Meeting Madhu

     I was summing up my courage to taste the Rajma at hostel 3 mess, on my very first day of the college. There was this guy sitting opposite to me on the same table, with a stud in his left ear, a clean shave, a tucked in formal shirt, a soda bottle glass thick spectacle and  underneath them, a pair of fierce eyes. It all seemed very contradictory to me. Like the one they show in movies, a gunda getting dressed so well that he looks like a manager at a bank. But I kept my opinions to myself  as I thought he was a senior guy and staring at him would only lead to me getting ragged. In the later days, Madhu told me that he though I was a senior guy and hesitated to talk to me. Years later, when we look back to that day, we laugh our lungs out.

     It so happened one day that I had a big fight with some rowdy guy in college. And when it eventually came down to settling down physically, Madhu stepped in. The more important thing is that he never asked me what was it all about? Not by a single word. And that's what I like about him. Or how he used to curse the professor when he got more marks than me despite copying from myself. Funny! 

     Most times, it used to come down to just two of us up for a thing. Like watching movies in exam times, playing pool while others were busy doing assignments. He used to be friendly with most of colleagues and I hated most. I believe it's the academic trouble that brought us together.

     One more insignificant but memorable incident. We were coming back to hostel in Madhu's car when someone bumped it from behind, on a red signal. Without saying a word, both of us got down, ready to kick some. Thankfully, there wasn't any damage and so we let it go. The point is we had such strong communication between us that we didn't need words. And I am sure that he doesn't remember this. 
     
     Madhu had been a great friend till date and I hope we remain.    

Now Downloading: Dreams

     Was the dream, you had last night, so beautiful that you wanted to spend the rest of your life in it? Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. And you know why? Because in those dreams, you can be whatever you want to be, irrespective of the boundaries of this materialistic world. I can't be superman in reality. That's a physical impossibility. But in my dreams, I can be whatever I want. 

     It's surely not this way: If you are a dreamer, you lack some comforts in real life and seek relief in the virtual world. I think of it as a very creative thing. The weirder it gets, the more creative person you are. Dreams are your imagination's playground. There are well established platforms for various arts. For example, there is sculptures, CAD modeling, Lego, Animation tools etc. (I am not including photography here because I think it's not about creating, it's about capturing beauty which already exists.) If they invent a way to download and transfer data from one's dreams, it would soon become such a platform. And they won't have any limitations as seen in these platforms. Teachers would give homework to students as, ' Go home, dream and draw me a sports car.' The best part is, you don't have to do a damn course to show your proficiency.

     I am not at all kidding here. Haven't you heard the benzene ring story? It's quite fascinating. Even John Lenon told his vision of world peace through dreams. Imagine!

 
   I remember this particular incident in particular when my dad got a new car. I did not know driving at that time and my dad wouldn't let me touch the car unless I go to a driving school. The insane part starts here. I started having dreams about how to drive a car. I really did. I used to practice driving in dreams. I got so confident after that I took his car one day and tried out myself. Surprisingly, I bumped within a few meters. That was what I call as 'reality shock'. And then they made Inception which explained the phenomenon when you can't distinguish between reality and dreams.

    
     When dreams become so good, so larger than life, humans find it tough when it ends. I had this dream in which I was role-playing a mafia like they show in those action movies, wearing a black tuxedo, a Cuban cigar in lips, tens of body-guards, long black car, fancy guns and stuff. Things were taking shape quite quickly in that dream and I hated it to hell when I got woken up by the stupid alarm. I just threw the clock away and closed my eyes hard, trying to force myself back into the dream.  Surprisingly, it did happen. Sometime or other, all of you must have tried this and those who have know that I am not making this up.

River of dreams by Billy Joel

     People wish to remember their dreams, they wish to capture its beauty. Just, if there was a way to download our dreams and view them just like we watch movies. I don't know what  breakthrough research has been made till date on dreams, but they should start experimenting in this field as soon as possible, realizing its potential.

What's With the Ship?

     It's not everyday you see such a large vessel parked so elegantly on a beach. You must have seen this beauty making it to evening news for a past couple of days. For those without a clue, it's an abandoned Srilankan ship, named MV Wisdom, drifted to Juhu beach while being towed away to some scrap yard in Gujarat.  I don't understand why's everybody making such a big fizz about it. Authorities burning down cash to move the bloody thing. They don't freaking understand: It has become as unmoving as the sea itself. 

     People have doubts: Where did it come from, where's it going, why isn't that moving, is it broke? But the big question to me is why do they want to move that thing? It ain't eating nobody. And how many beaches in the world have such a vessel parked at? None! It really looks awesome this way. The beach has witnessed more tourist than ever. People pouring from all side to have a glimpse of this thing. My friends had been talking about it and today I couldn't control the urge to see it myself. It is nice to know how amazing things can happen in India. They should let people enjoy it for a while. May be, they should use it for something like a hotel, museum or just open it for public to see from inside. I am sure people would be ready spare few bucks to see it. I would pay. If they still want to move it, there are two possibilities. First, the authorities don't want people to be happy. Second, they are fools. 

The ship at Juhu beach

Kurt's Suicide Note

To Boddah

Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complainee. This note should be pretty easy to understand.

All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guity beyond words about these things.

For example when we're back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins., it doesn't affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can't fool you, any one of you. It simply isn't fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I'm having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I've tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do,God, believe me I do, but it's not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. It must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they're gone. I'm too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.

On our last 3 tours, I've had a much better appreciation for all the people I've known personally, and as fans of our music, but I still can't get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There's good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don't you just enjoy it? I don't know!

I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can't stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I've become.

I have it good, very good, and I'm grateful, but since the age of seven, I've become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along that have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess.

Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I'm too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don't have the passion anymore, and so remember, it's better to burn out than to fade away.

Peace, love, empathy.

Kurt Cobain

Frances and Courtney, I'll be at your alter.

Please keep going Courtney, for Frances.

For her life, which will be so much happier without me.

I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU! 

The note

The 108 Feet Tall Hanuman

      I get a funny feeling whenever I see this place. The huge Hanuman statue, also known as 108 feet Sankat Mochan Dham, is situated right in the middle of Delhi. It is weird to see such a enormous, unmoving, orange statue amongst all those tall, concrete buildings with shining glasses on them. Amongst all those honking cars, those flashing lights, all the crowd, all the ad-boards. It points out distinctively amongst them. But it looks kind of beautiful. The only thing that disturbs its beauty is the snobby, immortal metro line laid in front of it. India has developed. And so its people. But its amazing to see that people here are still religious and that's a good thing as per me. People buy a new laptop, but before turning it on, they burst a coconut and put up a swastika on it. Funny!

     It looks to me like as if proud Hanuman is watching the city, its people, their deeds, its progress, its filth. If you see closely, he is protecting Lord Ram and Sita, behind his palms, in his chest. It is derived from that part of Ramayan where Hanuman is asked to open up his chest and when he does, they find Ram and Sita resting there. The statue also poses as he crushes the head of a devil with his foot. It implies the victory of good over bad and such similar religious stuff.

     There's more. The open mouth of the lying devil is entrance to the temple having idols of lord Ram and Sita. The core looked just like any other temple. That might be because I am not such a religious. Irrelevant! If you are driving around the Carol Baugh area, Take your heads out of car windows and look up. He shouldn't be too hard to spot.

Entrance to the temple

Gaga Saga

Gaga: a slang for insanity.

Gaga: a slang for obsession.

Gaga: a dancing technique for the regular.
 

No wonder, Lady Gaga has symbolized the three in recent years. A fabulous stage name, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, I must complement. She has launched three studio albums, featured in two tours, won 5 Grammies and literally a hundred other awards; she just doesn't seem to stop. Be it the crazy costumes, weird hairstyles, pop rhythms or the dancing, she has left a print everywhere.

I did not listen to much of pop before Gaga. I have a theory about pop music. It sounds good in mere two places: in a pub and in the backseat of my car. But there's something different about Lady Gaga's songs. Each song is as revolutionary and artistic. Pick up a line from any of the songs and it has some deep meaning attached to it, just like Jim's poetry. Love it.

I really hate it when the media portraits her negatively or when people make comments on dressing style or behavior. Only after watching her interview on VH1, I realised that beneath all the mascara, it's a very sensitive soul in there, trying to break free, trying to show the world what she feels, trying to display her love for art through music, make-up, dance and more. It amazes me when she does experimenting with dresses. The police ribbon costume is my favorite one.

It looks like to me as if she needs fame to survive. As if she can't live without million eyes staring at her, a thousand lips humming her tune, hundreds dressing up just as weirdly. Her first two albums named as The Fame and The Fame Monster. She does remind me of Jim. But I think of all this fame thing as only natural.

Everyone's been talking about her latest single Born This Way and why shouldn't one? She's indeed a genius. She surely picked up some good things at Tisch. May be she wants co transform one's inferiority complex into attitude and pride. 'Fuck the world, this is how I am' attitude. What all those Yes, Yes+ people couldn't do it, she did it just with a song. The world is thankful to her for that. Some might think of this video as viral , anti-cultural or even disgusting; but for her fans it's seven minutes of pure pleasure.

Don't you get it? Lady Gaga taught us to love ourselves, howsoever we are. Even the Gleeks made a version.

We Are Boys

Dear girls,

We might not act like the perfect sons to our parents; they exist only in movies.

We might not talk to our parents about issues; we are boys, we don't talk.

We might call our moms only when we need food or money;

We might flatter our dads just to borrow their cars;

We might help mom in housework just because we need a favor in return;

But we love them as much as you do.

We might look like Homer Simpson to you; trust us, we are Bart.

We might pretend that we are not listening to your stories; we are.

We might not know what is your pet's name; well we might not know it for real.

We know how to drive; please stop giving us instructions.

We might not know what your friend said to you the other day; we don't want to know.

We might pretend that we haven't noticed your new bag; we have.

We love our girlfriends as much as you do.

Sincerely,

boys.

Inflation, Investments and Entrepreneurship

Inflation

The cost of any commodity goes on increasing as time passes. This is called as inflation. All of us must have seen that the prices of land, crude oil, food items and similar commodities goes on appreciating year by year. Let's say, India's current annual inflation rate is 8%; then an object costing Rs. 100 today, would cost Rs. 108 after one year.

If you see it the other way, it's the value of money that goes on decreasing. Buying power is another term used for value of money. Suppose, today you can buy 10 chocolate bars with Rs.100; but after 2-3 year, you might be able to buy only 9 or 8 with the same amount of money. That's the reduction in buying power of money. This is another way of defining inflation.

Investments

Investments gives you returns on your idle resources after a period of time. It creates value addition to your money, thus increasing its buying power than it would have been if kept idle. Most of the people think that, the objective of investment is to get maximum returns with minimum risks. The actual objective is to beat inflation. You should get more money (more buying power) in investments than you lose due to inlfation.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

When the rate of interest is greater than the rate of inflation, it's called as a good investment. When the rate of interest is approaximately equal to the rate of inflation, it's not so good investment. It's like no profit no loss situation.  And the worst thing one can  his money is to keep it idle. He is creating losses in this process and his money would ultimately vanish.

All those people who put their money in savings account or fixed deposit accounts in banks, please check the inflation rate. It is much more than what your bank could give as interest rates. That means you are losing money year by year. It's a bad investment. I would recommend something high return and medium risk financial instruments like bonds, debentures, stocks, mutual funds, forex, gold, land etc. Let's categorize them into two (not on the basis of risk). Bonds, debentures and stocks in one. The rest in other. 

Entrepreneurship

If you invest in the second category, you are doing nothing extra than investing. Wherein if you investing in first category, you are indirectly promoting entrepreneurship by raising capital for an entrepreneur. When you buy shares of a company, you become the shareholders. If you see the bigger picture, you are actually contributing towards country's GDP by creating more start-ups, creating jobs for people.There are countless benefits. And this is how inflation promotes entrepreneurship. 

 

Escape!

He was tramping aimlessly on the streets. Just looking at those old, British styled building; looking at passing faces; looking at speeding taxis in tiger skins; enjoying a cold breeze amid a hot, humid day. Like a juvenile, kicking an empty can of coke all the way. Every time Nikhil tried to understand the city and its people, it rendered him as clueless ad he was before.

He saw a junkie sadhu across the street, like the ones who reside by Shiva temple and practice marijuana (otherwise known as ganja). The sadhu had a big blob of hair on his head, uncut, most probably for years. He wore a half torn, dirty, vibrant orange coloured gown. It filled eyes quickly. He was lost in his own world. And that's only natural when you submit yourself to such a lifestyle. Surrender to lord Shiva and ganja. And still, HE looked like a man with no regrets. Soon, Nikhil's observing turned into stared. Sadhu also noticed a guy in a nice suit and shining shoes, staring at him. Their eyes met. Without speaking a single word, they had a conversation of a lifetime.

Nikhil felt uncomfortable, he quickly turned his eyes and started taking big footsteps. Though his heart beat was pumped up considerably, it wasn't fear. It was sheer awkwardness. He felt betrayed. Betrayed by the system. he felt like somebody has pushed him off the edge. It felt like his college degree, high paying job at an i-bank, a beautiful wife, a shining black BMW car and a posh, sea facing bungalow didn't matter any more to him. He had every luxury one could dream of. He was the man, but still he wasn't. Somehow, that lunatic sadhu was happier, wiser. While he was smoking up his life with the ganja, Nikhil was appearing for exams, making graphs in office, doing financial planning, spending time with his loved ones. Moving up in life. And that was the time he realized that it's never going to happen. Just like a mirage. You run for it and every time it looks just a little further. 

We are prisoners. Prisoners of love, expectations, greed, comfort, society. Prisoners of life! Nikhil got wiser that day and he escaped. The question is, when would YOU?

Next part of the story: Running Away!

The Last British Hill Station

There couldn't be any quicker runaway for a Mumbaikar than Matheran. Being just 90 km away from Mumbai, one actually doesn't need to plan  much to tramp there. He could just put on his shoes and head right there. Neral is the base town and can be reached through local trains. When we got there, we found that the toy train running on Neral-Matheran was called off due to rains. I kind of expected it. This toy train is one of its kind in the country. I feel bad I didn't get a chance to experience it a single time, despite going so many times to Matheran. 

Matheran Hill Rail

We took taxi all the way up. If you visit this place in monsoons, you can notice the frequent, tiny waterfalls at the side of the road. One could just pull over and have a nice little shower there. It's that awesome. Well, we reached the top and had to take tickets to enter Matheran. Let me tell you, there are other ways too. One could just wander through the jungle and get into. 

Falls by the road

It was sunny. We decided to go to Panorama Point first. It was a healthy three kilometres walk there and back. Oh! I forgot to tell you that motorised vehicles are banned here. The most comfortable thing you could get is a horse. At the Panorama point, one could see 360 degrees standing there. Punit explained me the meaning of Panorama and the fact that digicams have such a mode, used to capture long, continuous images.

A lovely path

People talk about hundreds of vibrant colours in a scenery. For Matheran, there are just three. Red, green, blue. The red soil, green woods and blue sky. And it didn't make it any less beautiful for sure. It was getting darker as clouds were having a get-together in the skies. We scrolled back to the main area, called Bazaar. It soon started raining. Gradually, it was all white. It surprised me that being just 800 metres high, we were already walking in the clouds. Punit and Ankit were not ready to get wet, but a little persuasion worked. It felt good, and cold. We had some snacks and started skipping again. 

Bazaar

There is this point, One Tree Hill, which is quite amazing. I loved the empty spaces on that tiny hill, for a change. Other points seemed pretty much ordinary to me. We couldn't take out time to visit the temple on the other side of the hill. There's nothing special about it except for there's a dam nearby. Don't get your hopes  high; they don't allow swimming there. Although there is a club which does this thing. Crossing the valley on a rope. I don't know what do they call it exactly. 

One Tree Hill

Dam reservoirs 

While coming down, we chose to go by the railway tracks. The scenery was just amazing. Also, had a natural shower. It was an awful long  and lonely way down. I noticed some numbers besides the tracks, like the ones they write for informational purposes. 109... after some time 108...107...106. To my horror, those meant fucking kilometres. It was actually 109 km from Neral to Matheran via the railway. I kept mum about the fact and let my friends enjoy the scenery. Tired, exhausted, we took a cab from the first intersection point, to Neral. We reached within minutes. Took a local back home. 

The Railway Track

The Ganesha Idol

As Punit Says - Boys love it, nature isn't too far behind.

My First Afghani Friend

It was a lonely road. The midnight cold breeze, a flickering street light, distant sound of dogs barking made the stroll only more enjoyable. It was silent. As silent as it could get. We were heading towards the main gate of the campus. An auto-rikshaw approached us but it  left us disappointed when we found out that it was already taken. But we still took our chances and stopped it. There was a boy, our age, sitting alone in the corner seat. It was dark and I couldn't see his face properly, so I did not make an opinion about him. 

'Dude, can we share auto till Sindhi Camp? We have to catch a bus.', I asked hesitatingly, while Dodo was looking at sky as if he had no hopes to get a ride.

'Sure! Hopp in.' It brought instant smiles to our faces. We did. 

'Ketan. Final year mech', I said, approaching him for a handshake. 

'Dodo. Same.', Dodo said, bringing an artificial, forged smile.

'Hi! Lativ. Second year civil engineering. Where are you guys headed anyways?' He was talking in a very slow and broken accent. At the same time, his voice seemed full of pride and respect. It hit me that he must be from Afghanistan. I knew that they had some kind of scholarship programme for Afghani students in our college. There were a few in our batch too but I never went their way.

'Delhi', we said in union. 'We'll take a bus to Delhi from Sindhi Camp...'. He didn't let me complete. 

'That makes us friends till Delhi', he said in excitement. 

That last line made me like him instantly. All three laughed healthily. We didn't speak a word for the rest of journey in that old, noisy, annoying auto-rikshaw. We retired at Sindhi Camp just to find out that the last Volvo bus to Delhi was already full. Shit! We turned to other private buses; but no luck. 

'Weird. There are buses to Delhi every 15 minutes. What is it today? WTF day or something?' I said getting a little frustrated. 

'Guys, I can't afford to get late. I have a flight tomorrow, to Afghanistan, at 11. It's gonna cost me a lot if I miss it.' Lativ said in a serious tone. 

'Don't worry Lativ, we'll get you there...on time.' Dodo said promisingly,  putting his right hand on Lativ's shoulder. 

Without wasting a second, we turned to most ordinary government buses. These were the cheapest, dirtiest and most dangerous buses one could get. There was a long queue. I stood in line like a good boy, while Dodo and Lativ were trying their luck to get a cut in the queue. Lativ got one. When he reached the ticket counter, he asked for three tickets to Delhi. There were only two available in that bus. (It surely was WTF day that day.) Lativ was in confusion again. He couldn't decide weather to take it or wait for the next bus. 

'You go ahead. Me and Ketan will catch the next bus. dont worry about it.' Dodo told him. Standing a little behind them, clueless, I could only guess what could be the matter. Both returned with long faces. 

'They had only two left. I said Lativ should take it as he has a flight to catch.' Righteous thing as it seemed to me.

We helped Lativ to put his luggage and bought few food items for him. He seemed awkward. To be sorry or to be thankful. We hugged and said good bye. We got another bus half an hour later. It felt good. Good to have a stranger as friend for such a short time!