Rekindling Memories of a Wonderful Ago…

Note: This post was written before Christmas. I, however, couldn't post it, due to workload. I hope you bear with me.

Christmas is just round the corner, and like each year it kindles memories of long ago. Childhood seems like yesterday, but time has swept away the years, taking along with it a special person who kindled the love of music in me, right from a tender age - MY PAPA.

As I sit down and type this post, my mind stirs up memories of the many Christmases I celebrated with dad.  Making the crib, putting up the star, and decorating the house, all with music playing in the background, seems like yesterday. Unless Jim Reeves or Boney M songs were played, Christmas wasn’t complete. Painting the brown paper to make them resemble mountains was the best activity for me, as a kid. Hands, face, and dress covered in paint, I used to spread myself all over the paper, just to make sure I cover all corners. That and running into the kitchen occasionally to grab the sweets or savories Mom would be preparing, only to be called back by Dad to complete the task at hand and then fool around, still brings a smile. And then there was Mom screaming at me from the kitchen not to touch anything with dirty hands. Stuffing my mouth full, I would be spread-eagle again on the paper.

Christmas evening, friends from the colony would visit our home to wish and share in the celebrations. Offering them sweets and savories, after stuffing my mouth with the same (not to miss out the admonishment by Mom), and being complimented on my dress would leave me floating in the air. And then the yummy dinner of mutton biryani and my favorites items. Those were one of the best memories of Christmas, ever.  Sitting here, miles away from the place I love, my heart still yearns for THOSE CHRISTMAS TIMES. But then some voids can never be filled. Here I am, still wondering how life took such a turn.  Time sure flies!

Not to be sounding negative, but the present lacks the fervor of the past. Though people say time will heal, it’s doesn’t ring true here. It just is a cruel reminder of what is missing. However, life, sadly, has to go on…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Daddy, wherever you are! I miss you.

Step into My Shoes, Someday!

Tired Eyes. Brain hitting a road block. Thinking process comes to a standstill. “Write” seems like an abuse. Signs of a writer’s block? Yes, it is!

As I sit typing this, I can literally feel my eyes popping out and hitting the keyboard. Being a writer though an exciting job, can be a bit taxing too. The amount of words that the poor brain has to create! Every single day! With mugs and mugs of coffee to keep awake, and the walks to ignite thoughts does help. Going back to the desk, stretching fingers, and attacking the keyboard with renewed vigor (of course being plugged in at the moment), you finally manage to belt out some good content, the satisfaction showing in your smile.

Oh that and the OCD streak of getting your message in place, sans mistakes. Checking, rechecking, for God knows how many times. Firing off the content and yet thinking if there’s something that might have been left out. Going back to the published draft and checking for the umpteenth time, if there’s a mistake. And guess what! You actually find one, sticking out like a sore thumb, leaving you thinking how on earth could you have missed this one out. Whoever said a writer’s job was that of a glorified steno should give a hand at writing, serious-to-God writing, and not just some copy-paste. Easy to be judgmental but not easy being a writer!

And then there’s the other side of life, where you spend time poring over pages of some many novels. Living life literally out of the pages is fun. Reading some other’s writer’s work, imagining stepping into his shoes of what he might have thought before penning this down is a joy in itself. Self-contained! Experienced only when experiencing! Two different worlds, gelled into one!

People always say that the grass is greener on the other side. But No Sir! I love my lawn the way it is! I have found my calling, and I intend to stick to it, no matter how many episodes of OCD I suffer or whoever says anything. I’m glad that I’m over the phase, thanks to music and the support of some dear buddies (who I know are reading this piece). Well hopefully now I can start a slow stream of musings, as and when I feel like. (Psst, I went through this draft five times before I posted it).

Life of a writer, a roller coaster ride!

Conquered the Writer’s Block

It’s a month since I have posted anything on my blog.  Buried nose-deep in work, I managed to come up and breathe. Once home, I used to hit the bed. So I never actually posted anything. Call it lethargy, laziness, procrastination, somnambulism (well, it might not be applicable here but chalo thoda heavy words hi sahi) or whatever I just couldn’t get myself to type even a single word…

Confused about my condition, I almost spent a week scratching my head (thank God I didn’t turn bald) trying to decipher. And ta… dah… I had a bad phase of Writer’s Block. Writing this, I can actually feel a halo above my head (wink wink).  Such enlightenment, I tell you! If you see this post, you can be assured that I’m back with a Bang (not the Bang Bang effect, though. I think I wasn’t in my right senses when I went to watch that movie. I guess it’s the wrath of my stars that I suffered from Writer’s Block.)

Ok now, enough of Blah Blah… Well jokes apart! Now that I have overcome the barrier, I will keep entertaining you with my posts. And it would be great if you guys let me know what you’d like to read. We can create magic together.

P.S. As always, your comments/suggestions/inputs are always welcome. So invaluable, I tell you!

The One...

In the crowd why is it that the heart searches for that special One? In times of sorrow and distress, why is it that you go to The One? All your wishes and prayers circle that One… Day in and day out, round-the-clock, it is that One who occupies your thoughts... Why is that you care less for yourself but a single sneeze or a cough from the One sends your heart racing? You find your entire world only in that One… The One who means the universe to you… Why is it that every happy occasion or news has to be shared with that special One?

No matter what the matter is, how deep the hurt is, why do you find solace in that One's arms? Wishing for the One to be in front of your eyes always… It's as if the world is dark without the One's presence… Hearing the One's voice seems to melt away all your worries, wipes tears, and brings happiness that the world seems small in front of it…

Why the One?

A simple yet complicated answer…

Finding Fanny ~ A Review

Since there was loads of work to finish I didn’t find time to blog. Hence, the late review.

Tuesday (Sept. 16, 2014), I went for Finding Fanny, alone. Ever since I left Pune, this is the first movie I watched in Bangalore. The experience of watching a movie alone after all these months, in a literally empty theater was quite a different feeling.  However, the experience was ruined totally by the movie. Here is my review:

Star Cast:

• Naseeruddin Shan - Ferdie the postman
• Dimple Kapadia - Rosie (Angie's mother-in-law)
• Deepika Padukone - Angela/Angie
• Arjun Kapoor - Savio (Angie's childhood sweetheart)
• Pankaj Kapoor - Don Pedro the painter who lechers after voluptuous women
• Ranveer Singh (cameo) - Gabbo/Angie's husband, who has an unfortunate accident on his wedding day

Was it a movie worth watching and recommending to others to view? Was the movie created just for the heck of it or for any specific message? Was it a movie that would leave an impression on people? The answers shall vary. Was the movie good? Well, that is the only question I can answer perhaps. 

To start with, the movie opens in a quaint little fictitious village in Goa, where everybody minds everybody else's business. 

The story revolves around a road trip undertaken by five mismatched Goans  (no offence to the Goans, since I love Goa and the people there) from a sleepy Goan village after local postman Ferdie finds a letter mysteriously returned to him that he sent decades ago to his beloved Fanny. Assuming that her lack of a reply to his marriage proposal meant that she had found someone else, he’s been pining for her ever since.

Getting wind of the situation young Angie, a widow (since her husband dies on the wedding day after choking on a figurine on the cake), decides to organize a road trip in an attempt to find and reunite Ferdie with his lost love (read Fanny aka Stefanie Fernandes). The road trip also has other travellers - the imperious Rosie (with a massively padded posterior, supposedly to give the comic effect), lecherous artist Don Pedro, Savio, Angie’s childhood sweetheart who’s still bitterly resents her for having chosen his friend Gabbo to marry, and a cat named Nareus, who is un-catlike in his behavior. Fanny is shown as a pretty girl who ends up as a fat, bloated woman. Ferdie's hope that Fanny will be the same, pretty girl after all these years, seems unrealistic. Despite some instances (hoping to tickle the funny bone) like the cat not landing on its legs and being flung out of the running car, Finding Fanny quickly loses its way.

The initial plot and backdrop of the movie, where the postmaster receives a 46-year old, undelivered letter, reminds one of R. K. Narayan’s stories. The chain of events  that leads the team going on a hunt feels like a rubber band stretched to the extreme. The perpetual quest for love fails to deliver the intended poeticism.

I watched the English version, since the time I went only this version was being shown. Maybe the dialogues in Hindi would have been funny. But it can’t change the story.

The movie was as dysfunctional as its characters.  Of course, there were a few instances where you could guffaw, smirk and maybe LOL, but the storyline is quite weak. True, this is a stream away from the commercial, masala genre, yet it was quite lame a film.  But the ride to find Fanny was quite a bumpy one, hoping it would end soon. Had the ending been different, then maybe it would have been a likeable movie. 

My rating: 2/5

P.S. This is my personal view of the movie. It doesn’t intend to dissuade anyone from watching or enjoying it. Individual opinions differ.

Sharks and Music

Ok, so today is Monday. And I’m sitting on my desk, literally jobless (it’s going to be EOD soon). Well, this is what I love about Mondays. Being the first day of the week and NO WORK (literally) is a true relief. No Khoon Chusu Monday!

Then I suddenly I remember, It’s Hammerhead time! Why not!!!

Before you think I was planning on breaking the hammer with my head, let me put your doubts to rest. (Hammerhead is a type of shark and since the website I'm talking about has "shark", hence the name). Just like any other day, I login to my account on Grooveshark and then, it’s music all the way. The best part is that my office has no (Touch wood for that. I don’t want to jinx it, EVER) restrictions, no firewalls whatsoever, for online music. I can just go on listening to online music streaming, without anyone haggling me for any reason. Be it work or no work, I literally turn a deaf ear to my surroundings. Sometimes though, I’m caught singing, (not that loud, but it is fairly audible) along with the song, oblivious to the fact that I’m in office, by my colleagues. Well, the end result is I’m at the receiving end of their jokes, for the rest of the day and whenever they remember my tongue-biting (that’s me biting) blunder.

Isn’t it strange when some lyrics from a particular song tugs a string so deep that you cannot help but listen to it, time and again!? This happens to me all the time. I bless the day when I first came across Grooveshark and created my account. As my profile declares, “Music runs thru my veins. Here's an eclectic mix to suit every mood...”, you will find songs of every genre (at least almost every genre since my playlists keep growing every day, as and when I come across a good song). 

You can take a look of it, yourself - My Playlists on Grooveshark.

This is one of my prized possessions, which I would love to share with you. Feel free to browse through. Who knows! Yours and my taste in music may be similar.

I hope you enjoy listening to the songs as much as I do, everyday! 

Another Leaflet...

This is another poem that I wrote during my tenure as a content writer, in the first company. Though there's no particular significance to the poem, I just penned down thoughts as they came. I hope you enjoy reading this, just as you liked the previous one.

Life Without You...
It's hard to explain in words, how I feel without you...

Walking on the street, reminiscing the past,
Even in a crowd I feel so alone,
Feels like yesterday,
But it's been awhile since you are gone,
Your absence has left a gaping wound in my heart,
Seems like my world has been ripped apart,
In the darkness of the night,
When the whole world is lost in slumber tight,
I sit by the window, allowing tears to stream,
Listening to my heart in pain and sorrow, scream
Pondering over what went wrong and where,
Thinking of the things you never wanted to share.

Faking smiles, so that the world won't know,
The hurt, the pain I try not to show,
No matter wherever I am, whatever I do, 
Everyday is a battle, I struggle to go through,
I find myself always thinking of you,
Looking back at the times we were together,
Basking in immaculate love and care,
Brings a smile and a wish you were still there,
How do I explain, what do I tell,
To make you understand that I'm going through hell,
I wish you could know how it hurts me,
To think of a life without you...