We are one but not the same.......

Something has crept into my mind for the past few days which has kept me thinking.... To what extents can you go for the ones you love? and how far can you bend for them till you snap?..... Well these questions didnt arise out of nothing....obviously...... It comes from another thought which implored me to think about what would love really is.

I have very few whom i call worthy to be friends. Of them only two form the innermost circle of trust. Very recently one more got added to that circle of trust. To me, these three people are the core of everything i do. The bond i have with them is greater than anything i can ever experience. Perhaps that is what should matter to me. Still I somehow feel that something's amiss. Perhaps i am imagining things. Well coming back to the title of the blog, two of my closest friends are exactly similar to me. Well, sounds simple and common though. But what makes it all uncommon is the fact that they are exactly like me except for the fact that they are of an opposite sex. We eerily love the same stuff... to an extent that we know what's going on in the other's mind. This is perhaps where everything becomes blurred. When i asked if its possible to be friends in love this is what she (my closest friend) had to say "I place friends higher than love, because love comes and goes......friends are what stays forever....." I believe what she gave me was the true definition of love........ atleast that what i want to believe.

We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other

A Road Less Travelled.....

I just finished reading an article in the paper today. It was certainly one that did touch my heart and made me think. The article was about a guy who topped the class in IIT Kanpur (which is no small feat) and yet gave up all the offers that could have put him on the road to millions and chose to dedicate his life for a social cause. Now he teaches computer science to the poor n needy. I probably cannot reach that scale of dedication. The only thing i could learn from the whole article is that satisfaction can never be materialistic. This guy was the Topper of one of the most prestigious institutions in the country and even did his doctrate from there. Yet he decides to give it all up to take up something that will not earn him any money......but the one thing that he has definitely earned which we cant ever earn is the best job satisfation in the world.

I maynever reach that part either professionally but then i write this entry as a tribute to that guy and others who have broken the trends and have earned a pure form of respect from peers. A friend's status line comes to mind....'When every head bowed........' This was worth the mention in the blog and im happy that something like this came by that gave me yet another reason to write an entry. As far as my observations go, i have seen that the most respected of people are ones that havent been materialistically motivated... Baba Amte is another worthy mention.....Even in my profession field, the man known as the father of modern architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright, hasnt been well off financially. He has been on the verge of bankrupcy time and again. His life and work, Taleising West, had been burnt to the ground not once but twice. Yet he is the most noted of architects in the world. World shall bear a testament to such people and to the very least, my respect as well.....

Now you may ask if i would follow that same path....The answer is a bit murky for now...but yea i might never reach there......so the answer may pretty well be summed in 2 words-----Hell No!! (that was a joke by the way......duh.......I still havent found the answer....seriously!!)

An Ode in prose....

Yeah! I know the title for the entry sounds pretty weird but then i cant actually write an ode since it essentially has to be poetic to an exalting value. I suck at poems (no point hiding that...i couldnt compose one to save myself from a horde of drunken heretics trying to mutilate me...) But then again i had promised a very close friend of mine that i would compose an ode to her. The whole thing started when she shared a personal stuff she had written and asked for comments on the way it was written. Now, when someone as close as her asks me for a feedback i cant just give her a normal one can i?.....so here i am writing this entry that is dedicated to her and her writing..

It was a personal familial kinda stuff that she had written, so i wouldnt comment on the content. But for one thing it was a very very very long letter with the minutest detail thrown in. yet as far as informal stuff goes, it was one of the best that i have read in ages. Its great not because of the way its written but because what she wrote opened a window to her mind at that time. It also gave me an idea of what pre marriage activities are gonna be like. So there you have it---- a short review of a long letter....all in all a very nice one and a good read.

But apart from what the letter meant, what i really would wanna point out is that she found me worthy enough to read a personal letter of hers. That i truly appreciate and love. That action or emotion meant much more to me than the point of givin a review for the letter. I am honored. What more can i say?....I am blessed with great friends....better than the best (and a few very cute ones too......you know who you are). You guys are a part of my legacy, my world. So i hope you enjoy the ride...

More stuff later.......till then Adios Amigos!

A fish called Phelps...

The Olympic games is on and there is one man that is on a blaze of glory. This guy is none other than Michael Phelps from the United States. He has won a total of 13 golds in the Olympics till date of which 8 are from this season itself. He is now the greatest Olympian in history and is at par with Mark Spitz for winning the most golds in one season... He has nailed all the events that he has competed in so far n has come with golds in all of them. He has one more event to go and winning that will make him the unsurpassed champion of the water. Otherwise he will be at par with Spitz. He is making history anyway.
It is sheer pleasure to watch the guy swim. He has the agility of a fish. He is unbelievably lean and toned with a greater arm span than others that help him cover greater distances with lower strokes. He has some anatomical uniqueness too. His body creates lesser lactic acid which helps him swim longer without getting fatigued. He can keep swimming for a longer time even to the extent where other pro swimmers would cringe with pain.
And to think that this guy suffered from Attention Deficiency Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) due to which he couldn't concentrate at school. His teacher even told his mum that 'Your boy is not special...in fact he does not have a gift....he will never be able to do anything great'
That teacher must sure be embarrassed now. Way to go Phelps.....Way to go!!

Untitled....

This blog entry is deliberately titled 'Untitled....' (talk about irony!!!).. This entry is dedicated to all who have waited patiently (and impatiently) for me to update my blog. My personal apologies to my regular readers for not having written a word for the last few months. Nothing much has changed since the last time I wrote. I am still pretty much what I was then (except maybe older & more edgy) Otherwise its more or less the same. Currently enjoying a long weekend.....so i'm pretty much laid back n chilled out, watching some great movies and some TV series. Its been raining quite a bit out here.
On a more global note, India has won its first ever individual Olympic Gold. Very much a reason for us to celebrate as also a reminder that we can get to the very top if we just make up our mind... I doubt whether this win will remain in our sentiments. We all are quite forgetful when it comes to such stuff. Sure there will be much fanfare and the dedication of all the trophies in the history of India to the guy who won the gold ...... he is bound to get a lot of cash prizes (at last count---4 crores)....but there is one thing that is not talked as much about the win.. The fact still remains that the guy is from an affluent family with training from the best that his money could afford. The guy has his own firm back home and it seems that his father was so happy about his win that he gave him a 200 crore worth hotel as a gift!! can u beat that....n he is much sought after these days with people willing to sponsor him n stuff n give him bharat ratnas. But c'mon guys, is this what it is worth?...Agreed that the guy gave his best and got his dues.... he rightfully deserved it and he made the nation proud. this is coupled with the fact that he has made history and nobody can erase that. But we really need to chill on all the flow of awards n stuff to him. He did what he had to. There are many in this country that can make us proud but they fail jjust cos they do not have the means to achieve it or there isnt proper funding to train them. Spare a thought for the other sportsmen, we should be trying to help them develop n be the best in their field. Hope the authorities get their facts straight n the priorities right.....
Nothing much happening otherwise....will post more when i get more to write on...till then....Adios!!

The Cost of Freedom.....

The entire nation celebrated the 61st Independence Day. This was ofcourse among critical and disturbing times, with the recent tumoil about the govt. that will rule the country and the crisis that has struck our beautiful country. How free are we? What exactly is the measure of our freedom? Can we be truly free? Can anyone be truly free? To me, freedom is a concept that we always strive or yearn to achieve. It is as much existant as it is not.....it might be a bit difficult to completely comprehend the meaning of that statement. It just plainly means that we are only as free as we think we are. We are simply celebrating the country's independence from a governing external entity (to me we are not free just yet)....We are very much a captive of greed, power and fanaticism as we were a hundred years back.

What is the point of all this bombings in the country?..... what point is it to kill masses of innocent people?... Where do we reach from here?....why fight within the nation?........why fight in the first place?.....People need to think about what they want to have. Anyone with the fanatic idea of killing people as an indicator that they want to be free is very much the prisoner of his own demons till the end of eternity... I hope we as the present generation try to put an end to this mayhem and maybe for once truly grasp the whole meaning of being free...

To set your minds thinking about it, I part with the lines that Bono once said, 'We were amazed when 50 years ago we put the man on the moon......but now it is time to bring a greater change........It is now time to do something just as great....more like putting mankind back on earth'

Get your kicks on route 66........

I have just been back from yet another road trip.....been a good one yet again......its always a bit fulfilling to rev up the car n set the roads on fire. Road trips are also sources to some of the best entertainment around....sure, there is the weariness factor (obviously....after 12 hours of driving you sure as hell would be tired...). but then it isnt always drab to drive around..... all one has to do is look around for it. i am dedicating this blog as the 'Dummies Guide to Road Trips'

Step one would be to ensure that all the members goin on the road trip are safely secured and luggages are loaded into the vehicle (you will be amazed at the number of times people are left behind......serious!!). Next thing to do would be to chart the route you would wanna take as and when you go.......Ghats and winding roads especially preferred (try the snake hair-pin bends at good speeds and scare the shit outta the passengers......told ya it was fun didnt i?)..... Ok.. now comes the entertaining parts.... For one, there are the different species n sub-species of drivers that you would encounter..... there are the kings of the roads......... n then there are lesser mortals too. The kings of the roads would be, undisputedly, the Tourist Bus Drivers and the State funded busses.....actually both seem at par in the ranking anyway. The state busses dont have to worry about anything since they seem built tailormade for the scrapyard.....so if one of them tries to overtake you better step aside, unless you want half your vehicle to be scraped by the bus. Then in the hierarchy comes the truckers. A truck carrying no load is no match for any other vehicle.....better give way to them as well. The only logical way to overtake a trucker is on a hill slope (or you can act as a daredevil and overtake them anyway on an open road....but dont come cryin to me if they bump you off the road. Next comes the ordinary vehicles which are fun to drive around with. they are the easy ones to overtake depending on the power of the vehicle you are driving. Next and last on the list is the lower scum of the highways which would be cycles, 2 wheelers and 3 wheelers. they seem the easiest to overtake n move on but they are just as decieving and dangerous (cycles n bikes the most cos if u pass by them too close then you just might blow them off the road). So much for the vehicular grouping. Next on the entertainment lists are the state borders. the checkposts that flag you down to check whether you are smuggling any contraband or something without a permit ('Check' meaning askin trivial n inane questions like 'Are you carrying anything without a permit?'....yea... as if im gonna tell if i was carryin them....or 'so you are entering this state?'.......why the heck would i be at the border check post if i didnt wanna cross n enter another state territory???....not like i have an obssesive compulsive disorder of driving all the way to the border n turning back). After the gruelling interrogation (which also delays the precious travelling time and the speed), you would be free to proceed. While on the highway do not miss out the words from the wise that would be written on markers along the highway. Some wise ones include (off the top of my head)-

• This is a high way not a die way. (there actually was one that goes like that...no jokes).
• Safety on roads is Safe Tea at home. (real creative that one)
• The fast 'wasnt' last. (didnt make sense to the writer as well i guess.....n yes you read it right.... it was written just that way.....with typos et al... that too in a sentence with 4 words)
• Calm your nerves on curves.(didnt specify which one......imaginations run wild)

Something that you shouldnt trust on the roads would be the milestones or road markers...... the distances keep fluctuating. (102kms on one while further down the road the same place would have a marked distance of 115 kms.......einsteins at work probably).

Now that we have done with the basics in this Dummies guide, you are all set to go n drive...remember the words from the wise, put on some good music & feel the wind in your hair.. (do write in with your experiences on the road ....... no refunds if anything goes wrong...... n i already have a good lawyer, so dont even try to sue me)