Auto-suggestion

Those who know me well know that I've had a long, colourful history of interactions with autorickshaw drivers all over India. The most recent one of note, that didn't end in me losing 5 years of my life due to stress, went something like this...
I need to be somewhere by 8 am these days, and it's such a joy taking an auto at 7 am, cruising down half-empty roads with the cool Bangalore morning breeze tickling your tonsils.
I noticed today that the auto driver was enjoying it too. He had his head wrapped Arafat style, which not only protected him from the said cool breeze, but (as I soon discovered) also deprived him of peripheral vision! He'd gaze entranced at the sight of the rolling lawns of Cubbon park, and because he had to turn his head to the left to actually see it, he wasn't aware that slowly he'd begin pointing the nose of the auto in that direction too. And when he finally looked forward, he'd jerk to a halt with an "Uhh" sound because a motorbike had suddenly materialised in front of him out of nowhere. Then a few kilometers down, he'd be lost again at the sight of some other park to the right, and of course his auto would follow. Then, "Uhh"!
So for the entire 12-14 kilometers, we went wheeeeee (meander left) - Uhh - whoooooo (meander right) - Uhh - wheeeeee - Uhh - whoooooo - Uhh.
I soon found myself chanting this in my head again and again - wheeeeee - Uhh - whoooooo - Uhh - wheeeeee - Uhh - whoooooo - Uhh!
Much like the adoring crowd at Obama's victory speech, chorusing fervently, "Yes, we can!"

For my brother

Tomorrow will see me at a new place of work - a conscious decision to change, taken at the urging of the voice in my head that kept saying I had to do this, despite there being zero guarantees for a better future, and the hard fact that I would be leaving the one person behind that made going to work as personally rewarding as anything I would choose to do in my spare time.

This song is for him:

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to
A time for peace, I swear its not too late

The Epiphany

You know what would make life perfect?

If choconut sundaes could hug.

Oops

I have this friend who calls me every so often pretending to be someone from the credit card company, my place of work, my bank, random vile man, etc. etc. And of course he'd laugh and laugh, mighty pleased with his own joke. I thought I'd wised up and knew his voice well enough to catch a gag immediately. But I learned there's something as being too wise....
I get a call from someone calling himself Joshua, claiming to be from some consultancy or the other trying to offer me a job. Since he sounds exactly like my friend, and I thought no one is called Joshua, I go on and on telling him how jobless he is to make these random calls. Joshua on the other hand, keeps going "Excuse me....what.....sorry...?" Finally he says, "Look this isn't a prank, I really am Joshua, and I'm calling about a job you might be interested in..."
I'm like ooops!!!! What could I say after that? "Sorry Joshua, I'm not interested."
Thank God I wasn't rude!
I'm going to kill that friend of mine! His wife who secretly reads my blog better warn him!

Blowing in the Wind

I like going back to Cal cos my folks are there, and some of my closest friends are there; but after a few days I'm dying to come back to Bangalore. This, however, is not the city I'm planning to settle down in. I'm petty certain I'll want to move out in a year or so. For the last couple of years, I've been telling people I want to live and work in Singapore, and that's something I might pursue, but again, am sure I won't stay there too long.

There's something I'm looking for - an answer to a question I'm not even sure of, but I find it sometimes in the air when I'm trying to cross a busy street, and am stuck on the divider for waiting for the traffic to thin so I can go all the way across. I realize that I'm a part of the world, doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing at that moment by crossing the street and getting to where I'm headed. Sadly that kind of clarity of purpose doesn't last long, and within minutes I'm wondering what I'm doing with my life.

Will I'll find the answer if I stand on the divider long enough? Or is that the only place from where my destination is in plain sight?

Kolkata Report

Here's what didn't happen:
Bag shopping
Nizam rolls
CCFC
Cha bar
Gurusaday Road Barista
BUT, here's what happened:
Laptop, camera, dvd player stolen. Yes, stolen. In the night when 7.5 people were asleep with the light on. Don't these things only happen to other people? :-(

Charge of the Child Brigade

Child to the right of me;
Child in front of me;
Child to the back of me;
Screeched and clamoured.
Nose wrinkled, temper contained,
Valiantly I fought
My sanity to maintain.

Was this the seat from hell or what? I can honestly say that this was my worst flight since the time I puked all over my mom 29 years ago!
Child to the right: was asleep the entire time, but kept me awake with the strong aroma of babypuke that it was emanating.
Child in front: bong kid travelling with its grandparents, the grandmom of which would threaten every 2 minutes, "Tiger aashchey, tiger aashchey" (the tiger is coming).
Child behind: never saw the kid, but heard its eager parents go Arya, square...Arya, fold the paper...see, triangle...Arya, fold again...see small triangle....Arya, this....Arya, that....Aaaaaargh!!!

Don't get me wrong; I like kids, but in small doses and clean-smelling. Am now racking my brains to figure out a way to book a seat that's at least 5 away from anything below 12 years of age!