv7BfEVgG-3gPxSruR6do5gf_Xbjntjx4euaOow-TyxmgoWx7-BRn1kPxLUvuRmMXNKqHPYduRx5kjBDBRcOYJ/s320/karma+is+a+bitch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">My recent Facebook update read something like this, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span></i><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Those who hurt you will eventually screw themselves up. And if you are bloody lucky, Karma will let you WATCH!” </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I know it sounds mean and invites bad Karma in all probability. But after the likes and kind comments, retweets on Twitter and even a few comments in person later, I realized that I was not talking nonsense at all. Human beings are inherently vengeful and everyone wishes deep down something ‘not nice’ to happen to those who hurt him or her real bad. Since we are too lazy to take the revenge ourselves, well… let Karma take care of everything!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Why this Kolaveri??” </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Hmmph!!! I meant, why such murderous rage? Are we genuinely hurt or is this a classic case of hurt ego? I guess to each his own. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I will cite a chapter from my own life. I decided to ‘unfriend’ someone from my friend list on Facebook. Simple reason being since we never spoke and there is hardly any chance we will ever talk as ‘friends’. I was not interested to know about any updates from his life and similarly, I was not keen to provide him the window to my life. Here I admit that my ego pushed me to do something like that. But this person seriously must be having greater issues with me. May be he never imagined I could remove him from my friend list. So he ‘blocked’ me on Facebook so that I can’t ever access his profile. Wow! Talk about ego, or should I say, the case of Inflated Ego. How wise is this person?!? Trust me when I say I laughed for a good measure of around 5 minutes imagining what thoughts and curses might have run through his mind for me. I am still smiling… (wicked smile). So in this case, who do you think was more childish, me or him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Someone once funnily quoted, “Some people have such inflated ego that it probably has stretch marks!” Touché. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I too value my ego. But I am yet to reach the extreme peak. I am too laid-back to think about something ‘not nice’ happening in the lives of those who hurt me. For me two things matter – (a) It happened because it was destined to happen and (b) Whatever happens, happens for the best and since I am still alive and kicking, I must be God’s favourite child to be out of it. Rest I assign to Karma. I feel I must have earned real bad Karma to have experienced those hurtful moments. But so have those who hurt me. So let me enjoy my life while Karma takes care of all. For the record, I will consider myself fortunate if Karma allows me witness a few moments of ‘getting back’. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Till then…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-56191604145574222342012-01-21T14:01:00.001+05:302012-01-21T16:22:41.871+05:30I Love Stories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A new year has started. Till date, nothing extra-ordinary has taken place. But life is not mundane also. Except a recurring cold, I am pretty much enjoying 2012. There have been really nice experiences, some good fodder for creating and preserving a few wonderful memories. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But (there is always a ‘But’, isn’t it?)… I am ready to ponder over lots of things again. Can’t help it, it’s ME! Someone quoted on Facebook that the status updates and photos uploaded by friends on social networking sites can often make one wonder about the happiness of others and the deficit of such happiness in one’s own life. Let’s see…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My 2011 saw many updates on ‘relationship statuses’, ranging from engaged to married. Now I am feeling paranoid thinking if 2012 will see lots of babies photos uploaded! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Come on, I am thinking just like a girl… nothing wrong with that. We girls have our sets of apprehension and big ‘Ifs and Whens’.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Girls being girls, we are such emotional wrecks. Most of the time confused about our own wishes and heart’s desires.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Case 1: </span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Girl is one of the prettiest and smartest ladies around. The proverbial beauty with brains, she has most of the boys eating out of her palms. By the way, she also belongs to that mythical class of girls who has a near Mr. Perfect in her life. It’s actually too much of a fairytale, isn’t it? Well, the twist is… the Mr. Perfect had to move out of town for good. Girl, who is doing really well in her field of job, is in confusion. If she moves out of this town, she will have to bid goodbye to her career. What should be her priority – Love or Career? She can date the best of the men but she knows it too well… her heart belongs to Mr. Perfect only. Huge dilemma!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Case 2:</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> They have been together since almost a decade. She has always loved him unconditionally. However, he has never committed himself completely, always stating clearly that marriage is not an option. As long as it lasts, it is cool with him. So she has to take some difficult but final decisions. In order to initiate the process of ‘moving on’, she starts exploring other ‘avenues’. Reason? She has never been single. She ponders… is she jumping into the fire from the frying pan?!? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Case 3: </span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Amalgamation of the above two cases. She can’t sacrifice her career. But she knows there is a huge dearth of Mr. Perfects or even Mr. Near Perfects. Emotionally gullible, she believes she can’t stay alone. Thus she starts depending on Mr. Rebound, not able to separate a fling from love. Result? She is still trying to dance on shaky grounds!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We girls love ‘Love Stories’. So we keep on looking for one in our own lives. Generally it is said that women are difficult to understand. Honestly, I think we girls are confused about our desires ourselves. We really don’t understand what we really want… except the fact we want to be loved. In these three cases, most often the girls might end up succumbing to hearts’ pressure of ‘being in love’. There might be exceptions, but most often heart wins at this tug-of-war.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Call it the moral of the story or the bottom line, we are, consciously or sub-consciously, into love stories and happy endings. So we love to see those happy status updates on Facebook and look forward to our own love stories (even if we don’t want to admit it openly!). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So “Happy Status Updates” ladies!<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-73248997010909771402011-12-30T16:08:00.001+05:302012-01-09T12:44:13.506+05:30A Last Note… Prelude to Something New<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s that time of the year. The tick tock on the clock is distinctly audible. The last few hours are here… to end 2011 with an optimistic high; or at least with a hope to begin 2012 on a jolly note.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am not that much into New Year resolutions. If you really want to do something (or stop doing something in some cases), why do you need any special occasion for that? But just for the sake of a new ‘yearly’ tradition, I also try to list down a few resolutions and simultaneously, come up with counter-attacking points. So here it goes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">No junk food. </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But 31<sup>st</sup> December night always leads to binging on all the unhealthy yummy food. So 1<sup>st</sup> January usually begins with gluttony, heralded by scrumptious cake. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Let’s see how much I can resist <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pani-puris </i></b>from 2<sup>nd</sup> January!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Find a decent house… ‘my space’… in crowded Mumbai.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Very difficult task. Monetary limitation, attachment to the expensive locality Lokhandwala, tricky property rules and regulations and above all, my laziness to go for house-hunting, all make it difficult to stick to this vital resolve. Moreover, these days whenever my parents start talking marriage, well the laziness engulfs me more. I mean, if I get married, again the mammoth job of shifting will arise… won’t it? Who wants to repeat the bothersome hard work called ‘packing and unpacking’? Yawn!!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Get that tattoo. </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This tattoo design has been in my mind since four years now. Only my phobia of needles has been preventing me till date. The new year might see me overcome this phobia. I will give it my best shot (I hope so!).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Read more and more books. </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is one resolution which I will definitely keep. It’s true, “So many books, so little time!” I will have to reserve time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Find the guy who is loved by my folks and most importantly, loved by me. </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hmmm… this appears to be the most difficult. The less said the better!</span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2011 has been one roller-coaster ride. A year that has been unlike any other years of my life. There have been good, bad and even worst experiences. But that’s life. So why not take it with a pinch of salt… along with lime and vodka shots! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Love it!!!</b> Ohkkk… looks like I still believe in ‘Love’. A good omen! Cheers to 2012!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s not fret about all those Doomsday predictions. And if worried, then let’s plan our individual ‘Noah’s Ark’. My own 'Namrata's Ark' sounds good already with the best specimens on board... What an amazing fantasy it is (wink)! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Happy 2012 people!</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></span></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-80807476928259673412011-12-17T11:36:00.001+05:302011-12-17T13:33:50.264+05:30A Mumbai Year… My Musings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="line-height: 18.2pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Georgia, serif;">No day copies yesterday,<br />
no two nights will teach what bliss is<br />
in precisely the same way,<br />
with precisely the same kisses.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">17 December is special for me. It’s daddy dearest’s birthday. Then in 2010, I shifted to Mumbai. A long cherished dream, thus, was fulfilled. No offence meant for Delhi or Kolkata (where I resided previously) and definitely not for my homeland, Assam, but I always wanted to come to Mumbai. I don’t know the reason… don’t ask me why, but I love this city.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So, it’s been a year. Wow! Well, people are right! “Time does own the fastest wings”! The 17 December morning of 2010 appears to be just yesterday. Even 2011 is nearing the edge of the end. How did this year end so fast?! And what lessons did I learn from the whirlwind of a year?!?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">New place, new people, new experiences. Now I never imagined myself to be Tess McGill from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Working Girl</i>. I have stayed away from the safe cocoon created by my family long enough not to live as the wide-eyed sweet girl. I am not at all sugar or honey-coated sweetheart who will take bitter pills smiling. Despite all these ‘philosophy of my life’, Mumbai did teach me a few lessons within a year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, Mumbai is like a woman who has regular mood-swings… just like me. One day the city exposes you to certain ruthlessness and the very next day, it embraces you with loving warmth. It lets you stumble and then it picks you up! I discovered many facets of human behavior as well as a few aspects of my own, both unknown to me before the Mumbai chapter began.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I won’t dissect someone else’s life or nature. Let’s talk about ME. I discovered that I can be really sarcastic if and when I need to be. And this can be either positive or very bad for my reputation. Some people become very wary of me being rude and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">muphat</i>. Hey… it definitely keeps unwanted people at bay and brings genuine friends closer. On the other hand, I have also learnt not to react to things which I would like to ignore. I can behave like a real b#$*h if I wish to and I enjoy doing that. You see, Mumbai taught me that you got to be ‘the vamp with a good heart’ if I want to breathe in the sea air of the city. Just keep the shield on with no evil plan if you want to survive the potholes of life’s roads, ironically, imitating the city roads! One more thing… I also emerged really good at the art of lying. I will tell you from experience, sometimes one lie helps in evaluating another person and his worth in your life. His reaction to that lie can help you to take major decision. Try it!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So many things have been said, written and depicted on celluloid about Mumbai. I have stumbled on more than one occasion during this one year. Living here is insanely expensive. To top that, I am adamant enough to struggle and survive on my own. Some people are really good while a few are heartlessly mean. Many times I end up cursing so many things. But when someone asks me, “Do you still like it in Mumbai?!?”… well, my prompt answer is, “Hell yeah! I love Mumbai!!!”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><pre style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Mumbai teaches you what LIFE is…It teaches you what I quoted in the beginning of this note. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I guess it is true… <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan… Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan”</span></i><span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">.<o:p></o:p></span></pre></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-1000333526971319402011-11-26T16:42:00.001+05:302011-11-26T17:09:21.770+05:30Party Abhi Baki Hai??!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I think age is catching up with me or my thought-process at least. Since last few weekends, I am avoiding going out to night-spots. My preference these days usually is a good book with great music playing at a medium volume and a very strong cup of coffee! Might be sounding old and boring. But honestly, I am tired of the so-called good dance music and the pub or lounge ambiance. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These days I end up remembering and comprehending the opinions of my folks and elders regarding the music and music videos of my generation. And I genuinely don’t feel like dancing every Saturday night. The 'party' songs – countless versions of David Guetta, Pitbull, Ludachris, Taio Cruz and LMFAO compositions – all sound same to me after one point. Of course, when in the right mood, I still love to groove. But that mood is set rarely these days and I am not sure why!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A recent satirical article I read somehow cleared my confusion to an extent. According to this, the nightlife crowd consists of three types of people – (1) People who go out to genuinely have a good time, (2) the all decked-up wannabes whose IQ is limited to the page 3 in newspaper supplements, and (3) the brainless rich spoilt kids for whom ‘nightlife is life’. I can safely assume I belong to category 1. But to genuinely have a good time, I need genuinely good company of like-minded people and here I am missing my dearest friends, all of them being in Delhi. Well, company matters! So give me a great book or movie anytime over an all-nighter of partying with people whose vibes don’t match mine and then, waking up in the morning (if sleeping is a provision at all!) with bad hangover. I would prefer to flock with birds of same feather!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But seriously, why all the ‘party songs’ sound similar these days? All the music videos look similar with scantily clad women with very suggestive dance moves. It’s not that I don’t enjoy these songs. But I honestly can’t differentiate one song from another many of the times. The exclamation ‘melodious song’ doesn’t pop out in my mind when I listen to these numbers. Of course, when in the right mood, I too love to dance on them. But no, they never feature on my list of top favourites. They are always ‘flavours of the season’.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I wish there would be more melodious singers like Christina Perri, Adele, Rumer, Maroon 5 and of course, my obsession… Bruno Mars. I have never been in love with any singer until I heard the divine voice of Bruno Mars. Even the music videos of these singers are very creative and have a storyline which makes them worth remembering.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently, I listened to this amazing song called “If I die young” by The Band Perry. The lyrics and the music video prove that poetry can be experienced and lived. Songs need not be about relationships, heart-breaks and love-making. There are so many stories to be told and interpreted by artistic minds and a song like “If I die young” just gives flight to that imagination. The final adieu as depicted in the song… wow… even I would love to leave the world with a book of Tennyson’s poetry!!! I recommend this one to all true 'Music' lovers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(P.S. All my pals… I still love to recall my farewell party night in Delhi… will never forget that all-nighter </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">J</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> !!!)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-73457525699206573022011-11-17T16:52:00.001+05:302012-04-05T14:33:11.958+05:30Burger Off!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whatever others might say, I loved Imtiaz Ali’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rockstar</i>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many thought the film was not up to the expectations. Why? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arrey, it was not at all about the rise and fall of a rockstar! It was a love story!!!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Come on, if the plot would have been so predictable then there would never be anything called ‘the magic of movies’! Isn’t life beautiful because it is so unpredictable? I went for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rockstar </i>with no pre-conceived notions except for two facts – I love Imtiaz Ali’s style of story-telling and I think Ranbir Kapoor is a power-house of acting prowess. And yeah, for a chance to relive my memories of Delhi and North Campus (I love to do that through all the wonderful Delhi-based films like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Band Baaja Baaraat</i>)!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And I was not disappointed. The abstract montage of various events in the life of Jordan, the protagonist, is something that’s a novelty in Indian cinema. Many in the theatre couldn’t grasp it and simply opined, “Poor screenplay”. But I thought it was very intelligent modern art… the audience is compelled to think... to wonder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The basic theme of the story is the love story between Jordan and Heer. Now I would admit, although Nargis Fakri is ethereally beautiful, I wished she was even an inch of an actor! But Ranbir is a treat to watch. It’s apparent that he put in his heart and soul in the character and as a consequence, he turned into one of the essences of the soul of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rockstar</i>; the other essences being the music by A. R. Rahman and the voice of Mohit Chauhan. I have never been a fan of Mohit Chauhan although his songs are always good. But for the first time, I simply loved his voice. The best aspect is the aura of live concert that’s been created on-screen. The songs, the music grows on you although you have heard the entire album beforehand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But I am not playing the role of a movie critic here. I loved the complicated, the poetic way of painting a cute love story and an unusual heart-break. I loved the fact that the skeleton of the movie owes its origin to Rumi’s poetry. I loved that there was no expected and usual depiction of rockstar whose life was infested by over-dose of sex, booze and drugs. I simply loved the little little symbolic representations like the key on the guitar strap. And I loved that there was no attempt to make any pseudo-intellectual statement. Just a beautiful reference to innocent birds in two songs and a fleeting support to the Tibet movement... it was more than enough. It's not a movie about politically correct or incorrect statements and thankfully, it remained that way!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Not for a single second I wondered why there was no expected portrayal of the rise and fall of Jordan as Rockstar. I admire the fact that Imtiaz Ali dreamed and dared to tell his story in his own way. May be, as stated in the movie, creative people do think and act in crazy and unexpected way!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, cinematically <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rockstar </i>is no <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">8 Mile</i>. But the film-maker must really have been inspired by Rumi… </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“<span class="apple-style-span">I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.</span>”</span></i><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> He had a vision and he sang it out beautifully on celluloid. There was no deviation from the basic plot of the subtle love story; the story of rise and rise of the rockstar was intertwined with the main plot. There was no forceful tone of tragic blues. The movie was a melodious song or an eye-catching sketch for me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So one question that has been on my mind is -- “Do you really have to go through heartbreak to produce something creative, something that will jolt others hearts to sighs and cries??” Well, that’s a matter which may be I will think about some other time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For now, well, those who didn’t like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rockstar</i>, please move onto something predictable like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Murder 2</i>. And “Burger off”!!! (You know what I mean… <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wink!</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-31484659992891666572011-11-12T15:30:00.000+05:302011-11-12T15:30:33.666+05:30The Whiff of The Memory…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgEoOZ8kWqyOCTHUZCF453y5227qfFQomTm1zKQq9t0PVVCLDklp3pYOl59pSPLbUj7_WNQs5tP9YxKbXBPXFeSia4c5c6m423TdQTq_2RGg_XjW2OlwWiQ67ugP1HD5IQJ17bHn1gHPS/s1600/5611639901_e452de4d1d_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgEoOZ8kWqyOCTHUZCF453y5227qfFQomTm1zKQq9t0PVVCLDklp3pYOl59pSPLbUj7_WNQs5tP9YxKbXBPXFeSia4c5c6m423TdQTq_2RGg_XjW2OlwWiQ67ugP1HD5IQJ17bHn1gHPS/s320/5611639901_e452de4d1d_z.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The story has long turned into a lump in my throat,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I have no more memories of the lips I had kissed<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Or the smell of the arms where I had rested my head.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yet the ghosts of the memory haunt me…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Like Wordsworth’s Solitary Reaper <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I stand alone under the winter rain,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The tears have long gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yet the thorns of the black rose prick the weary heart…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The memory has vanished like the February mist<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But a few whispers have remained…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I dream of flying<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Like Marry Poppins with the red umbrella,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My angel smiles the sunbeam for me,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But two orange autumn leaves are still surviving the new breeze…<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-56334038032635570482011-11-07T18:44:00.000+05:302011-11-07T18:44:41.618+05:30Like A Movie Star…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“What we think ‘Real’ is just the mirror image of our innermost desires.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As school-going teenagers, we used to find similarities between a film’s story and our own life-stories, specially the love sagas. You know, the kind of stories where lovers have to face obstacles from family and society, majorly having a tragic undertone. I even used to call my then-boyfriend by the names of the characters I had fallen in love with and so did he. In those days, even a song used to describe the situation we used to get ourselves into. I am sure many of you must be having such fond memories of the teenage years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Gosh, those were the days… the good old days of our acne-prone adolescence and teenage years. Silly fantasies and puppy loves! The world seemed to revolve around us and our love lives. Looking back, I have some very fond memories of those growing-up years. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Then we all were highly awed and influenced by the passionate portrayal of the obsessive lover by Shah Rukh Khan. So much so, many tried to emulate his crazy ways like cutting the name of the lover on the hand. In fact, this is a private joke till date between me and my friends which is not for ‘mere mortals’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Winking)</i>! <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But we were just growing up then. Romantic glares on, we were not able to visualize the real world, the real adult world (although we used to get warned by our folks). Once kiddy days are over, school romances are followed by college affairs and then office flings. So, do these ‘love stories’ still ape some block-buster? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Well, I guess many such real-life stories are more dramatic than any flick. After all in one movie, it would be very difficult to include so many plots of hook-ups and heartbreaks in a story of at most three hours! We open our eyes to a rude awakening that man like Humphrey Bogart of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casablanca</i>, Richard Gere of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pretty Woman </i>or for that matter, SRK of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">DDLJ </i>doesn’t exist. (For the benefit of guys, neither do Julia Roberts nor Madhuri Dixit,or rather, their iconic characters exist!)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As I was watching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara </i>for the umpteenth time last evening, I once again realized our lives are rarely like anything as portrayed on celluloid. In that flick, Katrina Kaif enjoys drinks and travels with the three male protagonists, three complete strangers. The men adore her for being ‘cool’ and she shares comfortable vibe with all. But in reality, Katrina would never be able to do so without fighting off sexual overtures of these guys. The guys would justify their moves saying… “Well, she is the one who is visiting our place at night, drinking with us and hey, you can’t blame us men after a few pegs down!” So much for hoping against of hope for the three perfect men from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ZNMD</i>!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yet, we keep on hoping. Of course, we are past that stupid phase of thinking we are the leads of a movie. And I am not only talking about romantic flicks. Many look up to even serious dramas like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vanilla Sky</i>. May be as adults, we subconsciously attempt to run away from the harsh truth that life throws at us often. In the attempt to escape from the reality, maybe we end up discovering similarity between the real and the reel life. Maybe, as quoted at the very beginning, movies just mirror our innermost desires. But the real life is lived only by those who learn to live the life he or she wishes to, and not simply studying the movie lives… Maybe!<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-23736490052369737722011-10-24T18:01:00.001+05:302011-10-25T11:43:51.776+05:30Enjoy a Café Latte<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A few days back, a dear friend of mine called me up really late at night. Worried, I picked up and became more worried when I realized he was all panicky. But when he told me the reason of his panic, I was amused. His parents wanted him to meet some girl for ‘matrimonial cause’. I told him to meet the girl with an open mind as all it was just a meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then he confided to me about the emotional turmoil he has been going through. He is supposedly ‘in love’. But he is confused because the object of his affection has not actually committed to him. She is in a relationship with someone for nearly 10 years. At the same time, as she confided to my friend, she has been two-timing her boyfriend with someone in her office! And now she has been telling my friend that she would eventually break-up with both and come to him. In the meantime, she seeks support of my pal as she is often emotionally distraught due to this tug-of-war between the two men (and now she has the nerve to involve my friend!). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Any sane mind would warn my friend that this girl spells TROUBLE! But my friend feels emotionally connected her (damn these ‘emotions’!!!) In his words, “I feel she is getting trapped in an emotional quick-sand”. I curse the word ‘emotion’!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, this friend of mine has also recently broken up with his long-time girlfriend. So he has also been feeling a bit vulnerable and in the process of offering his shoulder to the cry-baby, he is slowly getting hooked to her. He thinks their stories of heart-break are somewhat similar and, thus, they are soul mates.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He is today confused regarding two aspects: firstly, whether she is the right one for him and secondly, what if she is the rebound for him?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So, around 3.30 am, I was attempting to play agony aunt to my dear friend. Although I am not an authority on affairs of human heart, I tried to reason with him. Betraying the trust of my sisterhood, I told him how we girls are really good or rather, brilliant in faking everything. I humbly requested him to let that girl take her decisions herself. He should strictly tell the girl to handle the two affairs herself and come to him only after the mess is sorted. It’s a mess created by her and should be ended on her own. Why should my friend bear the brunt of two jilted lovers or for that matter, a bad Karma of being the ‘home-wrecker’? I told him if the girl has genuine feelings for him, she will take the necessary steps herself. Rest things will take shape themselves. Thank god, he understood my point.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now coming to his second apprehension, well, only time will tell if she is the rebound (all depends if it ever happens between them). Thus, he should wait and watch. Once the girl comes out clean and strong and commits to him, he would eventually know it himself. Then I gave him an amusing lesson on matters of heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘The Rebound’ is something that’s pretty interesting. Many would view such a ‘relationship’ with curious thoughts. But I see it in a ‘fun’ light.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am a Cappuccino girl. But an occasional Café Latte breaks the monotony and rejuvenates you. To move on from a failed relationship in which you had invested so much emotions and time, the rebound works like the Café Latte. Having a fling with someone, who is so not your type, can work like magic. You risk your feelings, you tread an unknown ground and it gives you a high. And this high feeling heals the wounds of the broken relationship. You feel rejuvenated, all set for a new love chapter in your life-story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thus, I advised my friend to take one step at a time. If and when the girl commits to him, he should let actions speak louder than any forced emotions. If there is any sign of it being a rebound for both of them, then he should simply enjoy the moment and let go once he feels he is ready for the next story. ‘The Rebound' does help you to bounce back into lively life!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-64043383549082757992011-10-18T17:37:00.002+05:302011-10-25T11:43:12.791+05:30Manipulating.... Scripting.... So You Mean Your Life is Not Yours!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">No one can manipulate anyone else. In any relationship, both parties know what they are doing, even if one of them complains later on that they were used.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Can a relationship be fabricated? Can a girl really manipulate the thoughts and emotion of the guy whom she likes? Can a guy strategize to make his dream-girl to fall for him? Do emotions really make you so blind? Does a person’s brain stop functioning on its own due to ‘manipulation’ of someone else?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First of all, what can be defined as ‘manipulating a relationship’? Secondly, who decides who manipulated whom?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s see two sides of the coin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the oldest tricks in every man’s book to hook the girl – talk badly about the ex-girlfriend, how much of an ugly bitch she was and how she was possessive and obsessive about him. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The girls can also give a worthy competition to men in this game. Tell him a sob story, with all those rain-drop sized tears, about the ex who never gave her the time and the dignity she deserves and how he had clipped the wings of her dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sounds familiar? It is actually that easy to snatch the attention and affection of the opposite sex with such ancient ploys. But is there any scheme to retain and extend the attention span? Flirting and engaging in a fling with all these plots is easy, and is acceptable to a certain extent. I think there is also some kind of kick in the chase. But ‘scripting’ a love story, a sustaining relationship?! Is it that convenient?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Come on, is an individual, especially an adult, so dumb that he or she can be manipulated to ‘fall in love’? If I am able to achieve that feat then I will for sure lose interest in that man very soon for one simple reason – the man must be really spineless for not able to recognize and follow his own emotions. I don’t need such an emotionally immature person who doesn’t know what does his heart desire.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s just a matter of blame game. Two consenting adults can never put into action a strategy to lure each other into a committed relationship. If someone does, well… according to me, that’s not a relationship but only a fling. The one who is manipulating is doing so for momentary pleasure, while the other who is being manipulated is the victim of confused feelings which would eventually die a silent death. Fact is, none is in love. And the fact is, even if this ‘relationship’ starts, well, the future will always remain bleak. The very foundation is set by a web of lies. How could it blossom into a ‘Happily Ever After’? It is and will always be a ‘At the Moment’.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-25789763885281219322011-10-08T18:16:00.001+05:302011-10-10T10:39:27.460+05:30Marriage & Its Brand Equity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I have mentioned on several occasions, ‘Marriage’ has been the phrase and flavor in my life since some time now. Every now and then, I am bombarded with news of friends and acquaintances getting married or getting ready for the huge step. Then there is the dreadful question that’s often thrown at me, “When are you getting married?” Getting hitched and making me settle down suddenly seem to be the priorities everywhere! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The age of getting married, oops… sorry, the ripe age of getting married is torturous. There are enormous rounds of drama and trauma involved, courtesy the two involved parties – the prospect and her family. Well, I guess everyone stands right at one’s own place. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am never against marriage. It is a sacred institution. But somewhere down the line, I feel this sacred institution is losing a certain amount of sheen off its Brand Equity. If I am allowed to use a marketing jargon, ‘Marriage’ today has turned into a ‘Cash cow’. All the pros and cons of this establishment have been analyzed and comprehended in our mature market, oops, society. The businesses of wedding planning, hotels, resorts or banquet halls and fashion are leaving no stone unturned to milk this fat cow. Ironically, we often use the term ‘The Big Fat Indian Wedding’ (without a doubt, inspired by the cute movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My Big Fat Greek Wedding</i>. We are so good in copying!) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But biggest reason for comparing marriage with Cash cow is simple. Consider this situation: when you are planning to buy a car, you get numerous suggestions. But if you state that you want to buy a just launched vehicle, people will advise you to opt for a safe option and buy an already popular car. So, you are directed to the most popular car of a particular brand, the cash cow of the brand. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If nothing works out, lets get a Maruti 800, Santro or I10!”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The logic usually given is: you can’t stay alone forever. You are required to blend in the society. So even if you wish to swim against the tide, others try to ensure you don’t break the convention. We still look at couples in live-in relationship with curious eyes, if not scandalous manner. Marriage is the safest and the best investment in your life. You won’t be at a loss if you get married! In terms of the BCG Matrix, your personal growth (market growth rate) might be low, but you enjoy a strong social position (market share). Hence, I am calling ‘Marriage’ a ‘Cash cow’. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qur7eeB6-k6lR2oy2gHYxu7b6z4k05Ua3WmZl_lVmxSG5OgXaKOmru5rUlHC58bWoo5RSeQ1N29NJQBskWx8aY1hahH1cXsQbyHevK29y0lDTa5H_oKpzRAE3PirwqyfZdaMvsjoSKen/s1600/Elvis+and+Priscilla+Barbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qur7eeB6-k6lR2oy2gHYxu7b6z4k05Ua3WmZl_lVmxSG5OgXaKOmru5rUlHC58bWoo5RSeQ1N29NJQBskWx8aY1hahH1cXsQbyHevK29y0lDTa5H_oKpzRAE3PirwqyfZdaMvsjoSKen/s320/Elvis+and+Priscilla+Barbie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You can choose to differ. And I will state again, I am certainly not anti-marriage!!! It is just that I don’t understand the rush people and their families exhibit once they reach that ‘marriageable age’. Any investment in life requires lots of thought and marriage IS THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT OF LIFE. After all, you are going to spend of your whole life with that person, get tied down with each other’s families as well as with biggest responsibilities, including giving birth to a new generation! So, why the rush?! How in an arranged marriage, families can try to seal the fate of the persons involved? Even in love marriage, how much time is enough to understand the gravity of the future responsibilities? Are a few days of courtship sufficient to take the big decision?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘To be or not to be’ is the trick question. And I am not the right person to opine. But I know for a fact, marriage is definitely not dolls play. Even if you want to buy a popular brand of car, you are usually spoilt for choices. So, you should do proper research, give deeper thought and take the biggest decision. Marriage is not an impulse buying decision!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-41764379778067263592011-09-30T15:20:00.002+05:302011-09-30T15:46:18.726+05:30Bridging the Age<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxRxQKfuNQCx7uxjKS5vBBksTuRPmMdYZpUNWP9HsmPwwXgTsxX9nM_PmrBGIlPw-IZYeapeH9pZsIgD_Q3cs57L8RXNnWUL_gBO13w1Ivh87rRuav_H4JgPOWA5lBJHZfjGKGmQpvG2a/s1600/Autumn-in-New-York-m01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxRxQKfuNQCx7uxjKS5vBBksTuRPmMdYZpUNWP9HsmPwwXgTsxX9nM_PmrBGIlPw-IZYeapeH9pZsIgD_Q3cs57L8RXNnWUL_gBO13w1Ivh87rRuav_H4JgPOWA5lBJHZfjGKGmQpvG2a/s320/Autumn-in-New-York-m01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are heading towards splitsville, ready to wash dirty linen in an epic 290 million USD divorce battle. This is nothing unusual in case of Hollywood celebrities, you will argue. I agree. But my focus is not the post-mortem of Hollywood romance. It’s something which most often makes me think about and question my own choices.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First of all, I would salute both Demi and Ashton for sailing their love boat for almost a decade. Call her a cougar or him a toy-boy, but together they withstood the criticisms and doubts despite the 15 years of age difference (she is 48 and he is 33 now). I actually respected the couple for sustaining so long, although I always suspected they would ultimately fall prey to the usual Hollywood storyline of marriage or relationship (read Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon-Tim Robbins). It has been reported that the Demi-Ashton story is ending due to his serial bout of cheating on her with younger women. So, are you surprised? I am not. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I feel the huge age difference finally took its toll. Demi must have been the anchor in this relationship owing to two facts - she is the woman and the older one. But the very ‘old age’ must have been the ship wrecker. Man anyways is notorious for having shorter attention span; his interest in his woman is always at the risk of diluting. So a much younger Ashton must have been easily succumbing to all the temptations, bored of an older wife. Of course, Demi will still give 20-somethings a run for their penny even at this age. But you will have to agree, she is way past her <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghost</i> glory days. And Ashton is young and his career is definitely on the rise (the countless rom-coms and yes, replacing Charlie Sheen in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Two and a Half Men</i>). He has much more success stories in store. The age gap, hate it or not, seems to have a taken a toll on this relationship. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Such cases are not rare. Take the recent case of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Playboy </i>chief Hugh Hefner and his runaway bride, Crystal Harris. I was amused when I had read the news of the marriage of the 85 year old media mogul to his 25 year old <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Playboy bunny </i>girlfriend. Come on, is getting hitched this easy?! I concluded she is just a gold-digger and such is the trend in the glamour world of the west. Then Harris called off the marriage. Thank god, finally good sense prevailed in the girl. Harris later stated, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was all just happening too fast for me. I just sat back and thought about it all. Is this what I wanted? And it wasn't."(Thank god, these girls are not that bimbo after all!)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We don’t have to probe further west as there are several home-grown ‘age-gap’ love stories as well. Remember the Saif Ali Khan-Amrita Singh marriage? Their story is our very own Demi-Ashton saga as Amrita was older than Saif. Now Saif is romancing a much younger Kareena Kapoor. The entire country is eagerly awaiting the end of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saifeena </i>love story – ‘marriage or break-up?’ is always the favourite topic of the gossip tabloids.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then there is the love legend of Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu. The vetern couple has weathered so many years of togetherness despite the huge age difference of 22 years. But is everyone is as fortunate as them? What about us mere mortals?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A friend’s recent Facebook update read “</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs!” I believe in this. Moreover, I believe women mature much before men. Which means the thought-process of a girl and a boy of the same age or age group will be vastly different. She is usually the wiser one. That’s my perception and which is why I always fall for older guys! Give me George Clooney any day over Robert Pattinson.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have always shown more affinity towards men older than me. In fact, many a times my friends tease me that I might get hitched to an old man eventually. But there are always a few apprehensions in the back of my mind regarding getting into a relationship with an older man. What if the guy is too old for me that he starts considering me a kid? What if the things we both want in our lives together would differ as our thinking ‘age zones’ are different? Wouldn’t he get insecure if I am friendly with men younger than him? Would he become too old eventually to enjoy things I want to enjoy in life? What if I get bored of his old ways or worst, him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the brighter side, an older man usually lets go of the mistakes committed by the younger partner (or so as explained to me by many elderly women). The older man is usually financially stable and can pamper you. (But again, I know of several exceptional cases: some older guys end up being big-time losers and actually look forward to sustain on the woman’s earnings!) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To be honest I am confused. Most often I am in a dilemma. I can see several flip sides of a sizable age difference between couples. But then, I can’t help my feelings. I still look out for the older men. The age-difference in relationship is a debatable topic. It will always be a matter of concern for everyone involved – the couple and their respective families and friends. But somewhere, I feel, the onus lies on the younger partner to strengthen and sustain the relationship. The younger one has age on hand and choices galore. So she or he has to be sure about the decisions and the loyalty towards the older partner. If only Ashton Kutcher has resisted all the temptations, people could have still marveled at the awesome couple. But unfortunately, he strayed despite having a gorgeous woman at home (he cheated on her just before celebrating their sixth marriage anniversary!!!)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I will need your viewpoints on this. Till then, I will sigh over the cute romantic movies like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Autumn in New York </i>(what a poignant story of an older Richard Gere and a young girl Winona Ryder) and our own charming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lamhe</i>!<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-7499345648031741702011-09-26T13:31:00.000+05:302011-09-26T13:31:04.238+05:30Me… A Bad Girl!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So by now most of you must have watched <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Mere Brother ki Dulhan’</i>. If not, then most certainly all of you must be grooving to the enthralling song <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Dhunki’ </i>and going gaga over Katrina Kaif’s rockstar look. In the film, she is the fun-loving, carefree and sincere-hearted ‘Bad Girl’. So why am I highlighting the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">bad girl</b>?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While watching the film, I saw a bit of myself in Dimple (Katrina’s character). She enjoys her young days. She views life through rose-tinted glares and chooses to ignore the darker aspects of life, although she is aware of their presence. Happy-go-lucky and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bindass </i>is the way of life for her. She doesn’t mince words, is a brat and enjoys ‘the bad things’ (read smoking, drinking and breaking the rules). She is a rebel. Thus, by society’s definition, she is a bad girl. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But she has a few limitations set for herself, by herself. She won’t break those barriers. Just because she flirts with guys, she won’t go onto sleep with each and every guy she flirts with. She is highly frustrated with the general attitude of men towards girls like her. She is tired of the double standard of Indian men who claim to enjoy the company of girls like her but are constantly on the look out of the first opportunity to bed her. And the biggest hypocritical stance of the men is really sickening – such ‘bad girls’ are fun companies but not marriage materials. You see, she is ‘easy’, and not ‘wifey’!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the film, Katrina laments about this double face of Indian men to Imran Khan. He tries to reason with her that our society is not accustomed to free-spirited girls. The Indian society is still by bound by tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now my problem with the explanation given by Imran lies in the following fact – <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“If our society is still bound by tradition, then why do the Indian men behave like they belong to an entirely alien culture? Does ‘being Indian’ apply only to girls?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I am so tired of such chauvinistic outlook. Take for consideration the numerous deodorant advertisements playing non-stop on the idiot-box. The theme of all these ads are same – apply the deo and girls will jump on the guy like moths throng towards flame. I particularly hate one ad which shows the guy ordering two girls to reach his place in 5 minutes. What a way to demean women! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Come on, we girls are not that dumb. We would go out only with the guys whom we like from first impression. We would observe and study and make the move or let him make the move only if we like him and wish to give him a shot. Trust me, if we didn’t like you, you won’t even get the chance to talk to us. We might be the emotionally weaker sex, but we are very capable of taking hard and strong decisions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We might not be the ‘perfect Indian girl’ as defined by society. We do like to have fun. Personally, I hate to be bound by rules. Yet I have always set my own rules. If I don’t want to do something, no one can force me to do so. I have my own strong opinions and I value the difference between right and wrong. Of course, there might and will be differences of opinion between your and my definitions of right and wrong. I will admit honestly, I have my flaws. However, I do possess a few ‘wifely’ attributes: I can cook well, I can set up a beautiful home and am very adept at handling problems associated with running a household. But this does not imply that I should not party with friends and guys. And just because I tread a bit on the wilder side, does not imply that I am a bad ‘bad girl’.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At least I can say that I don’t bear a hypocritical attitude towards men who enjoys the finer things in life. I don’t think men who break rules, drinks or smokes are ‘bad boys’. I also understand not every guy bears a chauvinistic attitude. In short, I don’t objectify men. And I understand the gravity of responsibilities that come with being a single working girl living an independent life, away from near and dear ones. I will have my share of fun while remaining sincere towards my own rules. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By the way, if you are trying to ape the open attitudes of the western society, then at least try to handle that attitude with maturity. One of my girlfriends recently travelled to Europe and she was recounting the experiences she had with the men there. She said that the guys there were such gentlemen that they never tried to grab a girl until and unless the girl had similar intention. Of course, there was flirting and the usual cheesy lines. (After all, men will be men!) But they won’t try to grope you and they won’t force themselves upon the unwilling girl. They knew how to make you feel like a lady. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I agree with her. I also met some really nice foreigners recently and experienced their perfectly gentlemen demeanor. They made me feel like Audrey Hepburn (I think I am obsessed with her</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Of course, I would neither claim that all Indian men are jerks nor that all foreigners are gentlemen. There are always exceptions and thank god for that! But my argument is simple, while trying to inculcate the alien culture, please try to borrow the similar maturity into your behaviour. Being carefree is not a problem. Being irresponsible is.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Keep rocking the party!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-41674348148560841802011-09-23T16:47:00.000+05:302011-09-23T16:47:06.472+05:30Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai? Or Soulmates?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After living amidst chaos and ‘too-busy-to-live’ crowd in Mumbai, an official trip to the beautiful campus of Indian School Business at Hyderabad turned into a welcome break for me. Although I was staying there for work, I fortunately had enough time to relax and soak in the beauty of the green and wonderfully designed campus. The serene silence created the perfect ambience for self-retrospection and looking at newer aspects of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The current favourite ad campaign of the season, Airtel’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai’ </i>had given me many points and stories to ponder over. I have been really lucky to have resided in different places, with different kinds of individuals and meeting a huge variety of characters that have become integral part of my life story. As I look back today, I can comprehend the significance of the Airtel ad. Moreover, since I was travelling with people from different nationalities, I was exposed to a whole new world.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So, is this true? Is each and every friend really important or necessary? There is a popular saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” All the sayings or idioms in this world (whatever the tongue or community is) have a wise reason behind them. And the base of the above mentioned idiom is very simple and valuable, “Loyalty matters”!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We all have heard of this particular species – ‘Frenemy’. I have encountered this dangerous kind at different stages. Although at that time I used to think that those were unfortunate events, now looking back I can say that it wasn’t that bad. After all, I learned a few important lessons.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But it is always painful to witness people getting backstabbed by such frenemies. You trust them but they won’t even spare a thought of consideration before hurting you if they are at the benefits end. It’s always agonizing to experience and watch others undergoing Ceaser’s ‘Et tu Brutus?’ syndrome. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Then there is the seasonal ‘friend’, who is very dangerous. Beware! A very vital word called ‘loyalty’ does not exist in the dictionary of this breed. Such persons are actually so self-engrossed that they themselves are not aware that what they claim to be their loyalty is nothing but a pretension. This is mostly because they are in love with own self, and they fail to see the larger picture. Oscar Wilde once said, “People who love only once in their lives are shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination.” I agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And at the other end of the spectrum stands the eternal debate of the existence of soulmates. A close friend of mine once confided that he is tired of chasing skirts. But unfortunately he hasn’t met ‘the one’. “I am waiting for my soulmate”, he said. I just laughed and simply stated that souls are not specified into genders. So his soulmate could very well be a man! In fact, I have met my soul sisters in my best friends. My friend understood the point.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The foreigners with whom I was travelling tried to understand the concept of arranged marriage in India. They asked me how is it possible to get married to ‘the one’ if he or she is sourced by family! Well, that is the way the Indian society has survived centuries and our society is actually much older than theirs – I replied. We are from the land which gave birth to the concept of soulmates and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kamasutra. </i>Since Indians have survived all odds with arranged marriage and still have not faced the real divorce crisis as in the west, at some point, we definitely stand correct than the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">firangs </i>– I proudly explained.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yet they were not convinced. Then when I asked one of the guys if he is thinking marriage with his girlfriend of 3 years, he was surprised and said it was too early for that. I laughed and told him in India, many plan marriage within 3 weeks of dating! And no sir, that’s not even an arranged union. Then I questioned myself – “Do we Indians get married just for the sake of getting married?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Seriously, in a country where marriage is such a revered institution, we have turned it into a circus, the ‘great Indian joke’. But I will discuss this next. I would love to do autopsy of this amazing tradition, more so because I have been facing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tamasha </i>since some time now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">(P.S. My friends, love you all. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai </i>is dedicated to you. And I know I don’t even have to take your names.)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2Mumbai, Maharashtra, India19.0176147 72.85616440000001118.826811199999998 72.7533269 19.2084182 72.959001900000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-32427947047606040552011-09-07T13:41:00.001+05:302011-09-07T13:42:02.592+05:30Broken String<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LqmLkmNny3RigOa6fO-kz7nFVp04EPbKJi1hpjKa8Oh_0sWsdmaYzsvbms88z-nNVkg9Nl3NfMIrGoDe2oamT8c6cpY6yx7lyKV6rRC3yiuqP7b7vCqcbGGSxdamkcz8hAk0CrsDMz-s/s1600/1080-Les-Paul-Gibson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LqmLkmNny3RigOa6fO-kz7nFVp04EPbKJi1hpjKa8Oh_0sWsdmaYzsvbms88z-nNVkg9Nl3NfMIrGoDe2oamT8c6cpY6yx7lyKV6rRC3yiuqP7b7vCqcbGGSxdamkcz8hAk0CrsDMz-s/s320/1080-Les-Paul-Gibson.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The rhapsody of silence <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And the sonata of melodious breeze,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Are composing the couplet of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am ruminating,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Trying to remember your song.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And I have realized,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You never sang.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I always orchestrated our symphonies,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And you were just a broken string.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A broken string with no hymn.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">May you rest in peace<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I compose the requiem of your unmelodious life.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-63556956803650333132011-08-29T11:19:00.000+05:302011-08-29T11:19:19.424+05:30Show Me The Money, Honey…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This is an eternal debate… the debate between men and women. About who is more selfish in the relationship? As a girl, I can go on blaming men, pointing out the negative points of the opposite sex. But today I am in a good mood to explain.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Many a times I have argued with guys who have several grievances against girls. They complain how girls show more interest in men with currency power. How girls can be manipulative in wooing the men they set their eyes on! How money can be a decisive factor in a relationship!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yes, money matters honey!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But majority of us are not gold-diggers. Rather, we search for successful men.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ambition to cement a strong position in the society; honesty, integrity, courage and the drive to follow and achieve that ambition, a few of the traits we look for in an ideal man. A few very vital traits. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Selfish it might sound, but this is the brutal truth. Of course, romance has to be there. We won’t go and get hitched to the first rich and successful man who comes across. Every individual will have his or her reasons for choosing to be with someone. Attraction, mutual admiration and respect, the thrill of romance and lust, all the elements are important. But above all, we want to be with a man who has earned our respect for the man he is.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A few of my friends recently got married, agreeing to arranged unions. They broke up with their boyfriends and decided to start life afresh with men selected by their folks. I was as much surprised by their decisions as their exes. When I asked them what went wrong with the relationships that had seen so many seasons together, their replies were mostly similar. Being in love is a divine feeling. They were so much in love that they were ready to wait eternally for the boyfriends to become financially secure. But the guys were not committed enough – neither to their goals nor to the promises they had made to their loves. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the words of one of these friends, “He was not man enough to chase his dreams and convert them into reality. Money would have automatically flowed if he had guts to do what he wanted or rather, claimed he wanted to do. I had given him all the time in the world, promising that I would wait and thus, supporting him in all endeavours. But somehow, it was all talk and no show. He could not motivate himself. How long could I have waited? Today I am married to a respectable and successful man who can provide a secure future to me. He might not be the ‘Great Love’ of my life, but I respect him and so does my family.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In today’s scenario, working girls like me won’t rely on a man to survive. I have grown up watching and admiring a strong lady like my mother who has never, till date, asked for even a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sari</i> from my father. She is a respectable doctor, just like my father. But we girls will always prefer to be with a man who is more educated, more successful and more responsible than us. We are not after the money, but after the man whom we can trust to be supportive if the need arises. The man who can pamper us if and when we want (come on, we girls love to be pampered!). The man whom we respect and whom the society respects.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I know many will find fault in my thought-process. And they are welcome to have their opinions (just like I have mine). After all, men and women will never agree on same points. The twain shall never meet. But rather than blaming women for behaving selfish, don’t you think you need to take a deeper look at the situation? Be a man, own up to yourself, stick to your goals and we will stick with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-27317229900945002282011-08-22T17:42:00.004+05:302011-08-22T22:24:52.926+05:30Dear Juliet…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This weekend, I watched a beautiful ‘little’ movie named “Letters to Juliet”. I am terming the movie as ‘little’ because it is such an endearing movie with child-like innocence and honesty that touches the core of your heart. It’s like a leisurely poetry that takes you to an ethereal world, devoid of any corrupt or depressive element. A completely romantic movie but not at all sugar-coated. In a quiet way, it paints the stories of true love. The fact that the story is majorly set in the beautiful country sides of Italy, especially in Verona, the City of Love, the movie has secured a special place in my heart. Italy, according to me, is the heaven of romance with its virgin beauty and thus, tops my list of ‘places to explore before I die’.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The plot of the movie is based on a curious tradition in Verona where women of different ages write to Juliet (of Romeo and Juliet) about their stories of loves and heartbreaks. A few women, who call themselves ‘Secretaries of Juliet’, reply to all the letter-writers. The story is based on such a reply written by the lead, played by the beautiful and delightfully talented Amanda Seyfried, the only known face in the movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, I am writing to Juliet inspired by the movie and the reply written Sophie (Amanda). So here it goes:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear Juliet,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘What’ and ‘If’ are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life. </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘What if’?!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if you had never had the night sojourn on the balcony with Romeo?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if you had decided not to drink the intoxicant that made you appear dead?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.75pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if Romeo had arrived a few minutes late? </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 297.75pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if Romeo had broken your heart after your feuding families agreed to your union?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if you were born today and not in Shakespeare’s imagination?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if?...<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Juliet, if you were born today, would you have still believed in ‘true love’? What if Romeo didn’t have the time for the rendezvous at night? And if he had, would he have serenaded you from the ground as you looked on from your balcony? But I guess that would be highly improbable considering the fact that you would be residing in some high-rise building. So Romeo would rather prefer to take the lift and meet you when your folks are not there.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if you ever came to know that Romeo, whom you considered your soul mate and true love, was cheating on you? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What if you come across a more perfect man than Romeo who truly understands and values your worth as an individual?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have never felt what a love like the legendary Juliet’s feels like – the love to cross oceans for, the love to fight the world for, the love to see beauty even in the viciousness of the world. But dear Juliet of 21<sup>st</sup> century, tell me, is it worth all the heartaches? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You care for him, you worry about his worries. But he forgets to wish you even a ‘good morning’. You want to talk about your dreams and passion with him. But he doesn’t listen, all the while giving you a “I-know-it-all” smile. You are upset and he doesn’t notice. All you want to do is take a stroll on the beach but he ignores even meeting you. Reason, he doesn’t have the money to take you out! You painstakingly plan for surprise gifts which he likes and he is off to party with others (which includes a few girls with whom he cheats on you). You think of a beautiful tomorrow with him. He says he needs time to be financially stable. You understand and silently wait for him. You perfectly understand that he is not a match as expected by your family and is actually not a perfect husband material. He is always needy – monetarily, emotionally and physically. You are more talented than him and you can earn more than him. You have met nicer men than him. Many of them earn more than him and a few of them are embarrassingly younger than him (but he is not embarrassed!). These men respect and admire you. You know everything. But you ignore it all. <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Why Juliet why?? Why do you keep on believing in true love? Why do want to keep on living with these recurring heartaches? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But don’t think I am a cynic. I know true love exists. But its been polluted or diluted, whatever you want to call it. And Romeo, my dear Juliet, is not that true love you are looking for or deserve. You don’t deserve to shed those teardrops on your guitar for a loser like him. </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You need to think over and analyse, "What if I dump Romeo before he does the same as it is bound to happen?!" Trust me Juliet, the world will once again be beautiful, just like you.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear Juliet, you are a courageous lady. This is the reason which has enabled you to tolerate an idiot like Romeo. But you need to stop playing the victim. Romeo should just be another chapter of your diary. Actually he doesn’t deserve even a page. But all his negative aspects would at least create one positive aspect in your life – you will understand how strong you are to come out of a bad situation named Romeo! <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hence, dear Juliet, this is an appeal to you. Please let go and move on. Life has many more beautiful experiences in store for you. There is a happy place for everyone in this world. Even Romeo might have found one. But you, Juliet, deserve only the best. And I will pray that your true love is waiting for you at that place.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep on the faith Juliet!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">XOXO<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Me…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-67698540751087271252011-08-19T16:41:00.001+05:302011-08-20T10:13:58.911+05:30Blueberry Cheesecake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I need a break from all the monotonies that seems to be cramping my life. Like a typical Virgo, I get bored of things after a time. Thus, I always keep a lookout for newer aspects, newer horizons and newer colours in life. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Why am I talking about this?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The holidays last week gave me the opportunity to break away from the humdrums. I chose a quick escape to my friends in Delhi. So, there I was, in the city which had been my second home for nearly 5 years. And there they were… the familiar friendly faces whom I was missing dearly. My weekend was all planned and set.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a saying in Assamese which translates into, “What you plan doesn’t materialize because the one-eyed destiny stands in the way”. A bad news greeted me at the airport. A friend had met with a bike accident and he was admitted in the ICU. Sunday morning he expired. May he rest in peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We plan so many things for ourselves and for our near and dear ones. This friend had been planning to get engaged to his girlfriend of seven years by the year-end. Life is so cruel, so unpredictable and so short. All my friends and me were hit by a disastrous thunder bolt. We understood what a catastrophic life we all are living.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And it’s us who have been turning life into one catastrophic circus. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s talk about me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I realized that I have been living such a sad life. I always value my ego more than anything else. While in school, I had a little fight with a classmate who was also a very good friend. We didn’t speak to each other for a year. Finally, we broke the ice on the last day of the board examination. Now if I recall those times, that was such an idiotic phase. But again, we were kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But today as grown-ups, has anything changed? Not at all. In fact, all of us are becoming prouder and more egoistic as we are growing older. In my case, I am always extreme. If I like someone, I can go to any extent for that someone. But if I don’t, then I keep looking for an outlet to let out my wrath. I, my friends and non-friends, all of us are part of this humongous crazy circus. In the race to the top, we have become so cold-hearted that we don’t even look the lesser-privileged. Our problems are so small in comparison to many others. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Look at the struggles of Anna Hazare and Irom Sharmila. They are fighting for the survival of others while we are fighting like cats and dogs to outdo each other. We talk about supporting Anna’s crusade against corruption but how many of us will actually not try to bribe police after jumping signal or buy movie tickets in black. I have bought ticket in black many a times as I didn’t want to miss the movies and I didn’t even realize I was indulging myself in corruption.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the last few days, I am seeing the world in grey-scale. I want to be happy but something has been keeping me restless. I am always irritated and bitter. Many are surprised the way I have become a quiet person. Trouble is I know I am changing and I am not at all fond of this sarcastic me. The friend’s death has made me realize the unworthiness of all the ego hassles. After that, I have apologized to a few persons whom I had offended. That has lessened a few burdens. And it didn’t matter whether everything has been sorted between me and those persons. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Yesterday, as I strolled in the rain, I was feeling a pain (the pain is still poking at my heart like a sharp pin). I have to see the world in colours... beautiful butterfly colours. So, in the endeavour to be a happy ‘Me’ again, I gorged on my favourite blueberry cheesecake. Yes, I was hoping that the sweetness will brim over life’s cup. And it did, to an extent. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I can’t turn into a new person overnight. At least, I hope to see life in a new brighter light. But I don’t see any point in planning the steps towards that. Just like I enjoyed the taste of the blueberry cheesecake, I will take life as it comes. Happiness quotient is there for everyone, even in the blueberry cheesecake. So, just savour each moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-35554227599381277462011-08-11T15:15:00.000+05:302011-08-11T15:15:13.414+05:30The Mirror Lies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I don't have a story to tell.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But again,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The mirror lies.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The smile is sparkling at my lips,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And my eyes are speaking</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A language beyond my comprehension.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The whiff in the air</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is not my scent,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But it smells familiar. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am again staring deeply</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the reflection on the mirror,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But it is not me.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Your purple cold soul</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Is laughing back at me.</span><br />
</div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-40036998381811448352011-08-08T09:37:00.002+05:302011-08-08T09:37:43.562+05:30Surviving in the Satan’s Alley: When Things Fall Apart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This weekend started on a bad note. A very depressive note. The Mumbai weather is continuing its gloomy avatar. Although I love the rains, this one time I would have loved a clear sky. Several factors added to the gloomy mood. Most of my flat mates had gone to Pune for a short trip. So on Saturday evening, I returned to an empty dark flat. But something else was bothering me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was feeling uneasy. I had just discovered that I was living in a vanity, a pride that I was a good judge of individuals. But I witnessed something that shocked me beyond my wits. My illusion simply shattered. Human nature and behavior will never fail to amaze me. Why do men and women rush after things that might very well be unattainable, and in that rush, neglect what they have in hand? Why are human beings so greedy? Or, in modern relationships, so ‘lusty’?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many must have heard tales and even witnessed tales about men cheating on their wives or girlfriends. Actually there is nothing surprising about that. But trust me when I say women are also not far behind. Personally I have seen many girls cheating on their boyfriends and a few of them have been in relationship since a decade. And majority of them have no sob stories to justify the adultery. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So when I discovered the same case is happening with someone I know, I felt sorry. I am not sure for whom though. But I was definitely feeling low; there was a restless heartache. The absence of company at that moment only added to the depression. I have been alone before. After all I was residing alone in Delhi. But for the first time in my life I was feeling lonely. Thankfully my friends (love them!) kept me company over phone. And thankfully, a few girls returned to the flat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Sunday morning again began on an irritating tone. I was woken up by the shrieks of the girls that there was no gas in the kitchen and the landlord flatly refused to send a new cylinder as it was a holiday. Thus, my day started cursing the landlord, the world and my life as a whole. Surviving in a big bad metro like Mumbai is not easy for a single girl. Nothing romantic or fancy about our lives as depicted in those countless Hollywood chick flicks. Honestly, there is no fairy tale brewing here. The problems in personal and professional lives make a mess of your own life. I feel that I am gradually turning into a sarcastic person, a facet noted by many till date.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyways, I survived the daytime watching a few movies munching on a few snacks. But towards the evening, I was bored. So I escaped to one of my favourite places in the vicinity – Landmark bookstore in the nearby mall. As I was taking in the aroma of new books (I just love that smell) and going through the shelves, one book caught my attention. It was “When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chodron. I had never heard about the book or the writer, but that may be because I am not a self-help book person. The book’s title and cover attracted me, might be because of the emotions which were going through my mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The next two hours were pure magic. With Eagles and Pink Floyd playing at the background, I got immersed into a whole new world. I experienced a new spiritual awakening. I will take the liberty to quote a few paragraphs from the book to make you understand what actually made me happy:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“We want victory or defeat, praise or blame. For example, if somebody abandons us, we don’t want to be with that raw discomfort. Instead, we conjure up a familiar identity of ourselves as a hapless victim. Or maybe we avoid the rawness by acting out and righteously telling the person how messed up he or she is. We automatically want to cover over the pain in one way or another, identifying with victory or victimhood.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Usually we regard loneliness as an enemy. Heartache is not something we choose to invite in. It’s restless and pregnant and hot with the desire to escape and find something or someone to keep us company. When we can rest in the middle, we begin to have a nonthreatening relationship with loneliness, a relaxing and cooling loneliness that completely turns our fearful patterns upside down.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thus I learnt about the middle way. What is the middle way? Read this:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“When we feel lonely, when we feel hopeless, what we want to do is move to the right or the left. We don’t want to sit and feel what we feel. We don’t want to go through the detox. Yet the middle way encourages us to do just that.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to the author, if we scramble for security from loneliness, anxiety and hopelessness, this will only bring in momentary joy and the vicious cycle will continue. The middle way is to feel those heartaches, let them settle and make peace with them. We will gradually find contentment. In the words of the author, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We are cheating ourselves when we run away from the ambiguity of loneliness.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the risk of being labeled as preachy and boring, I will recommend this book. This will be a good way get rid of all those toxic emotions. At the end of the day, my happiness and peace of mind matter the most to me. And same should be the case with everyone. This will at least make the world a less depressive place.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(P.S. Note to all the cheaters, call me old-fashioned or unreal, but a few moral aspects still matter. If you really want to enjoy the life, at least please let go the poor person who is in a relationship with you. Finish it and then the world is your playground!)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6194444445487644449.post-14231475850579239302011-08-06T11:53:00.000+05:302011-08-06T11:53:38.388+05:30Best Friends Forever... & The Cliché Continues...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We have outgrown the shackles of teenage dramas. Or have we? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As I sipped my hot cuppa last night and went through the birthday list of the month, I noticed an alarming decrease in the number of people in that list. After residing in so many places over the last 10-11 years, I have encountered all sorts of individuals who have added to various chapters in my 27 years of life. Owing to this, the calendar should have been full of reminders. As a teenager, I used to maintain a colourful scrapbook with all the birthdays marked in ‘cute girly’ way (you know, with hearts, flowers etc.). Today, thanks to advancement in technology and lack of time, I only manage to maintain the list on my cell phone organizer. However, thank god (and Mark Zuckerberg) for those birthday reminders on social networking sites that I manage to fulfill the social obligation of wishing people on their birthdays.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But the topic of this note is not the birthday reminders. As the prologue states, I am raising a doubt whether we have outgrown those teenage years. Tomorrow is the ‘Friendship Day’. Once upon a time (my god, I sound so old!), we used to plan something elaborate to celebrate the day of eternal friendship. Since we friends were together almost 24 x 7, it was very difficult to hunt for gifts for each other. So sojourns to the market, especially to those Archies and Hallmark stores, had to be planned very discreetly. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Today, I am reminded about ‘the day’, thanks again to social networking sites. Yes, ‘the day’ has slipped out of my mind. Just like the birthdays of several ‘friends’ from my calendar. As you become part of the adult world, you forget about little joys of life and sometimes about those invaluable parts of your life – ‘friends’. You become unsocial despite signing up with numerous social networking sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But then do we really? I remember the birthdays of my friends, the friends who have been my family away from my family. I don’t require any organizer to remember them. They have seen me through my ups and downs, been with me through those upheavals. They don’t come with any ‘conditions applied’. They love me for the crazy person that I am. And I love them because they are equally crazy!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My friends! Thanks for being there. I can behave like the drama queen that I am without the apprehension of being criticized. I can relive those teenage or even kiddish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nautankis </i>because only you understand the depth in those acts. We have grown from silly confused girls to confident worldly-wise (we like to think so) women together. Yet, I know only you understand the silly little girl inside me. And yes, we will continue to live life in our own terms… others can take a hike!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So, without any more drama, here it comes… Happy Friendship Day sweethearts! Love you all! <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>NamrataGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17959628706633064117noreply@blogger.com2