Present Tense, Past Perfect

Today, this friend of mine posted some classic advertisments on her orkut profile from the yesteryears. These included some of the ads that still linger fresh in my mind even after a decade or so. And some of these had the title song of old teleserials aired on the obsolete Doordarshan. Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi Surabhi Bharat ek Khoj He Man Spider Man Jungle Book Flop Show Dekh Bhai Dekh All in the 80's era.. As I type these names, it takes me back to those pleasant Sunday Mornings. When each week was spent awaiting these teleserials, when every kid used to be glued in front of those TV sets which did not have remote controls:) I still recollect the time when Ramayan was being aired on TV and people used to think that sakshaat "Ram" bhagwan was in front of us. In fact, it is so funny that my dad got a color TV so that the "bow and arrow" war could be best seen:O Yep, such were the days. My memory jogs down the fast lane to that Ground Floor flat that I lived in at Kalyan. All those events come in front of my eyes like a collage. Me waking up at 7 AM on Sunday to catch up on 'Rangoli' a serial that was telecast to air the 'recent film songs' at that time. Followed by 'Fairy Tale Theatre" with all the beautiful princesses and awful goblins. Interspered with reading the newspapers. Especially the Sunday magazine with crossword puzzles, Jumbled words and cartoon strips. With mom making hot tea and a breakfast of poha, sabudana khichdi, dosa and regular things that now are 'comfort foods' for me:-) At sharp 9 AM, it would be time for either 'Mahabharat' or 'Ramayan'. 1 hour when there was pin drop silence at our place. When the entire neighborhood would be found in front of the TV. Then would be time for 'Ducktales', in midst of inviting frowns from my mom who totally got irritated at the duck quacks:D and moreso because all this meant that she would have to chase me and my sister to get a shower:)) At noon, the family would eagerly wait for Bournvita Quiz Contest (in late 90's of course). The morning TV marathon would then culiminate into leisurely meals. Since both our parents were working, Sunday would be the day where everyone were "at home":) Afternoon naps, tea time conversations were big! Evenings would be spent knocking at all the doors of Building # 2, collecting people and going to the Terrace. Never having to worry about calling in for appointments with friends. After playing all the dumbest kinda games, we would hear the frantic callings from anxious parents wondering what pranks we were upto. We would go home only past dinner time and inviting stares from mom after we revealed that we just had 2 plates of "Paani Puri" from the 'Bhaiyya' outside the gate:P Then we would depart to the dreamland with a satisfied tummy, clear conscience and contented mind:) Those were the days, when life was indeed good. Even now when I look at it, the entire scenes come in from of my eyes as of I just lived those moments few days back. As if they are frozen in time for me to see them with rose tinted glasses. The TV channels might have become thing of past. The programs may have changed. People's idea of fun and family time would have changed. But, the terrace still exists and kids still play and I still retain most of what I cherished at that time. And somewhere in our hearts we still have that kid, whose eyes light up by seeing some things that bought cheer then:) After all, "Is rang badaltee duniya mein, kya tera hai kya mera hai" Holds true even now:D And what a better day, I could ask for..in 2 years of my existence in Blogworld, this post marks the 200th one :)

Ah!! some joys are inexplicable

Finally, bhagwan ne meree sun lee;) The ranting from my yesterday's post got answered. They say big surprises come in small packages. For me, the this small package was in form of a YES from my boss!!!!! I can finally take 4 weeks off to India:):):):):) It's pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed. ~Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard Exactly, what I feel..A small three letter word can change how you felt yesterday and how you feel today!! I can finally relax. So much anxiety got quailed in fraction of minutes that I was there!! Sometimes most of our fears are uncalled for. But we worry anyways. Mentally, I had made plans what to do if he refuses. Some wierd thoughts that creeped my mind were to complain to the Dean of Grad School and what not:P Glad I dint have to do any of those:P:P Finally, I need not feel disheartened at not taking time off on Christmas. Or not going to NY or Las Vegas or some cool place. For me, Bombay is coolest of them all:D I can make a mental list of all the junk food that I wanna eat on streets of Bombay The thought of playing with my nephew Aryan makes me feel 10 times younger The lovely feeling of checking out and trying out my sister's clothes Being able to revel in the presence of cousins and close friends (my only 2 best friends are in India, like I mentioned several months ago in one post) Will get to visit my alma mater, where a journey of 1000 miles started Above all, my brain can go on an HOLIDAY too:D

India on my mind

Its the Holiday season. Almost everyone that I know have plans. Not that am regretting not having any, coz in my brief stint in the US of A, I have always been superbusy around the Christmas time:P For travelling, I have rest of the year but during Christmas time I have "deadlines" to meet:)) Although, I have no grant deadline this year (finally)! I believe the "thought of being able to go to India in Jan" will assure that I will probably be working all of Christmas. For the moment its just these "thoughts" that make me excited as well as super nervous. The last trip I made home was in July 2005. In an "ideal" world, I would have loved to go home every year but since thats a distant possibility, going once every two years should be possible. But, when was the last time what I planned actually worked out, eh:P In fact, I think am one of the worst planners one can ever come across. Everything (almost) that I do is spontaneous. My weekend plannings have been that way and I very rarely book my flight tickets months in advance. I really am in awe of few people who have their entire vacations chalked out so well:-) So now, eventhough I deserve one vacation, I have been into a lot of anxiety lately. Precisely coz of HIM. Every Indian goes through this big agony of breaking the news to his/her boss when it comes to a TRIP TO INDIA!! For them, its 4 weeks of labour lost. For us it is 2 years of family waiting for us. For us it is 30 days of pure and joyful moments in 700 days when we dont have to worry about how we look, what time we got up, when we should go to bed. About how we don't have to cook for days in advance. It is about spending time with people who have helped you in realizing your dreams. It is about friends with whom you have nurtured ambitions and whom you have left behind. It is about spending a part of your life with people who matter the most. Anyway, when it comes to Professional life seldom are people lucky and who would hear their boss say "You have slogged for all this long. Perhaps time for you to rest a bit" As one gazal goes: "kabhi kisi ko mukammal jahan nahin milta kahin zameen to kahin aasman nahin milta" [Loosely translated, it means none gets best of both the worlds. At times we miss the land and at few other times we miss the sky] Guess, am atleast lucky that I am quite at peace with my personal life which gives me immense strength to handle the stressful profession that I chose. For the moment, let me just bolster my morale and shoot the question to him:-)

Interwined Relationships

Richard Bach, once said "Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you I had no control over" What exactly is this control like? And precisely whom and what things in life can one control? I have always been pretty much amazed at what Bach always quotes, for e.g this one particular cliched quote that pretty much everyone has heard once in their life time "If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were.” Do we always do this or are we capable of doing this? For example: If we cannot control what we feel or how we feel for a certain someone. What is the role of 'committments' in our lives? Lets consider the various kinds of relationship that one comes across:- All these are purely my views and how I view them through my glasses:) 1. The "dating" couple: Couple who are 'exploring' the possibility of being together. The first few days/weeks/months when every thing is hunky dory. When a ringing phone bell/door bells sends butterflies in the stomach. When every moment of together is like *fairytale* [Haha, so what I have been told]. 2. The 'seeing-each-other' couple: Am serious, I have heard all these terms before. Although, I dont know what exactly the difference is between the above mentioned phase and this phase. But, an American friend of mine told me that the difference is that when you are 'seeing' someone you are know seeing him/her exclusively (*rolls my eyes*). Ya! maybe but I consrue this as a phase when you know that there might be a possibility of something serious developing between the people involved. 3. The "serious" couple- Now, here's a phase when you have been with that same person for a while. When security takes over a whole lot of insecurities. Couple who love spending time with each other and who also *start* discussing *marriage*;)..Haha most of them, in my opinion go back to the Stage 1 at this point:)) 4. The 'Committed' couple- A truly "happy" couple, who have been together for a long time. Have been through several ups and downs in life, weathered storms together and are together for a reason. For whom the fairy tale romance has ended and who finally start believing that life and relationships go beyond wine, champaign, candle-light dinners and also start to find faults in each other;) 5. The "ever-after" couple - This I believe is the culmination of a long standing romance. No matter how much together you are with someone. No matter how long a duration you have romanced with someone. If it doesn't reach this step, it probably was never meant to be. I may sound quite narrow minded in my thinking here. People say that marriage is not everything. But, I certainly am of the opinion that, relationships come with a responsibility. A feeling of belongingness. To be with someone you can annoy for the rest of your life:D And to come back to a home and a person who promises to be there with you through thick n thin:) After all committments are everything in life!!! Every relationship evolves. People change for good. People change for better. Situations are never the same and the way we view relationships also change with the passage of time. Read this quote somewhere "Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away"!