Old love

There’s something irresistible about them, like wine they keep getting better and more enjoyable with each passing day. People from every generation can’t help but fall in love with them, finding them intoxicating; and very rightly so for they serve the same purpose, wine for the soul...the classics, the eternally loved…
Old Hindi songs. Ok enough with the dramatic intro but with the topic at hand it was needed, melodrama was the life and soul of old bollywood movies and the songs were just overloaded with it. Not that we don’t like them quite the opposite in fact. Oh no we love these songs, like we’re listening to a shiny gramophone which plays the disk oh so brilliantly, not minding the minor tweaks in the sounds now and then. I say listening because watching these songs is quite different, I tend to find the actors, the costumes, the entire set-up a tad bit too weird to concentrate on the amazing music and the beautiful lyrics. A few favourites of mine..off the top of my head in no particular order would be…

♥ Pyar deewana hota hai Movie-Kati Patang Singer-Kishore Kumar (I love all the songs from this movie, Yeh Jo Mohobbat hai, Ye shaam mastani.. all of them!)

♥ Ek Ajnabee Haseena Se Movie-Ajnabee Singer-Kishore Kumar

♥ Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas Movie-Blackmail Singer-Kishore Kumar (Awwwwwness)

♥ Chu Kar Mere Mann Ko, Chalte Chalte Mere Ye Geet, O Saathi Re, Ye Shaam Mastani, Aane Waala Pal Jaane Waala hai, Dilbar Mere Kab tak Mujhe, Hum Bewafaa, Tum Aa Gaye Ho Noor Aa Gaya Hai… there are so freaking many!

Let’s just say every song that the legend Kishore Kumar has ever sung. Simple. And all of them are so melodious, such a treat to the ears.

♥ Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha Movie-Anpadh Singer-Lata Mangeshkar

♥ Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye Movie-Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai Singer-Lata Mangeshkar (This HAD to make it to the list)

♥ Lag Jaa Gale Movie-Woh Kaun Thi Singer-Lata Mangeshkar (Double in the awwwwwwwness quotient)

♥ Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi Movie-Aandhi Singers-Lata and Kishore

I think this establishes the fact that almost every song by these two is undeniably great.

♥ Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Movie-Kabhie Kabhie Singer-Mukesh (Love his ‘Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hu too)

♥ Bade Ache Lagte Hai Movie-Balika Badhu Singer-Amit Kumar (This one is the cutest… the pangs of innocent love, sweet grief)

♥ Baahon mein Chale Aa Movie-Anamika Singer-Lata M

♥ Tujhse Naraaz nahi Zindagi Movie-Masoom Singer-Anoop Ghosal

Omg look at the list and I haven’t even stated with Rafi! I fell in love with his ‘Tum Bin Jau Kaha’ the first time I heard it. And the others like Tumne Mujhe Dekha,  Badan Pe Sitare, Kaun Hai Jo Sapno Mein Aaya…..Uff!

All those crazy solos, all those beautiful duets with Lata Mangeshkar like Teri Bindiya Re, Baago Mein Bahaar Hai, Kitna Pyaara Waada hai…

The entire album of movies like Yaadon Ki Baraat, Amar Akbar Anthony, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi, Padosan etc.

Eeeks I’ve got to stop this post right here else I’ll end up writing down EVERY song there possibly is! I sound like a music junkie! It’s 5 a.m and I’ve had all these wonderful songs to give me company through the night. Any amount of appreciation is still insufficient. AND what I did here was spread the love, so peace.

What’s new?

I’ve always been big on procrastinating. Each time getting more adept at it and somehow the guilt quotient seems to be on a decline; works for me. So here we are almost a month into 2011 and I’m wondering what is so different apart from the date, the year, what has changed? The monotony of my days suddenly seems to hit me in the face, what’s frightening is that I’ve become quite comfortable in it.

Yes I have a very big and grand to-do list, all the glorious things I’ve always wanted to do, but somehow these things always have remained in the corner of my handbook, on my study table. They just lay there, never forgotten but never put into action. And the list keeps growing, as does my interest in the varied activities. Today I found 5 such lists I’d made for the last couple of months and when I sat to tick off the things imagine my shock to see the same 1st list with a few additional to-do’s from 1 to 5!! Why didn’t I go for those painting classes I’ve always wanted to? Why didn’t I go learn the art of pottery that has always been on my mind from the time I had seen a documentary on TV showing a woman molding clay into the most beautiful urn ever! And so on… Damn I did not see this coming. Ranting is good, but also I think I had enough, my sincere efforts this year would be to let procrastination be for things I DON’T wish to do, but for things I’ve dreamed of, there’s no putting them off anymore. To-do lists are bad, just plain useless. I’ve decided to have a list that reads ‘things accomplished’ list. So much more better, serves as a reminding slap on the face when ever you look at it and see how short it is than the ‘ever-growing-warming-my-table-to-do’ list. To write, to travel, to do all those things I’ve always wanted to, to stop existing and start living my life, for myself, that’s what 2011 will be for me. *fingers crossed*

Sit with me

Their incessant chatter and laughter made the clamorous platform a lot more noisy. Passers-by rightly guessed they were students. Young 16 year olds, off for a college vacation..yes..there was no doubt about that given the enthusiasm and excitement their laughter and merry talk was exuding.

It wasn’t infectious though. She wished it was. Standing a little away from the group, she looked at them with a feeling she couldn’t quite describe…these were her college mates, familiar faces, yet….
yet none was her friend. She admitted it. This was clearly a mistake. She regretted her decision. How could she be a part of it when she clearly wasn’t one of them? She tried in vain to find that initial eagerness she had.

She tried to tell herself she would make new friends. *sigh* No.

No she wouldn’t. She never could. She was the life and soul of a party, she was the centre of all things fun with her friends. But…she was bad at making new friends. Shy. Silly. True. She was but 16. Still. She told herself she’d enjoy the place. I doubt it said a voice inside her. She needed company. Her friends had bailed out. Alone. She looked at them again. Apparently she was invisible.*sigh* They were clicking pictures, their vacation had begun. Fun.

She felt alien. The other girl was voicing her exact thoughts. Prattling away about how she regrets not staying back. Shut up already! Damage done. Now she wistfully thought of the her friends, the cute guy she had a crush on forever, they had planned for the holidays together, they still would carry on with it. Without her. She was off on a vacation. With strangers. She wanted to cry.

There’s the signal. They get in. Too late.. too late…she thought. Bade goodbye to her parents, completely ignorant of the uneasiness she was feeling. Smile. For them. Wave. A little more enthusiastically. Turn. Pretence not needed now. Her shoulders drop. *sigh*. She walks along the long corridor to get to her compartment. Empty, save the ranting girl. *sigh* She sits next to the window. Great start she thought bitterly. The others have all disregarded the instructions given and were all assembled in one compartment, having a ball.

Lonely. No… it will be good. It won’t.

It was all crashing down. Every effort to look cheerful. This was a vacation! She should be thrilled. Then why was she so upset? She felt like now she could cry… or was she already? No. No she wouldn’t. Distraction. She looked outside the window. Stare out at the passing fields. Kids waving. Yes. Distraction. She shouldn’t be miserable. No she wasn’t. This was a vacation. Smile. Smile. Be happy. She wasn’t! Why wasn’t she? She couldn’t. Upset. Forlorn. She hated that very instant the fact that she was incredibly shy. She didn’t want to be. She didn’t have to be. But she was. Silly. Making new friends was daunting? No. Still. Getting past a few minutes seemed laborious! She had the entire week ahead. Depressing. She wished she was not on this train. She could now hear them sing. Stupid. Stupid me, she thought to herself for the millionth time that evening. She closed her eyes. Feeling the wind on her face as the train picked up speed, chugging along noisily. The sounds unsuccessful in drowning the singing. She tried to also block out the rants of the other girl now painfully describing what might’ve been. A smack on the face with her heavy bag would shut her up, she thought. She smiled at that picture. She sighed. She heard someone rush past her compartment giggling. She returned to concentrating on the rhythm of the train. Giggling. Block it out. It was getting closer, they would pass by again. Eyes still closed. Concentrate. Calm. Why aren’t they giggling their way back?

‘Hey!’ ..she opened her eyes. A curly haired girl from the group had stopped right in the middle of the compartment, smiling. A subdued hi was all she got in reply. ‘Why are you sitting here all alone?’. She too seemed to ignore the irritating girl who thankfully was quiet now. “Well I don’t really know anyone that well’’. Apparently it was amusing. The bubbly excited girl without a moments hesitation smiled the warmest smile ever. “Arre..that’s no problem yaar..come sit with me!!!”

:)

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And what would you wish for?

My  biggest worry at one time was a knot in my Barbie's hair (What was that? It is not that big a problem? Try telling that to a 5 year old!!), I wished for it to untangle, fall straight and smooth and if that didn’t happen I’d chop the problematic hair off. What followed would most definitely be my crying and bawling at how weird my beautiful Barbie looked in the new hair-do. Times have changed drastically, so has the cause of my worries, but even today more often than not when I find myself in a mess, in a complex knot where I’m caught between practicality and fantasies, reality and dreams, reason and emotions;
I wish for it to all smoothen out, I wish for my life and the world to be a simpler place. Without getting confused or dragged to the extremes of being a pragmatist or totally whimsical. When we’re done lusting after the farfetched luxuries, the million things we tire ourselves out to achieve, the reason why we keep rushing at a great pace so as to not lose out on time and in turn doing just that, and when you pause a while to think, to ask yourself that one question ‘why?’ and ‘what for?’ , and then? A penthouse in a skyscraper in almost every big and happening city in the world, a ride worth an entire third world country, a wardrobe fit for the Royals… and the likes, would the list ever end? I’m not saying we wouldn’t or shouldn’t want these, heaven knows how long my own list is!! But it grows, and somehow the most constant things that I myself have wished for from the core of my being are something else altogether.., simpler. By that I don’t mean they’re easily achieved, quite the contrary. There are things that appear to be mere flotsam and jetsam but what would we not do to have them come true.

The past seems to be a wonderful place to dwell in; between the uncertainty of tomorrow and the struggles of today. I get nostalgic and wish for those days to return, to relive those carefree days, the problems long solved look trifle, almost laughable. Of them school days top the list. Those days which seemed torturous back then(I couldn’t wait to get out of school and be a grown up!) now appear to be the best phase of my life ever. (Where is the guy who had to invent the time turner!?!)

There are times when all I wish for is acceptance; acceptance of things as and how they are(wouldn’t that make life so much better?). Live and let live, might be cliché and so no one takes it seriously but that is the need of the hour, the most important one too. Almost always I wish human beings were a better race, a better people; and trust, honesty, love were  not just words we know. For us to have a little more compassion, a little less hatred, a little more empathy, a little less evil, a little more action, a little less indifference.

The one common wish we all have (for some against our more sensible selves) is to have someone who would bring life to your existence, prove to you that there still might be a little hope for us after all; with who you can be who you are, flaws and everything. If not the entire world maybe just one with who acceptance, trust, faith and love hold true (Implausible in today’s world; hope against hope!).

For a fair world!!! Every single one of us has wished for this one! A considerable part of our lives goes away in grumbling about how unfair the world is, quoting Bill Gates when he said ‘Life is not fair, get used to it’, and then complaining about how he cannot say such things with that kind of money! (You don’t? Ok I do!)

Wishes wishes and more wishes! I remember as kids we had so many ways we could wish for what we wanted and had a child’s belief it would all come true. The sight of a mail van, a goods train crossing the bridge over you, this one’s really funny but wishing every time you saw a Sardarji (Sikh with a turban; no offense but every kid did it, even my Sardar friend who would get up every morning, look at her dad first thing and wish happily!), and then there was that very famous song from the movie Pinocchio which got every kid to Wish Upon a Star. So I’d end up wishing for a holiday during a school week, for a fever during exams, for rains, for attending a real Hogwarts, for a never ending-self refilling-glass of coconut water…you get the picture. Here’s a thought; would you still want something as much you wish for today later?

Cause of this post- Partial insomnia and hunger both of which made way for a tomato and cheese sandwich at 4a.m and itunes running over and over again the recently played songs one of which was this track that’s been running in the author’s  head for quite sometime now.

Calvin and Hobbes

I remember reaching for the newspaper first thing in the morning and flipping past all those pages with incomprehensible intimidating words to the page with all the wonderful looking, coloured cartoons being funny, comic strips! My all time favourites are Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes, and of the two the latter tops the list. And that hasn't changed, even today as soon as I'm up I need to say hello to my favourite pair ever(even though the comic strip ended more than a decade back)and so I start my day with a smile.. a quiet laugh too sometimes.. :)

From Calvin's fantasies about adventures and his friendship with Hobbes, to their humorous antics, to the thought provoking philosophical and ethical questions these two raise, they are simply adorable in their best and worst days.

''Reality continues to ruin my life''

''As a math atheist, I should be excused from this.''

Calvin: I'm a genius, but I'm a misunderstood genius. Hobbes: What's misunderstood about you? Calvin: Nobody thinks I'm a genius.

''I think life should be more like tv. I think all of life's problems ought to be solved in 30 minutes with simple homilies, don't you? I think weight and oral hygiene ought to be our biggest concerns. I think we should all have powerful, high-paying jobs, and everyone should drive fancy sports cars. All our desires should be instantly gratified. Women should always wear tight clothes, and men should carry powerful handguns. Life overall should be more glamorous, thrill-packed, and filled with applause, don't you think?''

"Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?"
"I'm not sure that man needs the help."

"I'm learning real skills that I can apply throughout the rest of my life ... Procrastinating and rationalizing."

...Some of my personal favourite C&H quotes... :) A smile ensured!

Bill Watterson, THANK YOU! :)

P.S.Today's strip=SO ME!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="518" caption="Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson"][/caption]

Monday Movie Marathon!! ♥

A Monday like no other indeed! With a mug of coffee and Sleepless in Seattle!!! And oh did I mention I absolutely LOVE romantic comedies!.. One place, no, the only other place apart from books where you always find happy endings and the best guys ever… I’m not the romantic kind, oh no I’d end up having a fit of laughter if reality was anywhere close, but movies I don’t mind, I totally love them!...Melodrama looks good as long as you know it’s made up. Hypocrisy? No, it is knowing what is and what will never be.

Whatever my views on the emotional sensitivities of the world in general, I totally love to watch it on screen or read about it in books, and genuinely like them even. There are a couple of movies that I’d watch over a million times and never once feel I’ve had enough (Ok maybe not a million but you get the idea). Oh no not the overdose of emotions with unnecessary weeping, unrealistic events, over the top icky romance, no that’s downright pathetic. Those are just plain dumb, exaggerated a little too much for normal sensibilities to live with.

Easy going movies with the perfect ending…♥

I love the idea of a lone heart with just a cat for company finding herself in the middle of a big adorable and loving family, a fiancé she always had a crush on and eventually finding the Mr. Right one Christmas (While You Were Sleeping).

How a single day, even if nothing seems to go right, can turn out to be the best ever (One Fine Day).

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are always so good together, be it in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ or ‘You’ve Got Mail’.

And the Classics! Witnessing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet putting aside their pride and realize they’ve found in each other what they’ve always been looking for (Pride and Prejudice). When the proud Miss. Emma Woodhouse realizes that her heart, which she had been sure would never love, is no longer in her power, and her fate in this matter is now uncertain due to her own misdoings; the dangers of misconstrued romance! And then to see Mr. Knightley fix it all is a delight (Emma). The stately manors, the lush grounds, the carriages, the balls…the feel of 19^th century England…who’d think any different?!

A good start to my week surely, Monday morning blues? SO not for me!

No Tacit Temper

Warning: The author was at the time cranky, irritated, frustrated, depressed, angry, exasperated, affronted..in an indescribable mood. For better effect of the post imagine the author in the most animated form with arms flying all over, eyes popping, eyes rolling, draaaaaaaaaagggging accent at the mossssssttttt feeling words. Also appreciate the author’s herculean efforts to remain civil throughout the post, something that is a formidable task given the state of mind.

AARGGGHHH!!!!... Sometimes.. no scratch that.. Almost always things go awfully wrong and one such incident plunges you into an abyss of such melancholy it’s more vexing than depressing really! Like the vacuum sucking out all the light of the place.

What is really annoying is that the very undesirable bad luck waits lurking in the dark for that one moment when you absolutely need no miracle or a great stroke of luck for things to go smooth and make them work. Smooth running, no glitches, job done. But NOOOOooooo…. Bad luck comes and comes with a force that knocks the day lights off you. Casting its shadows on every turn, a curse upon the happening and there goes the simplest of things that COULD’VE been. And the result? A restless, agitated, frustrated mind! When nothing goes your way, when every attempt of yours comes right back to the ground, and it seems like the universe is conspiring AGAINST you as opposed to doing it for you, nothing else seems to be making sense either!.. You’re thrown into a world on confusion and a restlessness that keeps dragging you back into those murky waters you’d rather stay clear of. Like you’re running amok with the “Target me” sign around your neck, with a bulls eye mark and so the continual bombarding. And this is how I find myself at this very moment. How many times have we shouted out at the sky with the question “WHY ME?”, “WHY THIS?”, “WHYYYYYYYYYY?” .. Ok maybe not everyone is as dramatic but I certainly have. And find myself doing that yet again. :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

WHYYYYYYYY?? :-( Can you not give me a rest? Can you not find a rock to torture?!!!!!Can I not have one single thing go smoothly without any struggles and so much of head-breaking/nerve-wrecking/maddening complications that have me on the brink of insanity? Well apparently no. That’s all the answer I get and a very subtle ‘get on with it kid’. OK SO BE IT!... HMPH!... I may not win but I will definitely put up an undeniably good fight that will make things considerably difficult for the universe to ruin it for me! HA! There you go!.. *deep breaths* *calming down process* Ok I cannot do it, I need yummy food, bye!

P.S. I had to delete all the unnecessary exclamation marks, a direct consequence of my mood!!!!!!!! Poor keyboard of mine..

Rise and shine (:

For someone who lives in a ‘different time zone’, early mornings are time to go to bed, and especially during those wretched days we’re haunted by the ghost of the most unpleasant time of our student life.. EXAMS!! That’s when we turn nocturnal (most of us) and our whole schedule goes haywire.

So today, after a very unsuccessful attempt at studying, I sat gazing out my window. The breeze felt so good and made me feel  so fresh after hours of the head-breaking session with my books, I was tempted and so decided to go for a morning walk( :O), giving my darling Simba and Dad company.

Finding me up and waiting for him Simba was quite ecstatic. Gave me a very hearty, love filled good morning wish (slobbering technically but wth), and then we set out for the walk.

It was then I realized how totally refreshing and rejuvenating a simple morning walk is. We often read in books or papers about the sounds of the birds chirping, the smell of fresh dew, the fresh pollution free air but to experience it is something else. The trees look so green and welcoming, the chirping of the birds is music to the ear, and the air..aah nothing like the fresh morning air, making you feel healthy, just like that. The combination of all these, the cool breeze sweeping across your face while the warm sun rays touch gently is all that is needed to uplift your mood, a big feel good factor, a great start to a day, like a silent prayer reaching out from the smile that morning brings thanking the heavens for this beautiful day, the unpleasantness of yesterday long forgotten.

As I stroll about while Simba is busy finding the right places for doing the job he has to, I find other dog owners walking about with their pets, enjoying the morning along with them. And so I continued enjoying my morning when a few stray dogs caught my sight and I knew it was time to go back home else I would’ve been flying with the leash in my hand while my Simbu chased them. Headed back home, had a glass of lime water to make this morning perfect followed by buttered toast with nutella and coffee, read the paper (scanned actually).

Makes me want to get up at sunrise every day!! Ahem but yea I know myself too well ;)

Cheers to more such beautiful mornings!!

And now I have no idea what to do!! Still have hours to go before lunch time :P Hence the post! Although nature sure is lovely and deserves appreciation, God bless technology(read my laptop, the internet, my ipod and my T.V)! =)