Taala (The Lock)

Some times, some things affect you in a way you would have never thought of. And they occur out of sheer randomness -- out of the blue! That's exactly how I came across this beautiful poem, pasted inside a bus in Mumbai, in Sept'08. I couldn't help but jot it down. Read on.
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ताला

आती है गौरय्या
और दरवाज़े के लटकते ताले पर
मारती है ठोर

कुत्ता आता है
खोलने की कोशिश में
ताबड़-तोड़ पटकता है पांव

दौड़ती हुई आती है गाय
और ज़ोर-ज़ोर से हंकरने लगती है

सोच नहीं पाता है डाकिया
किसको दे वह चिट्ठी
ताला
कई दिनों से लटका है यहाँ

पुरबईया और पछुआ हवा के झोंके
हिला नहीं पाते हैं ताले को
कितना भारी हो गया है
यह ताला

कितना अखरता है एक व्यक्ति का न होना

-- कुमार वीरेन्द्र

And I blog again!

1.5 years! Yes, it's been one and a half years that I last blogged. Well, it's finally time to reboot again. Finally, time to let go of all the laziness, procrastination and general blaah.

Welcome again! Let's begin.


Well, too much has happened over the course of past few months. I shall try to present a quick snapshot.

• An amazing 7-day trip to Mumbai, discovering the city in all its charm and grandeur.
• Mumbai blasts
• Got a new job -- another one of proud occasions of my life
• Travel
• Amritsar -- Golden Temple, Wagah border, Jallianwala Bagh, great food
• Rishikesh/Haridwar -- White water rafting, other adventure sports
• Lucknow -- A nawaabi experience -- food and the sights
• Farewell to the togetherness of 2 years with a hope to continue for a lifetime
• Joining the new job
• Travel
• Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Jharia, Noamundi
• Finally posted to Delhi NCR -- Faridabad
• Work, job, excitement
• Many many ups & downs in personal life
• Tata Crucible Quiz -- Winner, Regional round; National finalist
• First stay at the Taj Palace Hotel, Colaba, Mumbai
• Bought my first car
• Travel
• Kochi, Thrissur, Alleppey, Bangalore, Goa
• First international trip -- Dubai

Phew! That's a very very brief summary of what all life has offered me since I last blogged and I'm sure I would have missed out many things.

My only wish is to continue this journey and I look forward to blogging more frequently and with a new zeal. Wish me luck!

P. S. -- Like the first time, this time as well, Maggi played a pivotal role in helping me blog. :)

I won!!

One of my favourite quotes is:

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

My answer to that would be August 29, 2008. Today, I won a cash prize worth Rs. 10, 000/- for the first time in my life! I have won numerous prizes in quizzing and dumb charades but never a cash prize. I have won all sort of things from a fish bowl to CDs to gift vouchers to blessings but a cash prize had always eluded me somehow. It was a very weird feeling till now when I used to see people -- juniors as well as seniors, walking away with all the moolah. But thankfully, the jinx is broken now.

For those of you who care to know what did I win the prize for ... well, it was the annual Marketing Summit & National Level Paper Writing Contest at IMI, Delhi called Srijan'08. The title of my research paper was "Innovations in Sales & Distribution".

But, jinhe naaz hai voh kahan hain?

Method in madness

Well, it's been a long time that I blogged. A lot of movement has taken place and lots have happened. Writing about everything is not possible and not consequential either. So, just a few basic updates.

I'm back in Delhi, after spending 2 lovely months in Chennai -- the place where I started this blog! In between, I spent a week in Chandigarh, at home. The 2nd year of MBA at IIFT is about to start in a couple of days and the madness is about to begin again. How I wish that there were no more of studies! But anyhow, I can't help it and have to live with it.

I've moved to the new hostel and boy oh boy, it was painful to shift all my belongings to the new room and then set it up. But now it's done, almost everything's in order. The new room is far better than the room of the old hostel and is the only good part thus far. Hence worth the pain to set it up. So, I'm all geared up to face the next war! Wish me luck.

Sisters & brothers

I don't have a sibling. Did I miss having one? Not particularly. Being the lone child, I'm the pampered one. I got all the love & affection my parents could give. I got almost everything what was reasonable to ask for. I fared well in academics as well as in extra-curricular activities. But for long, I didn't have any body to share things which you wouldn't normally share with your parents. I had a good friend circle but still it wasn't close enough to penetrate my thoughts -- me being a typical Cancerian. I mostly tried to figure out everything by my self. Be it issues related to life, adolescence, family fights, studies, comics -- anything and everything. My parents were there for me always, all the time. And I just loved the growing up period. I used to hang out with my father for a very long time. For shopping, for a cup of coffee, even for a walk beside the lake, I went out with my dad! We shared an amazing chemistry. And mom was there to put us right back on earth when we both of us shopped too extravagantly or didn't get something to suit her tastes. That was just so much fun. So, I never really missed having a brother or a sister.

Luckily, I have a few cousins with whom I spent many of my school vacations. Out of them, I have 3 loving sisters. And I love them all. Today, the youngest one -- A, chatted with me for the first time on Google Talk. She had added me a few days ago on Orkut (with a caution though -- not to tell her mom about it). She used all the short words in vogue today and the related lingo. I kind of enjoyed it. Before this we had never really 'talked' with each other apart from the usual bro-sis talks in front of relatives -- Hi, how're you? How're studies? Exams? Work? Job theek hai na? Aur mujhe kya karna chahiye? Kuch guide karo na bhaiya... Blah.

Today, we talked something different. She asked me whether I remember her birthday or not. I quickly checked up on her Orkut profile and blurted out the date to her surprise. I later found out that she's turning 18 years next month. I was taken aback for a moment. She! My little sister has grown up to 18! Man. I calculated my age and suddenly felt old -- turning 25 years in a couple of months! Anyway, she wanted to talk. And so we did. You might have already guessed. She told me about her boyfriend on my constant query. She was hesitant first but then poured her feelings like anything. 2 boyfriends, one whom she loves, one who loves her, 1 year into it. Advice bhaiya, advice! Well, feeling happy that she could trust me for not telling about all this to her mom, I gave her some advice (actually, in these matters, no advice works and it is quite pointless but anyway). Before she could even thank me or ask some more, her mom came nearby and she quickly logged off.

I thought what would it have been to have a sister. I had previously had such long talks with my other cousin sister, another A. We'll leave this for future musings though. But something happened today. I don't know what.

Let there be a blog!

Hi all!

As I take my first steps into the world of blogging, I just sit back and laugh at my procrastination. The idea of starting a blog came more than 2 years ago when I started writing a few reviews. However, like many of us, I too fell in the trap of 'perfecting' myself and acquiring more 'suitable' knowledge before leaping into the virtual world. I could not have been wronger! I'm almost at the same level (if not worse) or in the same position, which I was in then -- skeptical. However, I'm happy that suddenly something happened today and a voice came from inside to go for it. As they say, 'let there be light'. It said, 'let there be a blog'. And here it is. So, ladies and gentlemen, presenting before you the ruminations of a soul who has just started discovering the finer nuances of life -- each day.

The blog's title is an Italian saying -- 'Vive bene, spesso l'amore, di risata molto!’ which means 'Live well, love much, laugh often'. As you might have guessed, this blog is about life, love, joy, eating, drinking, travelling, people -- basically to fulfill the joie de vivre or a keen enjoyment of living (as my most convenient dictionary WordWeb tells me). This blog would also talk about the issues/topics governing our life -- without addressing them there can be no laughter or love.

As W. Somerset Maugham says, "The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill". I'm no artist -- not yet. However, I would produce -- I would continue writing, telling anecdotes, addressing your attention to things close to my heart -- making you learn and in the process learning myself from the same. I expect the support from all of you to make this journey a success.

Keep reading!