Feels as though I have been on an out-of-body experience and back from a trip to Pune... both in terms of work & otherwise!

(Oh Dear Blog of mine! How I have just been sooooo itching to pen down my thoughts!)

and no folks! As against what I had anticipated (and had made a mention of in my earlier post), it wasn't me who was there to open the door for G (told you that life springs up with surprises didn't I?), rather...it was he who was there to open the door for me. Well, either which ways, he is back in town for good, and after a year long hiatus, we can now look forward to a life together as husband and wife... literally speaking.

Ok. So let's see.

I was in Pune for a month on an assignment that cropped up out of the blue. Now, for someone who has never been out of Bangalore for more than a week ever (in the last 13 years), I wasn't joking when I said it felt like an out-of-body experience! And I loved it. Every bit of my stay at Pune that is. It felt like a breath of fresh air that I just couldn't seem to have enough of. More than anything else, Pune just reminded me of what a Bangalore was a very long time ago while I was still in college, young & ... er ... gay. Oh yes. That was a long time ago (sadly)... when I could get to any part of the city in half hour's time, a long time ago when there were more number of trees than one can barely count today, a long time ago when the weather was pleasant 365 days in a year... <<SIGGGGH>>
Well ok! So everything has to change at some point in time or the other, for the good or for the worse ... the fact of the matter is the Bangalore it once was is a thing of the past... like remnants from some old pages of a book. And that's a reality one is left with no choice but to face.


On a more personal note, I met with folks I haven't been in touch for over a year... but folks who nevertheless were an important part of my life. And folks which -after this trip- I figured will continue to remain an important of my life. After all, some relationships are just meant to last forever, regardless of situation or circumstance.

And in terms of work, I don't think I have ever encountered a high of such... intensity ever. Stretched to the point of tearing into half, yet still with a passion I never realized existed, there was nothing more nor anything less I could have expected.

Suddenly, I feel too much have happened in too little time, and this year has just gone by like ... wow! I don't remember work being this hectic ever, I don't remember not having had time for friends ever & yet knowing they are there like a beacon of hope the moment I call out to them, I don't remember... why! the last time I was out on a weekend get-away... yet, I have never felt such a sense of contentment within myself as this (besides the time I knew G was the man for me). I don't remember the last time I felt this sense of completeness in the sense of being in harmony within myself, and with the world around.

Suddenly there just seems too much to thank for, and too little to complain about...

(...trailing off with a smile on my lips...)

wha.. !?

Already, in October ... !??

Of life, love & long distance relationships...

This post was triggered by a thought shared by a friend -“nothing you ever do will make you feel so blissful that you won't want to be doing something else"

Life has this funny way of… you know… springing up with surprises most unexpectedly. When G got a transfer out of the City in less than 1 year’s time of our marriage, we thought over it and concluded it was perhaps a good break for him at that point of time in his career & that he should go ahead with the opportunity, while I stay behind. It was anyway a short term assignment... or so it was perceived to be... and we believed that we anyway had a lifetime ahead of us to make up for the time lost between ourselves. And so we laid out the plan. For the future. Our future.

But as it is with chance, and the fact that it's like... like heading out for that enjoyable walk in the rain you have been longing for, not knowing that at the 6th minute of that walk, you are about to be struck by lightning... devoid of choice... it's a gamble you take. And, things don’t always go as anticipated. That’s precisely what happened post a re-structuring which took place within various divisions in the bank where G worked, thus changing things for him … & for us. More than anything else, plans of him coming back anytime soon seemed like history.

So... for someone who was never for the idea of long distance relationships (that's me), I am having a hearty laugh to myself & this wonderful twist of fate. This is one of those classic moments in life, where you would tend to step back for a bit to introspect... & question all those little beliefs you once held... only to realize it’s probably time for a paradigm shift. After all, life is unpredictable & when it comes to love & commitment... it holds no good if you can’t make way for unpredictable predicaments & sail through it together… even whilst you are apart. Ok. So that sounded a little… er… profound? But seriously… & honestly speaking… life wasn’t exactly rosy for either of us since the past 1 year... since the time the recession kicked in... although both of us can’t be thankful enough that it didn’t get worse with either of us getting laid off or whatever with all the job insecurity. What it did do however is reaffirm 3 little facts within ourselves that I know we both will hold onto for the rest our lives:
1. That you are never really entirely in control of your life…
2. That learning to let go is priceless.
3. That time spent in the company of loved ones… even if, for just a minute… is precious & irreplaceable.

Which reminds me of an excerpt from a certain Chetan Bhagat’s speech, forwarded to me by G some time back… and something I always read when I am down and out because it peps me up!

"Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.
One thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up?
It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices........." :)


And on that note, I sign off.


(BTW G: I'll be waiting... and when you are back, I'll be there to open the door!)

Watched a John Cusack starrer called “Martian Child” over the weekend… and just loved every bit of it. Simple & sweet with some memorable scenes (except that I thought Amanda Peet was not required), it’s an amazing depiction of a relationship between a brilliant but troubled adopted child (Dennis- who is convinced he is really from Mars) and a foster parent (David played by John Cusack). One of my favorite quotes from the movie:

“Dennis, can I just say one last thing about Mars? - which may be strange coming from a Science-Fiction writer - But right now, you and me here, put together entirely of atoms, sitting on this round rock with a core of liquid iron, held down by this force, called gravity, all the while spinning around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour and whizzing through the milky way at 600,000 miles an hour in a universe that very well may be chasing its own tail at the speed of light; And amidst all this frantic activity, fully cognizant of our own eminent demise - which is our own pretty way of saying we all know we're gonna die - We reach out to one another. Sometimes for the sake of entity, sometimes for reasons you're not old enough to understand yet, but a lot of the time we just reach out and expect nothing in return. Isn't that strange? Isn't that weird? Isn't that weird… enough? So what the heck do ya need to be from Mars for?”

These days...

whenever I sit down to blog, I instead just end up reading my older blog posts (as old as 2005) and keep wondering why I can no longer put down my thoughts as they really are, anymore.

Kaminey

Not so long ago, when we stumbled upon Wednesday, Dev D, Luck by Chance Mithya and a few other memorable products of Indian cinema, we openly welcomed the arrival of new age cinema & praised Bollywood for getting groovier!

And with Kaminey folks, it only seems to be getting better.

Amazing cinematography, amazing acting by all -some I haven't even seen or heard of before. Fantastic dialogues. Good script... and well!

Watch it for yourselves!

Do Not Miss.

With a pinch of salt...

Facebook is something I will always hold high regards for. Had it not been for ISLAS BELLAS who introduced me to it, getting in touch with practically most of my (core) friends from school (I am talking about folks I haven't been in touch with for 12 yrs and more perhaps!?) would never have happened. And needless to say, it's been an overwhelming experience to be able to re-connect and relive old times. More so, nothing can beat being able to stay connected with people who have made a difference in your life at some point in time or the other.... People who consider you to still be an important part of their lives even when time & distance poses limitations.

Sadly though, like an ugly creepy creature of the dark... there always lurks the negatives.

A 'friend' I have been out of touch with for a while, and who became recently active on FB sent me a friend request that I accepted. Ok, nice. Now the not-so-nice part was that I soon came to know, this individual went around claiming it was I who sent him an invite instead... (something he couldn't say 'no' to apparently)... and hence, that's how he came around to signing up with FB in the first place!

Now, there are few things I have zero-level tolerance for... and acts of absurdity/shamelessness/disrespect/psuedo-ism such as this is just one of them. I mean... seriously speaking... what was he trying to accomplish? I promptly removed him from my friends' list. For it's simple. I have no intention of being a mere statistic on anyone's profile & this chap clearly lacks any amount of ethics to be considered even worth re-connecting with.

Sadly, this is the only point I lose out to while debating with folks/friends on the concept of social networking being nothing but a bubble of crap that just tends to create an illusion of friendship & nothing more. In the real world of socializing, it isn't too difficult to sniff out pseudo friends and snuff em' out. (Yes! I can't tolerate anything that isn't real). However, this becomes a challenge in the virtual world & this is the only fact that even I detest about social networking.

Sigh

Oh well...

What I would really like right now...

A bicycle ride down a grassy slope overlooking a blue blue ocean, with the sound of birds chirping, the sun shining... & wisps of happy little clouds smiling down on me.

Oh those lil' pleasures, where art thou...

Alright! So I've been part of the rut for too long to even complain about it anymore. Yet there are these times when I find myself longing... yearning... cravvvvvvvvving for certain moments from the past to re-surface again just in order to make myself reminded, that there is a life outside the realm of work.


A cup of coffee with a friend after busy work hours.


An occasional late night movie or two.


A ride through the rains.. & enjoying the feel of getting drenched (to my lil' scooty- this one truly goes out to you!)



Surprise late night visits by M, chaai by the doorstep whilst watching the stars & listening to Dylan.



Listening to the landlord's kid and her travails through adolescence.



A late night road-side chaai by the old airport...



Crazy drunken disco nights...



Endless trips to the wild for a glimpse of a Tiger which never surfaced.



By god, time... pls. stop!

From an article in Times (of India)

Man + woman – tv = baby

I know overpopulation is a growing concern in India … but isn’t this like taking things too far?!