MURDER. No clues, no suspects, all four gone in a single stroke.
Would have normally invoked shock and terror; and set off thoughts on the state of affairs in the world, growing intolerance, need for love and understanding. Not this time. The news was pronounced to me like a sentence and I had no escape. I was there to do my job; and fulfill it to the best extend possible, I must.
Calls were made to the law enforcers. My identity deemed that I be paid respect. I asked and received much more than expected. Neither did they know this was my first, nor did i try to hide it. I guess, the simple fact of my "necessary evil" kinda existence in society brings with it certain powers. The boss however pointed out flaws and a great learning it turned out to be. I knew I was right in having decided to come here.
At the end, I was surprised at my own lack of emotion. I was completely antiseptic to the turn of events. And to think I am not even a few months old here. Professional hazard, they call it. I pray it doesn't rob my soul.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
My Dad agrees too - "Girls just wanna have fun!"
(My personalised version of Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls just wanna have fun')
I stay up late at night,
My father says "When you gonna live your life right?"
Oh, daddy, dear
We're not the naughty ones,
And we won’t let you down,
But girls, just wanna have some fun,
Read a book, or watch a flick, and slip into slumber, curled up on the couch,
Oh, girls just wanna have some innocent fun.
The phone rings in the middle of the night,
My father yells "What you gonna do with your life?"
Oh, daddy dear,
You know you're still number one,
And there’s no boy in my life yet,
Oh, girls, just wanna have some innocent fun.
That's all they really want,
When the working day is done,
Girls just wanna have fun.
Some boys take a beautiful girl,
And ask to be compensated with cars and cash, or gold and gifts,
I am not a ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ product,
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun with my head held high.
So, daddy please, believe in me,
And don’t care about a society that can’t respect or understand me.
Girls just wanna have fun,That's all they really want,
Before the sun sets on a short life, full of responsibilities and worries,
Girls just wanna have some fun.
******************************
I sent these verses to my "super dude Dad", and he responded with a "God bless you, my super cool daughter." Awwww.....
A dream!?
Wild with passion, raw yet tender, unstoppable and unimaginable… a torrid love affair, as they call it. To enjoy love, like it will be gone the next moment. To throw caution to the winds, to stop thinking, to keep looking into the eyes of the lover, to feel love all over your body and soul. Make love till you’re completely spent and then fall apart. To sit back leaning against your lover… talk about nothing, just listen to the heartbeats in the room. Then, sit by the window, covered in moonlight, cuddled in your lover’s arms.
To wake up to a day in heaven… with a loving smile on the face… to say nothing, yet know all and understand all. A peck on the cheek and ‘I love you’ in the eyes, calm and peace in the mind, knowing and believing that it’s going to last forever.
Waiting with love, waiting in anticipation, for the moment… to run into the arms of the lover, take in the scent and feel the rush. With music in the head, to dance with the wind and swirl in abandon in those caring arms, to laugh till it hurts and then fall on the floor and lie back. Loud heartbeats silenced by a sweet, lovely kiss.
To wake up to a day in heaven… with a loving smile on the face… to say nothing, yet know all and understand all. A peck on the cheek and ‘I love you’ in the eyes, calm and peace in the mind, knowing and believing that it’s going to last forever.
Waiting with love, waiting in anticipation, for the moment… to run into the arms of the lover, take in the scent and feel the rush. With music in the head, to dance with the wind and swirl in abandon in those caring arms, to laugh till it hurts and then fall on the floor and lie back. Loud heartbeats silenced by a sweet, lovely kiss.
Jack and Jill – Innocence lost
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jack and a girl named Jill. They were good friends and lived in the same neighbourhood. They went to school together, shared their tiffins with each other and played in the park every evening. Then one fine day, Jack and Jill heard and saw something about ‘the birds and the bees’. They were curious to know more but did not dare to ask their parents. Jack’s buddies showed him some magazines and Jill’s friends whispered something in her ears. On the way back from school, Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.
Has the popular nursery rhyme gone haywire? Going by the number of instances of child rape and molestation that one comes across in the media today, it would not be too surprising if old nursery rhymes were to be modified thus. Circa 2008 is at a stage when schools and colleges in countries abroad are advocating installation of condom vending machines in campuses to dissuade teenagers from engaging in unsafe sex. But what about our young Jack and Jill to whom ‘Moods’ or ‘Kamasutra’ mean nothing beyond “chee chee” product brands shown on television. These young impressionable minds exposed to suggestive graphics and images, raunchy lyrics and explicit music videos have nowhere to turn to for help.
The recent cases of nine and ten year olds being charged with sexual offences are appalling. This is more serious than perverted men abusing innocent lives. So, how do we prevent our tiny tots from falling prey to these life-sized threats? Proper sex education imparted in the right way, at the right time – it is not enough to learn the diagrammatic representation of the human reproductive system in Biology textbooks at the age of 15. With changing patterns of living, the onset of puberty has also advanced. It is therefore important that parents and teachers provide adequate information and emotional support to children as they go through this turbulent period in their lives. Shying away from such issues will lead curious minds to tread risky paths. Let us not be responsible for innocence lost.
Has the popular nursery rhyme gone haywire? Going by the number of instances of child rape and molestation that one comes across in the media today, it would not be too surprising if old nursery rhymes were to be modified thus. Circa 2008 is at a stage when schools and colleges in countries abroad are advocating installation of condom vending machines in campuses to dissuade teenagers from engaging in unsafe sex. But what about our young Jack and Jill to whom ‘Moods’ or ‘Kamasutra’ mean nothing beyond “chee chee” product brands shown on television. These young impressionable minds exposed to suggestive graphics and images, raunchy lyrics and explicit music videos have nowhere to turn to for help.
The recent cases of nine and ten year olds being charged with sexual offences are appalling. This is more serious than perverted men abusing innocent lives. So, how do we prevent our tiny tots from falling prey to these life-sized threats? Proper sex education imparted in the right way, at the right time – it is not enough to learn the diagrammatic representation of the human reproductive system in Biology textbooks at the age of 15. With changing patterns of living, the onset of puberty has also advanced. It is therefore important that parents and teachers provide adequate information and emotional support to children as they go through this turbulent period in their lives. Shying away from such issues will lead curious minds to tread risky paths. Let us not be responsible for innocence lost.
FUN Things to do before getting MARRIED
1. Learn DJ-ing
2. Learn Bharata Natyam – Mohiniyattom
3. Learn Salsa
4. Learn Kalaripayattu/Karate/Boxing
5. Learn to ride a motorbike
6. Get a tattoo
7. Get a dog
8. Work for an NGO
9. Bungee-jump
10. Sky-dive
11. Go on a shopping-eating out spree with Mom (repetitive)
12. Help Jen to get her hair coloured and ears/nose pierced
13. Buy F.R.I.E.N.D.S. complete VCD/DVD
14. Own an SLR camera
15. Own a handycam
16. Frame pictures for the wall
17. Go on a date for Valentine’s Day
18. Send mom and dad for a candle-lit dinner date
19, 20,… to be updated.
2. Learn Bharata Natyam – Mohiniyattom
3. Learn Salsa
4. Learn Kalaripayattu/Karate/Boxing
5. Learn to ride a motorbike
6. Get a tattoo
7. Get a dog
8. Work for an NGO
9. Bungee-jump
10. Sky-dive
11. Go on a shopping-eating out spree with Mom (repetitive)
12. Help Jen to get her hair coloured and ears/nose pierced
13. Buy F.R.I.E.N.D.S. complete VCD/DVD
14. Own an SLR camera
15. Own a handycam
16. Frame pictures for the wall
17. Go on a date for Valentine’s Day
18. Send mom and dad for a candle-lit dinner date
19, 20,… to be updated.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Thank God, it’s Thursday
No hurried dressing-up, no scurrying for the first and best ones of the uttapams and idlis, no 8:50 or 8:55 or 9 o’clock bus to catch.
Thank God, it’s Thursday.
The clock ticks away, mobile phones cry out ‘alarm’-ingly in monophonic and polyphonic tones, reminding their masters of commitments and deadlines – MRM presentations, Visual Communication assignment, Photoshop paths and layers. Yawn!
Sometime close to noon, a head creeps out of floral prints and dishevelled hair. Throwing my pretty blanket aside, I sit up with a shock. Damn, missed breakfast again. This happens every Thursday. I turn to my right, Susy kutty is fast asleep. Is she snoring? To my left, Sammy Whammy lies on her bed like a defeated warrior. Cool, I’m the first one to wake up.
As I move about the place ‘noiselessly’, the other two heads pop out of blanketed enclosures. In a matter of a few minutes, everyone is on their feet, going about their respective chores. What follows is a series of logical and rational reasoning, in an attempt to find solutions. ‘How can they shut the mess room by 9.30? Breakfast should go on till 11, maybe even 12’, ‘They should provide bed-tea-breakfast’, ‘Maybe we should talk to Colonel?’ Absolutely pragmatic ideas and suggestions. We marvel at our own ingenuity. One leads to another. Not on a hungry stomach though, thanks to the abundant supply of cookies and chips and cakes in our room. Ya, ya, we come from ‘khaate peete khandaan’. We totally look the part. No denying that.
As Kishore Kumar and Abba and Sean Paul conduct a hopeless symphony in the background, we turn into ‘homemaker’ mode. Swinging and lip-syncing to the tunes of our respective idols, we go about our household chores – directing the cleaning lady not to miss that little corner there, instructing the laundry woman to handle the clothes delicately. At the end of the exercise, we look at the outcome proudly. We’ll make great home managers in the future.
Lunch time, and yes, we’re on time for that. After all, one can’t survive on snacks and savouries the whole day. Over roti, dal and curry, we discuss the politically volatile situation in the major cities of our country. ‘After all, FOOTPRINTS and CAMPUS OLYMPICS are team efforts’, ‘How can s/he behave like a dictator?’ We end our conference with a mention about the virtues of ‘people skills and collective responsibility’ and affirming the importance of event management. Yeah, way to go!
Back into our clean rooms, we decide to now utilise the time in a more productive manner. Settled on our respective beds with a book in hand, we turn the pages of history. Quite unconsciously, siesta takes us into the world of fact-based fiction – we roam through the streets of Lappierre’s City of Joy, swim through the waters of the Meenachal in Roy’s God of Small Things and ponder upon Desai’s (The) Better Man. Overcome by ‘intensity and purpose’, we decide to replace these novels with less-novel creations like Mass Communication In India or the like by you-know-who!!!
An unusually long period of ‘intensity and purpose’ puts us in philosophical mode. We ‘communicate’ in profound terms and discuss the vagaries of the male psyche. The study of mass communication has led us to dissect and critically analyze the words and thoughts of the ‘men in our lives’. Brooding over our unrealised/unfulfilled/uninteresting love lives, we sink into deeper thought at the cost of the peril of God knows who.
Dinner is followed by good night calls and long-distance kisses. What would we do without such doting families? Yet another day passes. Rather uneventful, just the way I like it. Thank God, it was a Thursday.
Thank God, it’s Thursday.
The clock ticks away, mobile phones cry out ‘alarm’-ingly in monophonic and polyphonic tones, reminding their masters of commitments and deadlines – MRM presentations, Visual Communication assignment, Photoshop paths and layers. Yawn!
Sometime close to noon, a head creeps out of floral prints and dishevelled hair. Throwing my pretty blanket aside, I sit up with a shock. Damn, missed breakfast again. This happens every Thursday. I turn to my right, Susy kutty is fast asleep. Is she snoring? To my left, Sammy Whammy lies on her bed like a defeated warrior. Cool, I’m the first one to wake up.
As I move about the place ‘noiselessly’, the other two heads pop out of blanketed enclosures. In a matter of a few minutes, everyone is on their feet, going about their respective chores. What follows is a series of logical and rational reasoning, in an attempt to find solutions. ‘How can they shut the mess room by 9.30? Breakfast should go on till 11, maybe even 12’, ‘They should provide bed-tea-breakfast’, ‘Maybe we should talk to Colonel?’ Absolutely pragmatic ideas and suggestions. We marvel at our own ingenuity. One leads to another. Not on a hungry stomach though, thanks to the abundant supply of cookies and chips and cakes in our room. Ya, ya, we come from ‘khaate peete khandaan’. We totally look the part. No denying that.
As Kishore Kumar and Abba and Sean Paul conduct a hopeless symphony in the background, we turn into ‘homemaker’ mode. Swinging and lip-syncing to the tunes of our respective idols, we go about our household chores – directing the cleaning lady not to miss that little corner there, instructing the laundry woman to handle the clothes delicately. At the end of the exercise, we look at the outcome proudly. We’ll make great home managers in the future.
Lunch time, and yes, we’re on time for that. After all, one can’t survive on snacks and savouries the whole day. Over roti, dal and curry, we discuss the politically volatile situation in the major cities of our country. ‘After all, FOOTPRINTS and CAMPUS OLYMPICS are team efforts’, ‘How can s/he behave like a dictator?’ We end our conference with a mention about the virtues of ‘people skills and collective responsibility’ and affirming the importance of event management. Yeah, way to go!
Back into our clean rooms, we decide to now utilise the time in a more productive manner. Settled on our respective beds with a book in hand, we turn the pages of history. Quite unconsciously, siesta takes us into the world of fact-based fiction – we roam through the streets of Lappierre’s City of Joy, swim through the waters of the Meenachal in Roy’s God of Small Things and ponder upon Desai’s (The) Better Man. Overcome by ‘intensity and purpose’, we decide to replace these novels with less-novel creations like Mass Communication In India or the like by you-know-who!!!
An unusually long period of ‘intensity and purpose’ puts us in philosophical mode. We ‘communicate’ in profound terms and discuss the vagaries of the male psyche. The study of mass communication has led us to dissect and critically analyze the words and thoughts of the ‘men in our lives’. Brooding over our unrealised/unfulfilled/uninteresting love lives, we sink into deeper thought at the cost of the peril of God knows who.
Dinner is followed by good night calls and long-distance kisses. What would we do without such doting families? Yet another day passes. Rather uneventful, just the way I like it. Thank God, it was a Thursday.
Lovefool
Love is for you... love is for her and love is for him… love is not for emotional fools like me…
With nothing but make-believe love and misunderstood hope, I trudge along. Not once, not twice, again and again and again, I let myself get carried away. I let myself believe that this time it is true… it is for life… he is the one for me… but every time, I end up feeling lost and betrayed… no one to blame… every time it is me…
Why do I let myself go through this every time? Why don’t I ever learn… why is my heart such an emotional wreck? Why doesn’t my silly heart ever listen to my wise head? Why do I choose to be blind? Why do I see what’s not there and conveniently turn my face away from what’s there in front of me. Why Lord? Why... I ask of you. Please don’t let me get hurt again… please let my head rule over my heart.
With nothing but make-believe love and misunderstood hope, I trudge along. Not once, not twice, again and again and again, I let myself get carried away. I let myself believe that this time it is true… it is for life… he is the one for me… but every time, I end up feeling lost and betrayed… no one to blame… every time it is me…
Why do I let myself go through this every time? Why don’t I ever learn… why is my heart such an emotional wreck? Why doesn’t my silly heart ever listen to my wise head? Why do I choose to be blind? Why do I see what’s not there and conveniently turn my face away from what’s there in front of me. Why Lord? Why... I ask of you. Please don’t let me get hurt again… please let my head rule over my heart.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)