A Walk in the Rains

One fine evening, i was headed home after a hectic day at work. It was raining heavily... no.. wait a minute, it was .......pouring!!!
So there i was... walking by myself.... right outside one of the busiest places on this earth- Andheri Station- at my own pace, listening to radio, with a flowery print umbrella trying its best to save me from the lashin water drops, a partially wet paper bag carrying my staple snack- Chicken Mc Grill (with cheese) -.. and coke..... jumping across the puddles... listening to Dil hai Chota Sa... bouncing down the crowded street to my home, happy.. 'just like dat'.... thinking that this is the perfect end to my day... nothing could ruin my life where my boss and colleagues loved me, roomies were like a family and i had music to define my life and its moments. (family and friends not to get offended, plz..... ur role goes without saying :D)
But i was wrong. Cause right then came along a giant 'khadoos lal dabba' and splashed all the muck in the world on probably the only truly happy soul on S V Road!! . Snapped me right out of my dreamworld! I had to dive to save myself from the most dangeous things on our roads- an autorickshaw!!
And you won't believe me..... that was exactly the same instant that Dil Hai Chota Sa stopped playing... n the lady with the seductive voice started yapping about life and solitude and missing links ..... DAMN!!!!
need i go on?

Men that We've Known

Think about this.... at some or the other point in life... you, like me, may have shared a few moments of your life with a Man
who was too ambitious for existence of his own happiness.... so obviously no one else can figure in
who was self obsessed... even if that was a little less than his obsession for you
who was simply a male chauvinist pig
who was still stuck on a childhood sweetheart
who always came along at the wrong times
who was an egotist (also very cute)..... and Man! He redefined that word....
Perfectly capable of honestly, whole heartedly loving a woman.... and being commited to her...
And going overboard proving this , one step short of snatching the stars from the sky for you, and make perfectly entertaining fools out of themselves.
huh! i just read what i've written above n i realised that i've got to clarify something here- THESE ARE ALL DIFFERENT TYPES THAT I JUST MENTIONED. i wasnt specifically criticising one man (not that that would be difficult to find)

My point is that its not always about the fact that they dont know.... WHAT WOMEN WANT!

Caution: This blog has not been written by a feminist.

Podcast from the Past

I found my shuffle after a year.
Hadnt used it in a looong time.
I turned it on.
Put on the headphones.
And it felt different....
The music began.
I felt different....
That puzzled me.
Something to do with the man who used it last.
The song list-part his part mine.
part what was our's.....
Brough a smile to my face.
Memories never felt closer.
travelled back in time not just to remember moments
but to feel them.....
each song a different journey
time machine flying me to places
back in present now
what am i doing?
listening to songs in languages i don't understand
don't want to say more
within the confines of those headphones is our world
still.....

Its sometimes saddening to grow up...

Back in college i was crazy about Abhishek Bachchan.. somewhere around the time Dhoom, Dus, Zameen, B&B and a few others released. I never missed his movies, sat in the front row, (yeah, girls in Pune do that) and god knows how many movies my roomies and Anant have suffered even though they hated him ...just for me. Infact, Ant and Aparna went around the theatres, telling the managers that their six year old niece loved AB Baby and it was her b'day and thats how i got four Junior AB huge posters in ma hostel room.
So...hope that gives you an idea about how much i liked him. And if still not sure about how crazy my family can get regarding the Stars, read this- my mom and her sisters went on a fast when Big B was critically injured during Coolie.
So..... I am a journalist now..... A SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT. i now get kicked about meeting Kishore Biyani, Kumaramangalam, Yash Birla, Anand Mahindra and the likes.... Have also come across the whoz who of Bollywood. And today.... i saw him. My heartthrob of college days (which aint so long ago). Heart skipped a beat... but thats it. I went about doing my thing, asking my questions to the Company people (He was there as the brand ambassador), acting all serious and responsible... yet noticing his mannerisms.. his smile.. the naughty expressions...
But still... am a little sad. I should have been the old me... who would have got excited at all of this... done something wild and stupid...n thn told the whole damn family about my adventure.... And made 'the day i met abhishek bachchan' a memorable day. i aint 'starry eyed' anymore but i wish... i wish i was..... coz its nice to be a child sometimes.... and be lost in that world of innocence. Wat say?

Delitalia- From an Ignorant's point of view

Backgrounder: I live with four frenz. The fifth one is in Delhi, d only one away. She visits The Family whenever finances.. and bosses allow. This time before she landed in Mumbai, she already knew where we would go lunching (yes, madam actually believed we would let her leave for Pune after spending half a day with us!! Audacious!!)
'Delitalia!' she announced. And we wondered how she knew about the latest new place in which forever seemed to be booked.
"Research" she told the ignorant lot. So thats how we landed at thenewly renovated previously called '11Echoes' bang opposite Juhu Beach... now known as Delitalia. Classy(and glassy, which is good cause you get to enjoy the road and the beach view).. a little too Sophisticated... u'll always find few known, if i may say Page 3, faces around... also get to hear Opera Music (atleast thats what it sounds like) . Not really place for three loud 'excited about life' journalists and a 'where am i stuck' engineer. Yet we managed.
We struggled with the pronunciations... and (ehem.... prices), we finally ordered a nice appetiser and a round of Sangrias and Martinis. Yummmm
The pizza is aviodable. The Pastas average. But yeah, the ambience and the drinks sure work their charm. Plus, company always matters.
So if you have lots of money to burn and want to go to a nice peaceful place... if you have a taste for classical western music.. and don't know your Italian food too well.... You might as well book a table there tonight!
Else, join us at Firangi Paani.......

losing the human touch?

When i got out of my home today.. i was super late. Overslept.. cursed the alarm..got ready in a rush. was still munching on the last bits of my breakfast wen i reached downstairs.. only to find no ricks around. well, cudnt get more late... so started walking... no ricks on the road either.... not even on S V ROAD!! no traffic jams at all.... didnt have to jump left right to save myself from autorickshaws speeding in from random directions....didnt have to run a few steps.. stop all of a sudden... wriggle between two ricks.. damn!! dats was a boring walk to Andheri Stn!! Was still sweating.. skin felt burnt...n already worrying about how will i reach hyatt for my meeting in the eve.
but wait a min... dat wasnt the point to this blog.....
sorry for deviating..... i do talk too much
the ricks are on a three day strike to rebel against electronic meters being made compulsory. why? i dont know. seems like govt decided without asking them. logic says also coz they are difficult to maintain. dont think they cant be tampered with thoug. whatever be the case... a three day long strike.. some 14lakh three wheelers off the road... for just this one thing? paise ka chakkar babu bhaiya...
interesting to see such sentiments of revolting.. making their voice heard didnt come along a couple of months bck when their cabbie buddies were being beaten up... when their cabs were damaged and windshields broken. No emotions came about then to stand up, talk and go on a strike. so wat if the guy next to me is injured.... and his cab not in a state to run anymore. i need to earn my daily bread, right?? ofcourse.... i've issues with an electronic meter which is yet to prove how harmful it can be to my life.
materialistic world. emotions buried under heaps of money concrete. 20 years we waste in studyin to get a job... 40 years we shall work day n night.. always aiming for another appraisal, a better job offer... more savings for that home, that car.....
thats life. that how i shall live it. happily. successfully. but once in a while... i shall let the human in me get a say.. wat about you?

We Were Had!!

people say that am not passionate about many things inlife. True. It is difficult to stir up emotions, passion... the fire within me for things......... but the whole world also knows that journalism, activism, social responsibility (without having to scream rights for women) does something to me. Anything related to the fourth estate does effect me.. even more so now when i am finally a part of it. As a person, i find it difficult not to defend my loved ones, my frens, my job and so on. even if wrong, i can't take other people saying that. funny. stupid. me.

Today i break this trend. i am here to abuse my own media world. The industry which gives me zest to live on... work harder... and job satisfaction has got me frustrated for a change. n mind u, its something that has just begun to happen ever so often.

we all know about celebrities' and socialites' hunger for limelight. their publicity stunts are famous world over. what i never really thot about is why would media fall for these stunts and makes these fictious stuff sound like earth shattering news.

A reputed journo decides to take rumours of a couple splitting up on front page.

A multinational giant, which has more than 30% market share in any category that it is present in, resorts to a cheap publicity stunt. Why?

A happily married couple leads people into believing that they were heading for a divorce when they were secretly plannig of renewing their vows. Why?

I cannot imagine feeling more led down.. agitated.. vulnerable to tricks of MNCs and Celebrities as i did last week. I am not even a part of the entertainment media. was not even aware of how the news created a buzz thru out the day in the media. but i did catch on faster than entertainment journos (here is wen i feel like degrading them by saying PAGE 3 REPORTERS) that it was all a lie.. that the story was planted... that two people along with one of the biggest creative agencies in the country had fooled the media ... that they were laughing abt it... smirks all around ... gloated egos enjoying the success of their event and plot....

and media... ah! my beloved 'trash' community people were still climbing over each other, fighting, shoving and nudging to get bytes from those who had just fooled them.

True, the reporter nailed the husband n wife the next day in his story. but was dat anough. was there really any damage done? except that event got the desired publicity. stupid. stupid. stupid. and then the readers are told YOU WERE HAD! like, really? Readers don't freaking care!! they dont care if saif n kareena appeared tog again.. what they did inside the make-up van... if sanju n manyata are legally married or not... if ash is missing her father-in-law while she is overseas celebrating her anniv...like one of the recent columns in ma paper said... all this is supposed to be the side dish... not the main course!!!