Things to do at 3 AM !!

Its 3 AM...

And i wonder what i could do...
I decide to make a note of my thought process...

1. Try to sleep
.
.
.
*After a hopeless attempt*

2.Clean my room
.
.

*Naaaaah! Its SUNDAY!! :) *

3.Try on my new jeans
.
.
.
.
*15 mins later, with a contented smile*

4.Try to sleep, Again
.

*I am an insomniac*

5.Read Barrons
.
.
.

*Who you kiddin' ?*

6.Wash Clothes
.
.

*The clothesline is full.. No place to dry them.. So why bother*

7.Listen to music
.
.
.

*The earplug keeps falling off... Damn i need to buy headphones!!*

8.Log on to yahoo messenger, orkut, gmail..
.
.
.
.

*I wish i knew people in different time zones...*

9.Write a blog
.
.

*And now i m happy*

10.Last call for sleep to come
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

*z z z z z z z z z z z z

No time to stand and stare..

Life's moving fast... too fast i must say...
The mother of all problems - No time!!

It reminds me of a poem by W.H.Davies...
And i wonder... how could he have possibly penned those lines..
So apt and relevant today...
He wrote it much before its times..

I think we should all read this sonnet every once in a while..

I m putting it up... for all of you'll who visit this blog..

"

Leisure

- W.H.Davies

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

"

A very poor life indeed !!

Back to the Future

Its Saturday 6:00 pm...

I came back from college ... Completely Drenched...
Its still raining..
God.. will it ever stop...

Shopping trip had been planned...
Dad isn't too keen to meet up at Camp..
Friend A has to study..
Friend B is already out shopping..

I search my cellphone for a prospective Friend C...
Finding none... i throw myself on the bed... Infuriated..

I look at my watch... 6:30 .. on a Saturday Eve.. not to forget..
I look outside the window..
Damn It .. its STILL pouring...

Should I go alone...?
I used to, and still do, most times..
Nah... Tom's Friendship Day.. IT seems..
The thought of not having company... feels really appalling...

I miss MOM...

Mebbe i should coax Friend A...
Chuck it.. Learn to be on your own Missy..

The rain has stopped...
7:00 pm Saturday..

I think of the last time I went out on a Saturday ...
About 4 months ago... I dont remem... I try not to...

I think of Katy...
And the discs we'd promised to go to.. The next time we meet...

I think of the times when i was always happy...
I wonder if I should go ALONE after all...
Its too late...

I miss HOME...

I wonder what could get me going... Mebbe doing something i like ...
I think of all the things I love doing...
Which i did .. For many many years...
Maybe its time to start all over again...
Go back to those things.. Which got lost in transition.. (from the person i was then to the one i am now... )

Here goes...

1.Jigsaw Puzzles

2.Origami

3.Embroidery
4.Knitting

5.Scrabble

6.Roller Skating
7.Swimming
8.Basketball

9.Bharat Natyam

10.Cartoon Network
11.Laurel & Hardy

12.Carmen Santiago

13.Christmas Carols
14.Singing in the Choir

15.Glass Painting
16.Ceramic Pottery

17.Cycling

18.Elocution

19.Poetry Reciting
20.Acting

There's a lot to catch up on...
Mebbe it'll take many Saturdays

8:00 pm
I have lots to do...
Its already one Saturday gone...
So much i can do... ALONE ...

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY , AKSHAYA..!!!

Adios amigo...

A few days ago, I went to meet a friend of mine, who was leaving for the US. We hadn’t met in a long time.. Actually we never met much anyway.. Probably only those few months in college when we together in college , after which he graduated…

After the good byes, I left with a lump in my throat… the kind you have… when you bid farewell to your next-door neighbors of 15years, who are moving to a new city.. never to come back.. or maybe your FAREWELL party in school, your second home for 12 years…

I thought of the first time I saw him, when he came to our Graphics lab to announce about the college magazine committee , which he was a part of..

He was one of the first seniors I became friends with… That too towards the end of my first year… He was so particular about involving each person of the committee.. And when we had the picture taken, he ensured that every single of us... who had done even a small part in the committee was present for the picture… Something that really stood out…

An acquaintance that grew into a friendship, which has helped me, every time it mattered…

From EXTERNAL PRACS to PAPERS to GRE to MS to PROJECTS to PLACEMENTS..

there’s one person, I always knew, I could (and still can) count on …

I wonder how he does so many things at a time (a full time job and a full time MBA which he tops)… And I can say the most deserving candidate to receive an admit to CMU… A perfect icing on the cake..

Truly my friend – philosopher (at times) – guide throughout my engineering…

And my lucky charm (engg is all abt luck!!).. He never forgets to wish good luck before the exams.. Exactly at the time of late even.. when the tension begins to make you queasy…

I stifle a sob, smile and think.. Well he’s just going to be an email away!!

Jus want to wish you well, the best of health-wealth & spirit… And praying that all your “Dream”s come true…

To Abdur…

Who’s the smartest of 'em all

This afternoon was just as boring as any other, and for lack of anything better to do, I decided to watch a movie while having lunch. I looked through my movies folder and was contemplating which movie to watch. I had seen most of them over 10 times , but there was one movie which I had completely ignored, on purpose.

I had seen it once many many years ago and even at that young age I felt this movie was special. I had never had the time to watch it again. And so I decided that this afternoon , almost 10 years after I had seen the movie, was the right one after all…

~ FORREST GUMP ~

There’s just something about the movie, that grows on you… I don’t know what it was… Its not very romantic, its not very funny, its not very sensitive… But there that honesty which strikes you right at your GUT.. Its amazing how this guy with a BELOW average IQ, goes on to live this extraordinary life…

When I finished watching the movie I had this BIG lump in my throat… I mean, what do we not have in life. I have a decent IQ, I landed my first job, I do reasonably well in class… but amidst all this, we have all lost the ability to think simple and appreciate life … The unassuming nature of FORREST is unnerving…

Maybe having a high IQ is after all not a measure of smartness…

Maybe not being ‘SMART’ is not such a bad thing after all…

Life becomes so much easier when you believe no one is out there to get you…

When you have nothing to prove…

No expectation of reward or acclaim…

Just do what is right…

And what the voice of your heart, which was long silenced by your various aspirations, tells you to do…

Maybe I’d rather NOT be SMART after all…

The reason of it all...

This blog has been idle for over two months now, for the lack of an appropriate beginning. Until finally i thought of something, which is instrumental for me being the person i AM ... It is something I have always wanted to write about, to chronicle as THE most important event of my life.

It was largely responsible for the 3 things that i value most

The ability to speak my mind...
My confidence..
&
My love for poetry

Std V it was, the Youth Festival in school.. Already riding on the high of securing a rank in Std IV scholarship exam, i was chosen to represent RED house in the elocution competition..

Ms.Samanaz, the RED house teacher, and the BEST English Teacher there ever was, gave me the story i was to narrate.. It was actually a poem from the 10th Std book, TANSEN. She gave me the Navneet DIgest of Std X and asked me to mug up the whole Story form that the give as a part of the explanation..

Unfortunately for me, the folks at Navneet who need a Crash Course in Precis writing, had managed to fill up quite a few pages, to explain the poem.However after 3 days of re-reading the story for the 'enth' time, i managed to remember it. That ,however, was the only simple task in the whole process...

What followed was a rigorous practice session which involved - eye contact with the audience and the judges, a certain conviction in your voice, voice modulation, and most importantly .. to be audible to the entire auditorium without a mike..

By the time the day of the competition dawned, my entire family of 10 members knew the story by-heart.I've never practiced for any any public speaking event after this one.. thanks to being gullible, earnest, hard-working student in Std V. (i wonder the good traits never stick with you) After that event the aforementioned qualities we only a distant dream :)

THE GRAND FINALE
Picture this- My entire school from Class 1 to 10 as well as all the staff and some other nuns from the Convent were assembled in the audi.. There were 12 participants in my category (Std V to VII.. one from each Std for each house)

The teacher at the mike was calling out each participant.. to come and speak..
A few fumbled, some forgot, some did well,, there was this eerie silence(when each participant spoke).. followed by applause
SILENCE-APPLAUSE-SILENCE-APPLAUSE-SILENCE-APPLAUSE- "Participant no 7"

My feet were pulling me along...i went on stage..n all of a sudden i felt at home.. my eyes wandered JUDGE 1 -- JUDGE 2 -- JUDGE 3 n then Sister.Principal.. i started speaking n words just kept pouring out.. for 10 mins there was a SINGLE voice in the audi.. n finaly it went like this "What we learn is that anything done for the LOVE of it turns out to be the Best" which was taken form the last line of the poem "I sing to Thee, He sings to GOD"

Was i too soft, too loud ?? was my intonation right? Did i complete on time? MY mind was gonna explode!!

And then there was an ear-deafening applause... Ms.Samanaz, JUDGE 1 and Prinicipal were on their feet...It was the MOST humbling as well as most exhilarating experience of my LIFE..

From that moment i have always believed, i could achieve anything i wanted to.. A certain solid confidence which has sustained me till today..
And for that - To TANSEN - To Inayat Khan (the poet) - To Ms.Samanaz I shall always be indebted..

PS: The results were announced the next day, and I won 1st. I've won many competitions after that, but i still believe that was my best speech, jus like the poem ended, i did it with a certain honesty and purity of mind, which I could never repeat...