I dont like 'em

when love come to town, where the streets have no name
all I want is you-- the sweetest thing, Angel of Harlem
I will follow, with or without you - the unforgettable fire, desire- Pride ( in the name of love)
Bad, I still havent found what I'm looking for!
Sunday, Bloody Sunday!

If you havent figured yet, am talking about U2!
I dont like 'em-- they make you uncomfortably numb!

Rang Gayi Basanti!

" Do you have 3 hrs for your country?" - Shailesh asked at gun point wearing a very serious expresion ( only the gun was fake)-- Thats how I ended watching Rand De Basanti. Shaliesh had used the same formula with Shilpa, Anosh, Amit and Vikram as well...:) Didnot take us long decide between country and "investments support"...:)

Anyways, have been quiet keen to watch RDB- after all I’d heard about it and mostly cuz P told she wouldn’t mind watching it one more time ( she almost never sez such things)..:)
Li'l did we- a buncha 6 nit-wits, laughing at silly pjs, hunting for some smart-ass to gawk at, know what awaited us as we entered the theatre ( New Chitra-- its not very new, but much better than Jyoti).

Dunno about the others...But I did not seem to bear any semblance with teh me that had entered New Chitra. I was silent, lost and deeply contemplative… My team-mates were visibly surprised—they musta thought am incapable of being serious, knowing teh usual me. Well, in my defense, I wasn’t prepared for the climax—it was too real. I was honestly shocked and clearly sad!

Anyways,about the movie,- would put it in the category of DCH- except this had a strong message for the audience to take home. What touched me the most was the depiction of different forms of emotions without trivializing or glorifying any. The bond among the bunch, love for their family ( DJ and his mom),situation at Aslam’s home, depiction of subtlities of Sonia’s love for Ajay- esp when he proposes her, love between DJ and sue- esp when sue is listening to probably the last words of DJ, the awakening in the bunch, the realization of responsibilities and duties for their country, the sudden maturity in the mod n attitude-laden cool guys of today. The manner in which parallels were drawn between 1930s and 2005 was fabulous! The transition from one to other was seamless and most importantly seemed effortless.

And of course- RDB offered some other visual treats apart from "the racing", rustic countryside etc etc –there were some real cool n smart faces on the screen..:)
There was Sukhi- very cute and very very contemporary—He had to just be a part of the screen to bring a smile on you…;)
And then there was a very hansome face- Aslam— deep, mod yet intense- chiseled features
And the most attractive one was of karan..:) – Silent, reserved, sullen... almost rude...yet vulnerable.. My fav!

Wow.. In all, the entire package is great!

Funday- Monday

During the customary treat at ideals, when Shailesh asked the customary Q as a part of the customary interview-“how do you feel?”—I replied spontaneously—“no different from last yr”. When my cake ( yaa.. it had my name on it!..;)) from ‘cakes n bakes’ was put on the table, I knew the time had come to 'taste my own medicine' ( phoebe has something apt for every occasions..:))
On a serious note, my only prayer is – “god, please don’t tell mom”... OK OK..on a really serious note, I feel lighter n happier than ever, least worried, don’t feel older or even a tad-more-matured at all—may be my growth is in the reverse order... :) I am one happy blessed soul among lots of loved ones..:)
My team, roomies I have hardly made much effort to know, my lunch group, my throw ball- group, the bachchas( not really!!!), L2-bench group, – all made yesterday a beautiful day…

Thanks people for making me feel so special and letting me bask in the princess-mood for one more day…J

Hap- Hap- Happy Bday....:)

I couldnt have had a better bday...:)

began with calls and sms last night by some dear frenz and Sonu . Was waken up by anu aunty's call this morning. then amma n papa called.. then sale aunty called and then neetu called.. and then malla-aunty called.. So, in short spoke to most of the people who matter to me..:)

per mamma's instructions..:) ... went to the temple and offered pooja there.

On the way back from the temple, stopped by the office to check on the petit infoscion's day celeberation arrangements.Everything seemed in order. decided I would come back at 1.00 pm .. thats about 2 hrs before the event was planned!

Crashed on my bed watching ... may be the latest on karnataka politics... And the next I woke up when Sandeep called me to inform Dinha was waiting for me! And thats when it hit.. DInha and I were supposed to be the MC for the day.

Rushed to office and prepared the stuff we were gonna talk on stage! Had to change into "red"( dress code). By the time I was ready, had a message from Dinha to come to teh canteen for pizzas. ( pizzas have never been my fav.. but was very hungry) And as I enter the cafeteria-- the entire bunch of volunteers -- around 25 ( all in red) start singing -- happy bday.....was nice..:)

Guess i did a pretty good job on stage with the mcing tooo...the talent show and fancy dress comptt was very engaging...
Seriously, loved walking into the next yr.. next phase.. of my life with innocent eyes and naughty faces all around me...:)

I think am really gonna like this yr of my life...:) Got loads of gifts...:) will go home and check them out...:)

It was indeed a Hap-Hap-Happy Bday!

Cusp Frenz...

It was Jayanta n Resmi's bday!

Had a loooooooong chat over Dinner at Kavitha! The venue was my choice-- actually never been a great fan of 'the place'...the only reason it wins out 99/100 times is cuz of its proximity to the office.

Before dinner, had some practice for throwball- dont know if I will make it to the team-- there are so many girls better than me..:(
Meanwhile, finalized the music track and the team for the Samavesh dance. The team is pretty excited and am very nervous! I think its gonna be fun working with this bunch.. my guess is- wont realize how feb of 2006 came by, watched me and went by,.....:)

Mad-ads is also another area that might need me!

Lucky that the work load is just-ok rrright now! But am not too worried on that front-- am pretty confident I can manage both without compromising on either!

Couldnot play Baddy... just watched a game! Baddy might have to wait till samavesh is over.

khamoshiyan...

Khamoshiyan gungunane lagin...
Tanhayian muskurane lagin...

touching rt?... it makes you look forward to what is to follow...
But sadly, the beauty ends there...
the lines to follow have the usual substandard filmy stuff!...:(

[dil ka haal bataa
dilbar se naa chupa
sunke baat ye
sharm se meri aankein jhuk jaane lagin...]

Sad !!! Very Sad!!!

the lyrics sometimes are utterly ridiculous-- anything ...in the name of catchy lines, you find the kinds of " dupatta goli mares" all around!

Today

MCed the Townhall for Q3.wasnt all that excited initially... Quickly thought of the opening liners 10 min before the meeting was due ...but turned out quiet well! ( ya.. i trying to show off!..:)

Just returning from audition for the Smavesh dance. its definitely a trying excercise to teach 9 girls and 12 guys to dance bharatnatyam!.. but the guys ( n gals) are pretty good!

now have the painful task of selecting 5 girls and 5 guys...

girls i think its gonna be
Deepti ( also plays good baddy)
Shwetha ( plays goos basket ball)
Shilpa ( excellent facial expressions)
Archana ( good posture, with practice will be great)
me ( well...i dance well n play throwball)

guys
Vidhya ( good built..:), plays good volley n football)
Nilotpal ( good built..:), picks up steps very quick, could be a sub in football)
Nilesh (good built..:), picks up steps very quick)
Bevin( extremely impressive dancer- western and eastern)
Amrish (good built..:) n extremely impressive dancer- western and eastern)


Also there were a coupla other good looking guys.. but never mind!...:)
So, you get the idea rt?...:)

missed my baddy prac today!... the audition went on for 2.5 hrs!..

Samavesh dance... makes me nervous!.. I hope we do well.. So much effort and energy being put into music, team selection n choreography.. hope it all pays in a satisfactory way!

Ghav

Ek Ghav mein lete rahoongi
Ek ghav tu lete rehena
phir bhi tere-mere beech ki baat
ho sake to kisi se na kehna...

Chote chote baaton ke woh
chote chote pal
phir na laut ayenge woh
door door se gaye nikal
tu bhi unhe yaad kare hai na?

hai na?

Ek yaad mein lete rahoongi
Ek yaad tu lete rehena
phir bhi tere mere beech ki baat
ho sake to kisi se na kehna...

13th

13th is usually considered unlucky! But it’s been a different story for me so far... and the story dates quiet back- to somewhere in 1970z when my Dad got his current job appt on Dec 13th.
Infy Campus Interview – Sep 13th, 2000
Joined Infy- May 13th, 2002 (first batch after indefinite-[9 months] deferment)
First onsite trip to US- Mar 13th, 2004

13th (so far) has offered significant turning points to me! Without these 13z life would’ve been very different! I wonder what lies ahead…

Anchi Tule Inchi Tule - Kudla DC mele mele

We are in the process of deciding on the choreographer!
Last eve spent some time with my script-writer (Mayuresh), the likely-choreographer (Riyana) and the producer (Sandeep- from HR). Mayuresh turned up with a fundu theme with a pretty strong message (You’ll have to wait till feb for it to be disclosed..:( ) . Riyana with some more direction should do fine ( Not really confident to let her own up the entire thingy) and Sandeep is very generous cuz all the DC needs this time is to win and they dont seem inclined on compromising on anything( so no time to be wasted on negotiations etc…)!Then there is a serious matter of auditioning! Yep I get to have people dance to my tunes..:) J

okes apart, Whatever is happening rings duel bells!—One excites me, promising a helluva experience and the other unnerves me --Will I be able to live up to the expectations?

The pressure is just beginning to mount! Its definitely gonna be one terrfic ride... my biggest worry being--coordinating and harmonizing 10(yeah.. that’s the number on stage) egos...

If you are still wondering what all this is about ---I have been asked to anchor the Dance for Samavesh (inter DC comptt) for Mangalore DC!
Also, the title is not in greek or latin- Its the Mangalore DC's line in Tulu meaning- " see there see here- M'lore DC is at the Top" (Mangalore is known as Kudla in the colloquial language!)

Specimen at press-release in a hospital

I musta fabricated some pain in some part of the body on some morning in sommmm unconscious state –as an excuse to sleep those extra 15 min! I know its not right to fib.. more so with moms. What did I think- I could get away with it like how I had for 15 months with Anu and Pavi!!!
And that’s the background to how I ended up being a –case- at fr. Muller’s (homeopathic) hospital. This was my first time with non-allopathic treatment! Unlike Allopathic, the homeopathic style of therapy begins with “case-details” process wherein the focus is not just the ailment that requires to be dealt with, but to know the ‘case’ (me here) in detail. Going by the comprehensive questionnaire I was subjected to, my conjecture is either they found the specimen (yep…me!) very interesting (read rare/complicated/unique) or they wanted to put into practice the just-taught ‘iterative method of case-detail gathering’!
Mom and I were summoned to a room with no windows and only one long table which could accommodate 8 chairs. There were 6 student-docs 1 of which was asking me questions in a pretty heavily mallu-accented English (something I have got so used to, that if I don’t hear it around me I feel alienated). She began filling a notebook with my answers. Initially, I felt very much like the specimen-rat on the dissection table in Bio-lab that Shirley ma’m used for elaborating the different digestive/respiratory/reproductive organs. The remaining 5 student-docs were religiously taking notes continually- their pens running non-stop (if these pens worked on the principle of inhalation-n-exhalation, they’d have definitely met their maker within minutes).

After a li’l while, the lady shifted gears and got interested in my nature. She started showering me with more abstract queries (I bet the lady had moved from physiology to behavioral details on her notepad. I was being asked questions like “Do you get angry immediately or are you very calm always”, “ What food do you like the most”, “What weather do you like the most”. “What do you feel like eating more- spicy food or chocolates”. “What dreams do you get?” “What scares you the most” … I began to feel like a celebrity at a press release! Though I like to think of myself as a pretty smooth-spoken( ok ok talkative) girl, all I could come up with are tongue-tied one line answers and that kinda thwarted the reporters errr... docs-in-the-making! My mother came to my rescue and seemed to fill them with exactly what they were all looking for. Then suddenly when the lady asked my mom to step out for a while I got suspicious! But I realized the lady-doc-in-the-making seemed more nervous than I was. After some consultation with her other colleagues on the table she mustered the courage to ask—“can you please tell us about your college life”. I wondered why was she so uncomfy about asking about my college days—Anyways—I went—“I was very study-oriented and most of my time went in traveling since I was a day scholar…blah blah..” She didn’t seem too impressed with my ans and so asked-“did you enjoy your college life” to which I went “ I studied and I got the kind of grades I wanted. I was assured of a job while in campus. So, yep I was happy”. The lady still wasnt swayed and What came next was kinda shocking –“please do not hide anything from us. We will be able to give you medicine only on the basis of what you tell us.”... And that is when it clicked my thick-head! :)
Its funny how even the docs can’t bring themselves to ask simple and straight questions like – ‘have you had sex before’ and settle down to weird circumlocution like “did you enjoy your college life’!!! Its funnier how I too used to feel awkward and almost embarrassed talking about the three-lettered-word sometime back.
This reminds me of an incident at mke. My very close friend A had to be taken to hospital once. I accompanied her to the ‘inspection room’ the doc was asking some preliminary details. Doc: ‘married?’ A: ‘No.’ Doc: ‘had sex?’ A (and I) surprised for a moment! Doc: ‘Indians?’..:)
What brought about the wake is what I too can’t recall.

Anyways, getting back to press-release: After realizing how vanilla my college life was, the docs lost interest in me and asked me to wait outside along with mom. After summarizing my 25 yrs of being to their head-doc in about 40 min, mom and I were summoned to another room with no windows(doesn’t homeopathy take into account the O2: CO2 ratio) and a small table with 3 chairs. The head-doc was a pleasant lady. She told my mom I was normal and prescribed some powder and some sweet round pills to make my immune system stronger and asked me to visit her in a week’s time. In all, my mom seemed satisfied with the head-doc! The relief on my mom’s face was enough of medicine for me. :)

When I was waiting at the dispensary and was almost happy it was all over, the same mallu lady came running to me. ‘There is one question I forgot to ask- Please spare me a minute’ I smiled accommodatingly. And the last question that inaugurated my weekend was—“Do you feel happy when some one consoles you?”

I wonder how chandler would have responded to that?..:)

Samavesh in the air...

its in your fingers.. its in your toes...
Prep for Samavesh, 2006 has begun in earnest!

Was Vikram's Bday yesterday...I saw him the first thing when i walked into L3N and sponatneously put forward my hands to wish him--- forgetting just yestaerday I had suggested to the team about some surprise celeb!. Yep.. people were surprised.. only its was those who were not intended to be!...

In the eve, during the customary ideal's treat, had a loooong fun chat with the entire team (Shilpa, Shruti, Shailesh, Dinup, Rajesh, Vikram, Anosh and Hansel- I like this team..:))--- Was amazed at some stories that hansel shared about -Synergy Observations- gathered from his friends.--- Its surprising that people have so much time to notice and report -such- stuff! No.. am not gonna talk any further..;)

Was also surprised people not only remembered Jan 21st but also the Jan 21st of 2005!...

Anyways, Happy Bday Vikram!...
May you always have a eggless cake to cut on all your bdays..:)

Too beautiful to be left behind...

You came into my life..
Like the first rays of the sun, the first hint of spring..
You were a new page,a new chapter,a new book.

You brought into my life..
A new attitude,a new joy,a new perspective
A new world...like I had never seen before.

I saw you, heard you..
Felt the essence called you.

I couldn't touch you
I couldn't tell if it was really you,when I reached out to you.

I embraced what you sent my way
Made you mine, because the feeling was so strong.

Until the day you walked away..
Did you really have to?


I still see you, feel you..
Only to realise I don't belong to you.
I want to reach out to you, only this time I know, you don't want me to.

I have held onto my feelings for so long..
But now I think I have the courage to accept.

I have the courage to let go, and say adieu.

( this was sommmme chap's adieu to the year 2005... - found it too beautiful to discard it as Justa Another Forward..)

New yr- 2006

Spent the last day of last yr in a small village on the shores of the arabian sea with Ajjer, Akka, Amma, Mama, Malla-aunty, Anu-aunty, Sam-aunty, Soni, Ayesha, Raksha and Atul. We walked into the new yr watching shreya goshal's performance on DD..:) It was fun.

I know My Yr -2006 will be bigger and better... very much like how 2005 turned bigger than 2004!...

Strangely, I do not want to look back at 2005 and retrospect (which is my customary ritual)!
I do not want to revisit the snow and sand I have passed (probably cuz snow like mke- was a nice dream and is nice as a dream- would not want to get back to it) , the winters and summers I have crossed ( Becccccause after the most wintry-winter of my life in mke, when the sun started shining its just gotten shinier and summery-er with each passing day in the ever-summery m’lore), the transitions I have been through with each changing season, No… not fly my own kite about feats I have achieved(simply cuz I have done enough of that the entire year..:)) or drag my feet over my setbacks ( only cuz—can’t remember (m)any..;))
–
I just want to savor the sour-sweet (ok honestly, mostly sweet..;)) taste of 2005 and await the huge turning-points that 2006 offers me!