Random thoughts

It's been a while since my trip to Canada and post-vacation blues have finally decided to cease.

As a part of post-vacation resolution, I decided to devote sometime to nurture my hobbies everyday be it writing or narrations. While working on a narration for an informal gathering, I came across a website with Tagore's lyrics in English which were a God sent.

Immediately, I found myself sifting through a plethora of lovely lyrics. It reminded me of how Dad used to convert the bengali lyrics to english and Mom would simultaneously explain me the meaning of every word. Tagore was sheer genius.I think that he has penned down a song for every event in our life..however random it might be. Now that I understand it in it's true sense,I just appreciate the culture even more! It's such a pleasure to narrate his poems. The song 'Purano shei diner Kotha' is immortal in itself.

It's due to those early associations with Shahana (the cultural center) that really instilled a lot about the rich culture. Be it the dance rehearsals or the singing classes..those days are cherishable. When I hear about my friends meeting up for upcoming dance rehearsals, I can't help but feel jealous. I intend to read some Tagore plays and Ray's novels soon not to mention self-teach myself some new songs!Hopefully this resolution will stand the test of time ;)

Next on the hit list of my hobbies is writing, something which I love but haven't been able to delve into recently. I happened to listen to this amazing talk on listening and visual skills where in the speaker mentions that we listen and absorb barely a quarter of what's going on in our surroundings. The same goes with the visual senses too. And obviously I am no exception. There are so many wonderful thoughts which we miss out on. So my next seemingly accomplishable aim is to write about something novel daily..however trivial it might be..for sure an archive would be fabulous to resort to later..

I would like to conclude this arbit post with the first song on which I danced as a kid and learnt it in due course.It's by one of my favorite singers Srikanta and depicts the beautiful conversation between kids and fireflies :)

Anticipations galore

The word 'anticipation' has numerous interpretations.But in the current context, there are just optimistic thoughts and nothing else. Happened to talk to my parents today morning before their trip to Canada and the excitement was palpable. This would be my mom's first international trip and she was as inquisitive as when I was a kid. She in fact snubbed my dad and said, " ask her (a.k.a me) everything..she knows it right!".And the questions refused to cease.

It's been a while since I took a long vacation and I am definitely looking forward to it more than anything else. If not a trip to India, at least people who really matter will be here :) Planning every minute of the trip be it the flight combos or bullying them into extending their stay was completely worth it.

My mom jokingly asked me..so u got us gifts eh? And I casually retorted..We'll see. Am waiting to surprise them with the goodies soon :)

And thus there's anticipation in every thought..Am counting the days and can't wait to pack my bags n hop on the flight.. More on the travel memoirs later!

The Tinkle legacy

The morning brought about mixed emotions today. As I stared at NDTV while sipping hot chocolate, the news of Anant Pai's (popularly known as Uncle Pai) demise took time to sink in. Amidst Gaddafi hogging the limelight, I was glad that the news featuring Uncle Pai gained precedence over the disgraced leader.It's a couple of hours of incubation and I thought it would be best to pen down my experiences about a person whom I value so much.

The brainchild of Uncle Pai...ACK's and Tinkle defined my childhood days.The visuals from Akbar Birbal and the twin monsters brought back fond memories. They were the best reads and the fav choice for bedtime stories. Summer vacations way back in school involved long train journeys to Calcutta and I could be easily bribed with tonnes of Tinkles and ACK's much to the delight of my parents. Guess I have every single volume stacked on my shelf till date :)

I vividly remember the plays we enacted ...and the animated reading sessions ranging from the hilarious Gopal the jester to the jataka tales...

These books were an integral part of my formative years and words fail me when I try to explain their importance!I attribute my minuscule knowledge of Indian mythology to ACK .

The *twinkle* of Tinkle is no more but I hope that there is an 'Amar' to carry on the legacy!

RIP Uncle Pai..you will be missed loads!

MiNd GaMeS..

Procrastination woes got the better of me and my frail resolution of blogging regularly stuck to being an abstract entity in itself. The thought of blogging about 'Mind Games' was rekindled when I recently happened to watch an extremely dumb Roadies audition. I wonder why they associate the show with mind games; ideally it should be the exact opposite of what it is perceived to be!

The term 'mind games' is randomly used during conversations and I guess everyone has a different perception about it.For me it's synergistic bitching within the mind which invariably leads to an unfavorable outcome for the target. I would say that it's the minds's own defense mechanism and one which isn't as effective as it should be. Ultimately it boils down to the question of efficacies in every aspect!

As positive and negative regulators incessantly boggle my  thoughts, mind games further tilt the balance on the negative side. There is never a feedback loop in this scenario!The moment I am challenged with a dicey decision, 'Jeopardy' rules the roost and  leads me to different crossroads of increasing complexity and the outcome: a rarely right decision!Some people have visuals of altercations between the angel and the devil fluttering inside and I would avoid commenting on that ;)

I must admit that mind games lead to sadistic pleasure in the eyes of the perceiver. It definitely adds to the combined spice and entertainment index of the situation. As for the minds involved in it, my sympathies are with them..

That said, I have yet to conquer the malicious games and put the diplomacies to rest. The magic recipe is eagerly awaited..Hopefully, some of you might have the clue :)

Mind games in progress : reigning evidence!

Caffeine memoirs! :)

Lazy Sundays are awesome but the prowling Monday blues are the spoilers. Today, I happened to watch the Filmfare awards which as always had some classic and also some equally lame performances.The legendary Manna Dey happened to bag the lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.  For me, he symbolises the unforgettable 'COFFEE HOUSE' song and it never fails to bring in waves of nostalgia.

Although Bombay doesn't have a 'Coffee House' to match the original's credentials,our Baristas and CCD's sort of served the same purpose. 'A lot can happen over a cup of coffee' and it surely did! Endless gossip sessions,squirts of laughter, crisis situation discussions and sombre goodbyes..the coffee joints have seen it all. Not to mention the famous cutting chai ;)

Sundays are meant for dedicated ,endless skype sessions and this song brought back treasured memories.
Mention of the mass bunking sessions, the enthu in watching even the most hopeless movies,the memorable shopping bargains,the 'crushes and slushes' talks and last but not the least : the train journeys keep popping up. It's during moments like these that I miss those special people who stayed with me on the journey so far and wish they weren't continents away. Just a few hours of torture sessions a week doesn't suffice!

As many close ones are about to undergo joyous transitions, I wish I could be there to share the moment. But virtual memoirs will suffice for the time being :)

Here's raising a toast to all the special ones and stronger bonds for the years to come.

And last but not the least..the coffee house song which started the string of thoughts :)

Fleeting thoughts

Blogging thoughts catch me unawares and that too at the most random times...

It's the weekend and hence the marathon movie sessions commence...Just wrapped up watching the first one and well; it set me analysing the two movies I watched recently :127 hours and Dhobi Ghaat.

The first was shot at it's natural best and did complete justice to the story...the second fell short of what could have been a fantastic film instead of mere photogenic visuals.

127 hours was brutal and one which would keep you glued to the screen in anticipation of what follows next.It was almost a single actor who pulled it off with amazing expertise..The tagline 'every second counts' literally kept me counting seconds while watching it.

On the contrary,Dhobi Ghat aimed to portray the character of Mumbai in a different light but couldn't attain the niche or match the hype which was attributed to it..It had different storylines which could be blended in a much better way..But yeah it had it's share of strong points as well.

Personal favs from the movie: the videos which proved to be the artist's inspiration for his work and the flash of Britannia and Co without the Berry Pulao!

That said, here is a pic of the chef and his muse ;)

Procrastination Woes

As of now, the long made promise of 'Mind Games' will have to wait and the reason is definitely..well the title says it all. Procrastination is a bane in case of a grad student. One could rather call it an integral part of grad life. But well, it's la joie de ma vie! :)

A funny skype conversation with a friend kinda inspired me to blog about it . Thus, I thought it would be wise to 'cast' my thoughts before they 'pro'mote to alie'nate' themselves 'in' oblivion.

The phenomenon is phenomenal in itself and has a comparison to a triggering blast. It reaches it's threshold and makes the victim face the consequences like no other..The very fact that I am sincerely focussed in describing it speaks volumes.

From a hobby point of view,I have always been fond of penning down my thoughts but of late the above addiction has taken a toll on it. The ideas decide to bid adieu as they extend their'best by date'. And then comes the 'staying in touch' facet...I have been promising to catch up with certain friends but there comes the devil again and thanks to it...I was at the receiving end of some very memorable warnings ;) The novel fight and the culinary aspects deserve a mention too but will save it up for later.

But well, it definitely has always brought out the best in me most of the times. The correct points appear magically during the phase of panic attack and are well appreciated. But there's a certain element of Murphy's Law which tags along!

As my brain is being bombarded with gazillion biostat factors(impending final), I think the whole concept can rightly be summarised as : the consequences of procrastination are highly significant at the 95% level the 'null hypothesis' being 'procrastination rules'!

The 'chalta hai...dekh lenge' attitude needs to stop..

So, think twice before the extremely venemous thought leaks into your mind :)