So finally after a very long break I decided to update the blog. So I had a fab three weeks vacation in India, and one of those weeks was solely in Goa. Sun, beaches, sand, water, friends, a wedding and MOST importantly...FISH. A totally different experience of doing a road trip to Goa with friends, a full-on masti bhara wedding, first time ever para sailing (yes baby!)...a few highlights of the Goa trip. Back in Bombay had a good time meeting up with old friends, spending evenings at Barista (which has become ridiculously expensive), meeting eM finally (yea she signed the book for me), meeting a few new people. All in all full paisa vasool trip.
Work has now started again full-swing and I am back to my daily routine, which is also actually great. What is distressing although is reading the newspapers again. In those three weeks in India if there was one thing that I religiously did, then it was staying away from the news (which would have probably depressed me anyways). So now we have the Ram Sena joining the bandwagon of moral policing. So sometime in the afternoon these guys decide to show up at a pub in Manglore and start thrashing up the ppl there (girls included). Apparently women going to pubs is now against the Indian culture....
It's very easy to get very passionate about this and therefore I shall refrain from making any strong statements about the Indian culture. What I do understand is that India is a democracy and in a democracy the population has been given certain freedom and certain rights, one of which I would like to believe is the right to have a good time (so long as you are not disturbing others). But no... apparently Indian women bring shame to the society by going to pubs (never mind the fact that Indian men visiting dance bars is perfectly acceptable). When are we going to grow up and start behaving like a country that actually has survived 60 years of democracy? Why is it so easy for one person to ignite such passionately ruthless emotions among so many others who then decide to just blindly follow what this person is preaching? I mean dude wtf is wrong with these people? What is it that makes them so driven by emotions that they actually start pulling women by their hair and just beating them?
I don't quite have the answers to all these, but the only thing I can think of is that there are way too many people in the country who don't have a whole lot to do, and apparently we must also be having quite a few people who must be pretty articulate. Honestly, all you need is a good speaker and he/she will be able to arouse all those passionate feelings in the public just like that...And to think if only those people put all that energy to constructive purposes......Unfortunately a lot is dependent on that two letter word...IF. If 'if's' and 'and's' were pots and pans then there would be no tinkers!
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Monday, 1 December 2008
Where to from here?
Warning: This post is going to be very emotional and is likely to ignite passionate feelings in you the reader. Don't tell me I didn't warn you beforehand.
All right so Mumbai burned for 60 hours and we watched. Some of us on tv, some of us from close range, some of us through news channels reporting it live on the internet (thank God for good internet speeds) and some of us refreshing the timesofindia.com website every now and then. So bad men enter city, fire randomly at people, hold people hostage, kill innocents, kill the ones protecting the innocents, get killed....news over. Far from it. In fact this is where the story begins. What next? Where to from here?
It's not that Mumbai has not been attacked before. Quite the contrary in fact. Mumbai is not new to terror attacks. What Mumbai is not used to is such well planned massacre of innocents, and such lack of respect towards the city by it's very elite. The less we speak about politicians the better. That would perhaps be best discussed in a different blog post where I can sit and bash them. But hang on there is a bigger question at hand here. Mumbai faced serial bomb blasts 15 years ago and they came by sea. 15 years down the line they still come by sea....what have we learnt in this past decade?? Apparently nothing....All that our govt. is good at is the blame game, and that has already begun. Rather than taking a united stand against terrorism what are the people who are responsible for our safety doing?
All of us are at this point very proud of the brave policemen, the army, the navy, the firemen and of course the NSG commandos. Yes, they risked their lives so that the city could live (dare I say peacefully?). And this is not to belittle what they did, but lack of planning is so evident in this entire operation, if you will. The terrorists apparently had blueprints of the hotels that they had attacked and were hiding in (notice the word hiding is important here...cowards). It took more than 5 hours for the NSG commandos to reach the city of Mumbai after the Govt. of Maharashtra decided that they needed NSG help. Fine, it takes time to reach from Chandigrah to Mumbai. Why don't they have their own plane that they can use and reach in time? Why do they have to be transported by BEST buses from the airport to the hotel? And why in God's name are they not briefed about how the operation needs to be carried out in this entire journey? Wouldn't it be logical that by the time these guys reach the Taj, they should have been provided with blueprints of the hotel, and a plan already made about where to enter, how to plan the attack and how long should this operation take? No. Instead they reached Taj and were just sitting in the trucks there, having no clue about what to do, waiting for orders from the higher authorities?? In a situation such as this, where every second counts, how can you have these highly trained people just waiting for over an hour to get orders??? The fact that it took over 60 hours for 200 men to kill 4 terrorists says a lot about how well planned the entire operation was from the top brasses of NSG. I don't blame the commandos. I have nothing but good things to say about them. I understand they are just the pawns who are sent to fight, they cant make decisions about planning the attacks, and I have only admiration for their courage. My angst is with the lack of planning on the part of their seniors.
There are few people worth mentioning here that I and I am sure you the reader are also very proud of. Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief, Ashok Kamte deputy commissioner, Vijay Salaskar the encounter specialist, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and those brave soldiers of our armed forces, the police, and the firemen who fought for you and I. What I am not proud of is the lack of decent arms that they are provided by the Government. It is ridiculous to call the vest that Hemant Karkare was wearing as bulletproof. He was fighting terrorists armed with AK56's with his 303! How can we expect him to fight these terrorists armed with such arms with what the government provides our cops? Some of our havaldars are expected to go in with their lathis! (I don't have a reference for this, but I swear I read this somewhere, or heard it on a reputable TV channel).
Yes I am ANGRY. I am angry at the terrorists first for entering my city. How dare they enter my city and create such havoc. I am more ANGRY at the people who are supposed to maintain decorum and people who are supposed to govern this city though. I am angry at Vilasrao Deshmukh, I am angry at R.R. Patil for making ridiculous statements, such as "in big cities such small incidents happen time and again". Are you fucking kidding me? Your country just face probably it's worst ever terror attack, people have died here and you're saying this is a minor incident. I am ANGRY at the same cliched, "SPIRIT OF MUMBAI". I want to scream and say that no the spirit is dead, we don't want to talk about it. I want accountability. I don't want you to forget this, like we forgot any of the past attacks...not any more. We are used to this entire "chalta hain" attitude for way to long and this has got to change. We need answers and we need them now. This cannot wait and this cannot be another of those incidents that we just forget about.
I definitely won't forget those innocent people who lost their lives and their families and silently as I watched the news, I couldn't control the tears that started to flow as I heard about their stories. My prayers are with them and their families....
As I was sitting down and thinking about this entire mayhem that occurred in my city, in my Mumbai, in my home, I thought of the lines Barrack Obama had said about the terrorists after the 9/11 attacks, "My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another's heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those who would murder innocents with such abstract, serene satisfaction."
All right so Mumbai burned for 60 hours and we watched. Some of us on tv, some of us from close range, some of us through news channels reporting it live on the internet (thank God for good internet speeds) and some of us refreshing the timesofindia.com website every now and then. So bad men enter city, fire randomly at people, hold people hostage, kill innocents, kill the ones protecting the innocents, get killed....news over. Far from it. In fact this is where the story begins. What next? Where to from here?
It's not that Mumbai has not been attacked before. Quite the contrary in fact. Mumbai is not new to terror attacks. What Mumbai is not used to is such well planned massacre of innocents, and such lack of respect towards the city by it's very elite. The less we speak about politicians the better. That would perhaps be best discussed in a different blog post where I can sit and bash them. But hang on there is a bigger question at hand here. Mumbai faced serial bomb blasts 15 years ago and they came by sea. 15 years down the line they still come by sea....what have we learnt in this past decade?? Apparently nothing....All that our govt. is good at is the blame game, and that has already begun. Rather than taking a united stand against terrorism what are the people who are responsible for our safety doing?
All of us are at this point very proud of the brave policemen, the army, the navy, the firemen and of course the NSG commandos. Yes, they risked their lives so that the city could live (dare I say peacefully?). And this is not to belittle what they did, but lack of planning is so evident in this entire operation, if you will. The terrorists apparently had blueprints of the hotels that they had attacked and were hiding in (notice the word hiding is important here...cowards). It took more than 5 hours for the NSG commandos to reach the city of Mumbai after the Govt. of Maharashtra decided that they needed NSG help. Fine, it takes time to reach from Chandigrah to Mumbai. Why don't they have their own plane that they can use and reach in time? Why do they have to be transported by BEST buses from the airport to the hotel? And why in God's name are they not briefed about how the operation needs to be carried out in this entire journey? Wouldn't it be logical that by the time these guys reach the Taj, they should have been provided with blueprints of the hotel, and a plan already made about where to enter, how to plan the attack and how long should this operation take? No. Instead they reached Taj and were just sitting in the trucks there, having no clue about what to do, waiting for orders from the higher authorities?? In a situation such as this, where every second counts, how can you have these highly trained people just waiting for over an hour to get orders??? The fact that it took over 60 hours for 200 men to kill 4 terrorists says a lot about how well planned the entire operation was from the top brasses of NSG. I don't blame the commandos. I have nothing but good things to say about them. I understand they are just the pawns who are sent to fight, they cant make decisions about planning the attacks, and I have only admiration for their courage. My angst is with the lack of planning on the part of their seniors.
There are few people worth mentioning here that I and I am sure you the reader are also very proud of. Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief, Ashok Kamte deputy commissioner, Vijay Salaskar the encounter specialist, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and those brave soldiers of our armed forces, the police, and the firemen who fought for you and I. What I am not proud of is the lack of decent arms that they are provided by the Government. It is ridiculous to call the vest that Hemant Karkare was wearing as bulletproof. He was fighting terrorists armed with AK56's with his 303! How can we expect him to fight these terrorists armed with such arms with what the government provides our cops? Some of our havaldars are expected to go in with their lathis! (I don't have a reference for this, but I swear I read this somewhere, or heard it on a reputable TV channel).
Yes I am ANGRY. I am angry at the terrorists first for entering my city. How dare they enter my city and create such havoc. I am more ANGRY at the people who are supposed to maintain decorum and people who are supposed to govern this city though. I am angry at Vilasrao Deshmukh, I am angry at R.R. Patil for making ridiculous statements, such as "in big cities such small incidents happen time and again". Are you fucking kidding me? Your country just face probably it's worst ever terror attack, people have died here and you're saying this is a minor incident. I am ANGRY at the same cliched, "SPIRIT OF MUMBAI". I want to scream and say that no the spirit is dead, we don't want to talk about it. I want accountability. I don't want you to forget this, like we forgot any of the past attacks...not any more. We are used to this entire "chalta hain" attitude for way to long and this has got to change. We need answers and we need them now. This cannot wait and this cannot be another of those incidents that we just forget about.
I definitely won't forget those innocent people who lost their lives and their families and silently as I watched the news, I couldn't control the tears that started to flow as I heard about their stories. My prayers are with them and their families....
As I was sitting down and thinking about this entire mayhem that occurred in my city, in my Mumbai, in my home, I thought of the lines Barrack Obama had said about the terrorists after the 9/11 attacks, "My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another's heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those who would murder innocents with such abstract, serene satisfaction."
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Religion.....and the dilemma
I usually refrain from discussing topics such as religion and politics in a public domain. But there are times when I make an exception, such as when I am with a group of close friends who know me well enough and who I know will not misunderstand my opinions. Well since this blog is read only by such people, might as well take the liberty and make an exception here. The very word religion can ignite some very passionate emotions in people and therefore this post is definitely not about what my take on religion is or what my views about religion are. This is very simply a collection of thoughts that will be put on paper (well not really on paper...)
A couple of days back I got a call from my dad and he informed me about this one particular doctor friend of his from back home who suddenly died. He wasn't someone that we knew very well, but being in the medical field my parents knew him a little bit. Well so this guy was in his 40s and unfortunately after having dinner, he went to sleep and passed away there. My condolences are definitely with his family and I sure hope that God gives them the strength and courage they will need at this point in time.
So how is this related to religion? So this guy by birth was born in a Hindu family and over time as he grew older and started forming his own views decided that he wanted to convert to Christianity. And I am cool with that. I have no issues. I think everyone should be given the freedom to practice a religion that they believe in. To each his own. The complications of this though are a little different in the society. His parents who are still alive, did not covert to Christianity. So the big question that people were faced with after his death was, should he be cremated or buried? Well there is a little more to it than just that. There are a few other people involved, who are propagating the spread of Christianity and were the ones who convinced this guy to convert. And believe me I have no problems with that as well. I think if you are convinced about something then sure you have a right to form an opinion and make decisions accordingly. So nothing against them. In fact they are very good friends of my parents and I do know them pretty well personally.
The bigger question however here is, sure you'll decided to take the responsibility of performing the last rites. But should there have been at least some discussion with this guy's parents where their opinions and views could have been asked? And I don't know the correct answer. There is a part of me that says, he decided to convert to Christianity so he should be buried as is the practice. Another part of me says, yes he decided to convert, but in times such as these, would it not be appropriate to ask his parents about what their thoughts were about this? Would their opinion on this not matter at all?
Like I mentioned earlier, I do not know what the answer to this question is. I am just putting my thoughts out here. But it is definitely something that needs further exploration. For someone like me who really doesn't believe in following any particular religion, it was an eye opener of sorts. Sometimes there is more to a story than what meets the eye and definitely in this case that is true....
Religiously yours
RD
A couple of days back I got a call from my dad and he informed me about this one particular doctor friend of his from back home who suddenly died. He wasn't someone that we knew very well, but being in the medical field my parents knew him a little bit. Well so this guy was in his 40s and unfortunately after having dinner, he went to sleep and passed away there. My condolences are definitely with his family and I sure hope that God gives them the strength and courage they will need at this point in time.
So how is this related to religion? So this guy by birth was born in a Hindu family and over time as he grew older and started forming his own views decided that he wanted to convert to Christianity. And I am cool with that. I have no issues. I think everyone should be given the freedom to practice a religion that they believe in. To each his own. The complications of this though are a little different in the society. His parents who are still alive, did not covert to Christianity. So the big question that people were faced with after his death was, should he be cremated or buried? Well there is a little more to it than just that. There are a few other people involved, who are propagating the spread of Christianity and were the ones who convinced this guy to convert. And believe me I have no problems with that as well. I think if you are convinced about something then sure you have a right to form an opinion and make decisions accordingly. So nothing against them. In fact they are very good friends of my parents and I do know them pretty well personally.
The bigger question however here is, sure you'll decided to take the responsibility of performing the last rites. But should there have been at least some discussion with this guy's parents where their opinions and views could have been asked? And I don't know the correct answer. There is a part of me that says, he decided to convert to Christianity so he should be buried as is the practice. Another part of me says, yes he decided to convert, but in times such as these, would it not be appropriate to ask his parents about what their thoughts were about this? Would their opinion on this not matter at all?
Like I mentioned earlier, I do not know what the answer to this question is. I am just putting my thoughts out here. But it is definitely something that needs further exploration. For someone like me who really doesn't believe in following any particular religion, it was an eye opener of sorts. Sometimes there is more to a story than what meets the eye and definitely in this case that is true....
Religiously yours
RD
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Back to Xavierietes (probably misspelt and too bored to go and do a spellcheck)
Hmmm so today the plan is to have another series of foot in mouth episodes. Okay the difference here is that the main character in this post has changed. Move over Wizard (for the time being) and welcome Mr. Puri Bail (PB). This will also probably end up being a very random post with no specific chronology (since PB has had too many such episodes and I will write about the ones that come to mind first).
Oh firstly, why the name Puri Bail. Happens that every evening a few of us, me, Grizzly B, Cass (for whom I've still not found an alternative name), PB and The nephew would come home in the same train. At times we would take a cab to the station, at times (rarely) we would walk to it, and on a couple of occasions we (me and PB) actually ran (at times all of us are allowed to do mindless things). So one such evening we were walking back and decided to stop at Khau gali to eat some chat. PB with his wonderful hindi decided that it was perhaps best that the ordering be left to someone else. Apparently, The nephew though claims that when asking for Bhelpuri, PB said something to the effect of, "Ek Puri Bail dena". :):)...and the rest as they say is History.
All right so now that we know how the name came about, a few more funny vignettes involving PB. Since PB and I lived fairly close in Mumbai, we would very often travel by the same train every morning. Any frequent train traveller in Mumbai will be familiar with the crowd in the Mumbai trains. So very often we would be standing in the train and since Cass, Grizzly B, Handy man and Gujju boy all lived in the same area they would be in the same train as well (different station but heck I guess you'll know what I'm trying to say). So as was the case every morning we get in to the train and start off the usual morning nonsensical jokes. I think everyone else except me and PB had a seat. As the train passed a few more stations, I think probably Bandra or Dadar there was a vacant seat nearby. PB had his back towards the seat so he didn't notice it. I on the other hand noticed it and also noticed that a gentleman (probably in his 40s) had moved towards the seat and was putting his bag overhead before sitting down. Not one to miss an opportunity to have some fun, I quickly told PB, "Dude there's a seat behind you sit quickly." Innocently PB immediately sat down. The guy who was planning on sitting was unaware of this as his back was towards PB and so the guy starts sitting down as well!!! As soon as he started sitting down, all of us were rolling in laughter and the expression on PB's face was priceless!!!
Okay moving forward to T.Y.BSc final exams and we were sitting outside the exam center, and perhaps the only 5-6 people laughing before the exam. I think everyone else was pretty disgusted with us at that point of time and we were definitely getting a lot of dirty looks. Well never mind that. So The Nephew suddenly starts, "oww oww oww"...and we are staring at him wondering wtf happened to him, he was fine a minute ago. The nephew turns to us and pointing to his ankles says, "My knees are hurting!!!"....Laughter.....followed by more disgusted looks...finally after a couple of mins, PB decides time for a smartass comment, " Dude I don't know where your knees are, but my knees are totally here"....pointing to his STOMACH!!!! More laughter and this time laughter with tears rolling down the eyes....The King of foot in mouth was at it once again!!!
Honestly there are loads of such incidents worth mentioning, but I've realized typing these takes a lot more time than I imagined, so this post will end here prematurely...but lots more to follow.
Oh firstly, why the name Puri Bail. Happens that every evening a few of us, me, Grizzly B, Cass (for whom I've still not found an alternative name), PB and The nephew would come home in the same train. At times we would take a cab to the station, at times (rarely) we would walk to it, and on a couple of occasions we (me and PB) actually ran (at times all of us are allowed to do mindless things). So one such evening we were walking back and decided to stop at Khau gali to eat some chat. PB with his wonderful hindi decided that it was perhaps best that the ordering be left to someone else. Apparently, The nephew though claims that when asking for Bhelpuri, PB said something to the effect of, "Ek Puri Bail dena". :):)...and the rest as they say is History.
All right so now that we know how the name came about, a few more funny vignettes involving PB. Since PB and I lived fairly close in Mumbai, we would very often travel by the same train every morning. Any frequent train traveller in Mumbai will be familiar with the crowd in the Mumbai trains. So very often we would be standing in the train and since Cass, Grizzly B, Handy man and Gujju boy all lived in the same area they would be in the same train as well (different station but heck I guess you'll know what I'm trying to say). So as was the case every morning we get in to the train and start off the usual morning nonsensical jokes. I think everyone else except me and PB had a seat. As the train passed a few more stations, I think probably Bandra or Dadar there was a vacant seat nearby. PB had his back towards the seat so he didn't notice it. I on the other hand noticed it and also noticed that a gentleman (probably in his 40s) had moved towards the seat and was putting his bag overhead before sitting down. Not one to miss an opportunity to have some fun, I quickly told PB, "Dude there's a seat behind you sit quickly." Innocently PB immediately sat down. The guy who was planning on sitting was unaware of this as his back was towards PB and so the guy starts sitting down as well!!! As soon as he started sitting down, all of us were rolling in laughter and the expression on PB's face was priceless!!!
Okay moving forward to T.Y.BSc final exams and we were sitting outside the exam center, and perhaps the only 5-6 people laughing before the exam. I think everyone else was pretty disgusted with us at that point of time and we were definitely getting a lot of dirty looks. Well never mind that. So The Nephew suddenly starts, "oww oww oww"...and we are staring at him wondering wtf happened to him, he was fine a minute ago. The nephew turns to us and pointing to his ankles says, "My knees are hurting!!!"....Laughter.....followed by more disgusted looks...finally after a couple of mins, PB decides time for a smartass comment, " Dude I don't know where your knees are, but my knees are totally here"....pointing to his STOMACH!!!! More laughter and this time laughter with tears rolling down the eyes....The King of foot in mouth was at it once again!!!
Honestly there are loads of such incidents worth mentioning, but I've realized typing these takes a lot more time than I imagined, so this post will end here prematurely...but lots more to follow.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Spring Break Time!
So tomorrow I'm off to LA. It's almost been an irony that after being in the country for three years and having more than a few friends and acquaintances in LA, when I'm finally headed to LA it is for my annual NSGC (National Society of Genetic Counselors) conference. While there are definitely a few talks in this conference that I'm planning on attending, the main attraction still is the fact that I'll get to see some old friends again after a year!
Very conveniently we have renamed the annual conference as our annual spring break, for the simple reason that for my ex-classmates that is exactly what this conference is. Let your guard down and just have a good time...this is where I get to see the craziness of the otherwise politically correct genetic counselors. And boy is it fun! Seeing these chicks walking up to random guys, and flirting with them to get free drinks (hey I'm not complaining if I'm getting free drinks), dragging them when they are totally drunk back to their hotel rooms and trying to convince them that sleeping in their hotel room and not the lobby at 3.30 in the morning is a very normal thing to do :).
Last year we were in Kansas City and things were wild and crazy. I was sure that my pics would be flashed across the hotel cameras as I was literally dragging two drunk girls who were giggling to each other and screaming in the hallway...oh and did I mention that one of them actually flashed the security guard ;) I was half worried that some reality tv camera would catch me in this awkward pose and then breaking news : Asian male caught taking advantage of two white girls who were under the influence! Worse still: Asian male drugs two white girls and is caught dragging them in a hotel room at 3.30 in the morning :)
Considering this year we are gonna be in LA, where more alcohol will flow...more drunkness will happen and if at all I'll end up dragging more than 2 white girls who are 'not drunk but delightfully high' , and possibly will end up getting my 2 mins of fame on some camera :)
Very conveniently we have renamed the annual conference as our annual spring break, for the simple reason that for my ex-classmates that is exactly what this conference is. Let your guard down and just have a good time...this is where I get to see the craziness of the otherwise politically correct genetic counselors. And boy is it fun! Seeing these chicks walking up to random guys, and flirting with them to get free drinks (hey I'm not complaining if I'm getting free drinks), dragging them when they are totally drunk back to their hotel rooms and trying to convince them that sleeping in their hotel room and not the lobby at 3.30 in the morning is a very normal thing to do :).
Last year we were in Kansas City and things were wild and crazy. I was sure that my pics would be flashed across the hotel cameras as I was literally dragging two drunk girls who were giggling to each other and screaming in the hallway...oh and did I mention that one of them actually flashed the security guard ;) I was half worried that some reality tv camera would catch me in this awkward pose and then breaking news : Asian male caught taking advantage of two white girls who were under the influence! Worse still: Asian male drugs two white girls and is caught dragging them in a hotel room at 3.30 in the morning :)
Considering this year we are gonna be in LA, where more alcohol will flow...more drunkness will happen and if at all I'll end up dragging more than 2 white girls who are 'not drunk but delightfully high' , and possibly will end up getting my 2 mins of fame on some camera :)
Monday, 20 October 2008
Not foot but feet in mouth ;)
Setting: Living room of Browneyes' Pune flat...
Characters present: Yours truly (Neo also called RD at times depending on mood), Wizard the squeezer, Cass, Browneyes, Alpha female (biatch), Handy man and a few others...
Situation: It was around 11.00 pm at night and everyone was busy watching Omen II. Some of us like me had never seen the movie before and therefore were watching the movie with utmost concentration (awaiting the crow), others like the Handy man had watched the movie before and knew exactly what was to come. Some of us were sprawled on the floor, others were lying on the comfort of the sofa. Generally timepass was happening. Alpha female for some reason was not at all interested in the movie (as is the case with most English movies and her). Usually when she is watching an English movie with the gang, every 15 mins we have to pause the movie and then wizard has to explain to her what happened in the past 15 mins. Now if only you would pay a little attention to what they say in the film, it's actually pretty easy to follow what's goin on. But well...some of us prefer hearing stories rather than watching them.. fair enough. So continuing with this incident, the movie is going along and people start stretching about. Suddenly someone's leg comes over my face and I have to adjust, that kind of thing. So Wizard is sitting on the floor and is very uncomfortable.. He looks around but can't find anything comfortable nearby. Out of the blue, he looks at Cass and Browneyes and blurts out, "Give me something to squeeze!!!!!"..... Done...let the crow be damned and let Omen II be damned... full popat of horror movie...there are 6-7 people here sprawled on the floor laughing their guts out...:):):):)
Cass and Browneyes have no clue what wizard wants and have tears in their eyes and they laugh uncontrollably
Wizard: "I mean give me a pillow"... Yea right give me a pillow.
Handy man: Dude seriously I don't know what kind of things you think off, but squeezing something is definitely not something I would think of while watching a horror movie!!!
Fast forward to next afternoon. Generally janata is sitting in one of the first floor bedrooms and laughing about the gift that we had given Gujju boy/Dhokla boy on his birthday the past year. Browneyes who was unaware of this is very curious about this gift. So a little history about this. Happens that for some reason, people in this friend circle, have some fascination for gifting 'embarrassing gifts' to a person on his/her birthday. So on gujju boy's birthday he was (un)fortunate enough to be a recepient of one such gift. Exclusively selected by Grizzly B, Handy man and Cass from Crawford Market....special lingerie for Gujju Boy.... Cass had a very funny experience buying this as well...as she went to the shop to ask for this very special gift and the lady across the counter asked her for the size she was looking for, handy man quipped in," Arre koi bhi size chalega?!?!?!?!"....apparently the lady across the counter gave Cass a stare....I wonder why??? I mean it was Handy man who passed that comment right??? Well so going on... Browneyes finally heard the story out and was in splits as we narrated this incident to her and then out of curiosity asked,"so what color was it?".... (does it really matter?? I mean it's not like we were trying to match something here...the point was to embarrass gujju boy and embarrassed he was)...but again Wizard fresh from him squeezing comment decides one is not enough for the trip...I want more... blurts out, "Moist yellow!?!?!?"..... Do I really need to say what happened after this??? I mean there were shrieks of "eeeeee" followed by laughter for probably a good ten minutes.... I'm still not sure what colour Moist yellow is and where did wizard come up with this colour??? What was the thought process dude?? I mean ok I've heard of lemon yellow, pale yellow, yellow occur (probably spelt wrong...but this is the worst shade of yellow that I've seen in those camel water colours)... NEVER and I mean NEVER did I imagine I would hear of a MOIST YELLOW!!!
I've probably ensured a hate mail from Wizard, so I shall spare him for now although I can think of a few more of his wonderful one liners ;)....next update will probably focus on Mr. Puri Bail :)
Characters present: Yours truly (Neo also called RD at times depending on mood), Wizard the squeezer, Cass, Browneyes, Alpha female (biatch), Handy man and a few others...
Situation: It was around 11.00 pm at night and everyone was busy watching Omen II. Some of us like me had never seen the movie before and therefore were watching the movie with utmost concentration (awaiting the crow), others like the Handy man had watched the movie before and knew exactly what was to come. Some of us were sprawled on the floor, others were lying on the comfort of the sofa. Generally timepass was happening. Alpha female for some reason was not at all interested in the movie (as is the case with most English movies and her). Usually when she is watching an English movie with the gang, every 15 mins we have to pause the movie and then wizard has to explain to her what happened in the past 15 mins. Now if only you would pay a little attention to what they say in the film, it's actually pretty easy to follow what's goin on. But well...some of us prefer hearing stories rather than watching them.. fair enough. So continuing with this incident, the movie is going along and people start stretching about. Suddenly someone's leg comes over my face and I have to adjust, that kind of thing. So Wizard is sitting on the floor and is very uncomfortable.. He looks around but can't find anything comfortable nearby. Out of the blue, he looks at Cass and Browneyes and blurts out, "Give me something to squeeze!!!!!"..... Done...let the crow be damned and let Omen II be damned... full popat of horror movie...there are 6-7 people here sprawled on the floor laughing their guts out...:):):):)
Cass and Browneyes have no clue what wizard wants and have tears in their eyes and they laugh uncontrollably
Wizard: "I mean give me a pillow"... Yea right give me a pillow.
Handy man: Dude seriously I don't know what kind of things you think off, but squeezing something is definitely not something I would think of while watching a horror movie!!!
Fast forward to next afternoon. Generally janata is sitting in one of the first floor bedrooms and laughing about the gift that we had given Gujju boy/Dhokla boy on his birthday the past year. Browneyes who was unaware of this is very curious about this gift. So a little history about this. Happens that for some reason, people in this friend circle, have some fascination for gifting 'embarrassing gifts' to a person on his/her birthday. So on gujju boy's birthday he was (un)fortunate enough to be a recepient of one such gift. Exclusively selected by Grizzly B, Handy man and Cass from Crawford Market....special lingerie for Gujju Boy.... Cass had a very funny experience buying this as well...as she went to the shop to ask for this very special gift and the lady across the counter asked her for the size she was looking for, handy man quipped in," Arre koi bhi size chalega?!?!?!?!"....apparently the lady across the counter gave Cass a stare....I wonder why??? I mean it was Handy man who passed that comment right??? Well so going on... Browneyes finally heard the story out and was in splits as we narrated this incident to her and then out of curiosity asked,"so what color was it?".... (does it really matter?? I mean it's not like we were trying to match something here...the point was to embarrass gujju boy and embarrassed he was)...but again Wizard fresh from him squeezing comment decides one is not enough for the trip...I want more... blurts out, "Moist yellow!?!?!?"..... Do I really need to say what happened after this??? I mean there were shrieks of "eeeeee" followed by laughter for probably a good ten minutes.... I'm still not sure what colour Moist yellow is and where did wizard come up with this colour??? What was the thought process dude?? I mean ok I've heard of lemon yellow, pale yellow, yellow occur (probably spelt wrong...but this is the worst shade of yellow that I've seen in those camel water colours)... NEVER and I mean NEVER did I imagine I would hear of a MOIST YELLOW!!!
I've probably ensured a hate mail from Wizard, so I shall spare him for now although I can think of a few more of his wonderful one liners ;)....next update will probably focus on Mr. Puri Bail :)
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
The Characters
All right this is just the introduction to the characters that will be mentioned on this blog in the future. Now that all the permission taking has happened and most people (actually all) have agreed to be written about, we shall commence. On a side note everyone was okay with me taking their real names, but since pseudo names sound that much more fun(ner) we shall use pseudo names... So today one by one we will get to know the most distinguishing characteristics of all these characters...(I think this is becoming character overdose)..
The Charging Bear (will also at times be called Grizzly bear or simply Grizzly B depending on how bored I am of typing): This homo sapien has many unique qualities and also happened to be one of the first friends I made in Xaviers. I have no clue why he choose a name like Grizzly B considering he is not the hairiest person I've met...but maybe he sees some other common qualities of a bear in him. Grizzly B can come up with the most unheard of thoughts ( the discussion about dog meat in my last blog was courtsey Grizzly B), in a situation which is nowhere related to such thoughts (maybe I didn't get my point across there...but if you know him you know what I mean). He also has the biggest collection of pornography (I just had to say this somewhere) and can have discussions, rather debates in how porn in different countries and languages differs. Often this discussion becomes a monolouge since no one else has anything to contribute due to lack of knowledge :). Grizzly B is also a player. I don't know if he will like me saying this or no but hey this blog isn't about being politically correct. But Grizzly B also is one of the smartest people I've met and can easily hold his ground and probably outshine most others in a debate (other than porn also). He's also a big music fan and his music collection I believe far outshines his porn collection...more about him later in future posts.
Wizard The Squeezer: As the name suggests, he is a little different :) . Probably one of the more philosophical types, but every now and then bound to make some horrendous bloomer (which is how he gets the name). "Always think from the third person's point of view"....I've probably heard this sentence at least once every week from him. Over the years he has changed a lot and has become a lot more open and comfortable with emotions (he may disagree, but then this is my opinion!). He generally is not the sort who will create a fuss about anything and likes to be in harmony with most people, not the confrontational sort by any means. A voracious reader and someone who will voice his opinion in a very calculated manner (most times), but when he makes bloomers they are the most classic ones (as I shall describe in future posts).
Cass: I don't quite know why she choose this name, but I've never quite understood her fascination for Greek names in the first place. Cass is probably my closest friend (now everyone knows who I am talking about) and someone who knows me better than most others. She has been my agony aunt and patiently heard me out when I've been irrational (Grizzly B and The Wizard also will fall in this category). She's also been the one who has been subject to the most atrocious nick names courtsey yours truly (never quite got over 'raapchik'). Cass is another smart woman and is one of the few who is not shy to voice her opinion in a crowd that she is familiar with. She will usually refrain from making any extreme comments, and take the middle ground, but with her you get what you see. If it's a spade it will be called a spade. The best thing about Cass is that she and I disagree on a lot of things, but we are able to put these differences aside and find a common ground most times (there are some exceptions...remember our argument about proposals!!).
Mr. Puri Bail: He was, is and will remain the king of foot in mouth syndrome. He's one of a kind and when I say that I mean every single word. Also, he was, is and will remain the 'firang' in the group. The million dollar question that everyone has is how did this guy pass his school exams in Hindi and Marathi??? His answer is for marathi he just changed, "hain" to "ahe".... The rest of us feel his writing was probably so bad that the poor examiner decided to have some pity on him :):):).... He will probably end up being the guy most written about here in future posts, courtsey his wonderful bloomers (probably beating Wizard's bloomers). But he is also a genuinely nice guy and someone who has become a very good friend over the years.
The Nephew: :):):) Don't we all know who we are talking about here. He could alternately be called Mr. Confidence as well, for the only reason that he is the guy will confidently answer every question asked to him in the manner, tone and with a face that suggests that he is the expert in this field! He is also someone who has had arguments about the 'gear box' of a car at 7.15 in the morning in a train when most others were still half asleep. The nephew is also one of the most enthusiastic people I've met. His collection of music will probably challenge Grizzly B's.... He was always the New Year's planner and I must say he did a pretty good job of planning the parties...A very good DJ as well.
Brown eyes: After Mr. Puri Bail if anyone had a hard time being the 'target' it was probably brown eyes who will also at times be called "Sheru" (and now I will be abused). Had some fascination for purple, had the pleasure of experiencing the Sun's first rays every morning, one of the few people who drove a car to college in Mumbai (rich sindhi girl), always liked to 'share' her food and a big time party animal (much like the nephew).
The Alpha female: Longest last name (no seriously like after knowing her for 6 months I still couldn't pronounce her last name). Very opinionated and NOT AT ALL SHY TO VOICE HER OPINION. Still suffers from an undiagnosed syndrome (research is on and she has willingly agreed to be part of a study that I am conducting). Very emotional and very likely to cry at the drop of a hat. She's had some absolute fantastic episodes worth narrating.
The Gujju Boy: At first he comes across as the most sober, decent person in this group of people. Once you get to know him, all these misconceptions are easily erased! He has had the most number of misadventures after being drunk..and the stories he starts telling when he is drunk are definitely worth hearing (red slipper and blue slipper). He also loves to give gyaan to people (thankfully not when he is drunk).
Handy Man: He is exactly that... the handy man, alternately he could also be called Mr. Argumentative but then I shall be good to him for now at least (after all he is arranging my New Years is Goa this year). Handy man has MPD for sure. But on the whole Handy man is a good friend to have and he is someone who usually does a lot for friends....
There are some other characters also who will probably be written about in the future and I shall mention their characteristics at that time...
Some vignettes about this group will be posted soon...
The Charging Bear (will also at times be called Grizzly bear or simply Grizzly B depending on how bored I am of typing): This homo sapien has many unique qualities and also happened to be one of the first friends I made in Xaviers. I have no clue why he choose a name like Grizzly B considering he is not the hairiest person I've met...but maybe he sees some other common qualities of a bear in him. Grizzly B can come up with the most unheard of thoughts ( the discussion about dog meat in my last blog was courtsey Grizzly B), in a situation which is nowhere related to such thoughts (maybe I didn't get my point across there...but if you know him you know what I mean). He also has the biggest collection of pornography (I just had to say this somewhere) and can have discussions, rather debates in how porn in different countries and languages differs. Often this discussion becomes a monolouge since no one else has anything to contribute due to lack of knowledge :). Grizzly B is also a player. I don't know if he will like me saying this or no but hey this blog isn't about being politically correct. But Grizzly B also is one of the smartest people I've met and can easily hold his ground and probably outshine most others in a debate (other than porn also). He's also a big music fan and his music collection I believe far outshines his porn collection...more about him later in future posts.
Wizard The Squeezer: As the name suggests, he is a little different :) . Probably one of the more philosophical types, but every now and then bound to make some horrendous bloomer (which is how he gets the name). "Always think from the third person's point of view"....I've probably heard this sentence at least once every week from him. Over the years he has changed a lot and has become a lot more open and comfortable with emotions (he may disagree, but then this is my opinion!). He generally is not the sort who will create a fuss about anything and likes to be in harmony with most people, not the confrontational sort by any means. A voracious reader and someone who will voice his opinion in a very calculated manner (most times), but when he makes bloomers they are the most classic ones (as I shall describe in future posts).
Cass: I don't quite know why she choose this name, but I've never quite understood her fascination for Greek names in the first place. Cass is probably my closest friend (now everyone knows who I am talking about) and someone who knows me better than most others. She has been my agony aunt and patiently heard me out when I've been irrational (Grizzly B and The Wizard also will fall in this category). She's also been the one who has been subject to the most atrocious nick names courtsey yours truly (never quite got over 'raapchik'). Cass is another smart woman and is one of the few who is not shy to voice her opinion in a crowd that she is familiar with. She will usually refrain from making any extreme comments, and take the middle ground, but with her you get what you see. If it's a spade it will be called a spade. The best thing about Cass is that she and I disagree on a lot of things, but we are able to put these differences aside and find a common ground most times (there are some exceptions...remember our argument about proposals!!).
Mr. Puri Bail: He was, is and will remain the king of foot in mouth syndrome. He's one of a kind and when I say that I mean every single word. Also, he was, is and will remain the 'firang' in the group. The million dollar question that everyone has is how did this guy pass his school exams in Hindi and Marathi??? His answer is for marathi he just changed, "hain" to "ahe".... The rest of us feel his writing was probably so bad that the poor examiner decided to have some pity on him :):):).... He will probably end up being the guy most written about here in future posts, courtsey his wonderful bloomers (probably beating Wizard's bloomers). But he is also a genuinely nice guy and someone who has become a very good friend over the years.
The Nephew: :):):) Don't we all know who we are talking about here. He could alternately be called Mr. Confidence as well, for the only reason that he is the guy will confidently answer every question asked to him in the manner, tone and with a face that suggests that he is the expert in this field! He is also someone who has had arguments about the 'gear box' of a car at 7.15 in the morning in a train when most others were still half asleep. The nephew is also one of the most enthusiastic people I've met. His collection of music will probably challenge Grizzly B's.... He was always the New Year's planner and I must say he did a pretty good job of planning the parties...A very good DJ as well.
Brown eyes: After Mr. Puri Bail if anyone had a hard time being the 'target' it was probably brown eyes who will also at times be called "Sheru" (and now I will be abused). Had some fascination for purple, had the pleasure of experiencing the Sun's first rays every morning, one of the few people who drove a car to college in Mumbai (rich sindhi girl), always liked to 'share' her food and a big time party animal (much like the nephew).
The Alpha female: Longest last name (no seriously like after knowing her for 6 months I still couldn't pronounce her last name). Very opinionated and NOT AT ALL SHY TO VOICE HER OPINION. Still suffers from an undiagnosed syndrome (research is on and she has willingly agreed to be part of a study that I am conducting). Very emotional and very likely to cry at the drop of a hat. She's had some absolute fantastic episodes worth narrating.
The Gujju Boy: At first he comes across as the most sober, decent person in this group of people. Once you get to know him, all these misconceptions are easily erased! He has had the most number of misadventures after being drunk..and the stories he starts telling when he is drunk are definitely worth hearing (red slipper and blue slipper). He also loves to give gyaan to people (thankfully not when he is drunk).
Handy Man: He is exactly that... the handy man, alternately he could also be called Mr. Argumentative but then I shall be good to him for now at least (after all he is arranging my New Years is Goa this year). Handy man has MPD for sure. But on the whole Handy man is a good friend to have and he is someone who usually does a lot for friends....
There are some other characters also who will probably be written about in the future and I shall mention their characteristics at that time...
Some vignettes about this group will be posted soon...
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