Anniversary

एक बरस बीत गया

सूरज पाने बढ़ा था

हाथ जल गया केवल
हाथ कुछ नहीं आया!

"You're not entitled to a smooth meal" Day

Well.... Today was like this only... When I sat for my morning tea with an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., there was a knock on my door for match-box. Then during Dibbi's thesis seminar, the snack guy completely forgot me and kept passing snacks and tea to everyone around but me. Thankfully, the seminar was too good to keep my attention off my rattling and gurgling stomach.

But the funniest one was when I ran to the mess after the seminar for a coleslaw sandwich and grabbed a plateful of those. As I left the plate on the table to get a cuppa and returned, my plate was GONE, without leaving a trace of a crumb behind . All I could see was two junior FPMs and another fachchi munching some sandwiches, completely oblivious to a hungry, surprised, and confused me. However, to rescue the poor (and hungry) soul, one of the junior FPMs, who obviously was observing the whole scene, informed the busy-bee sandwich munching fachchi - "haven't you taken his plate!"

Yeah, the first term at WIMWI really gives people some out of body, soul, and mind experiences. And this was one of those for the poor acads-tormented fachchi. She sat there, embarrassed, staring at the half-eaten sandwich and at me by turns; and I stood there, first utterly confused and then, smiling, with efforts to control a burst of laughter.

Finally, the wisdom dawned on us and she offered me my plate back, with a half eaten sandwich and I ran for another platter, with murmurs of ohhh, it's fine!!! As I sat opposite to her with a platter and a glass full of tea, both of us kept smiling at the whole incident. After 15 minutes of embarrassment, she sheepishly apologized and left for another session of muggai; and I stood up for another round of munching.

I wrote another poem today. This was the eighth one that traces itself back to you. You inspired all of these at least, if not many more. You have read some of them and some of them would be completely new to you, that is - if you ever wish to read those.

I have so many questions. I have so many answers. No question matches the answers. No answer matches the questions.

It's all breaking. It's all shattering. It's all melting down.

Life is irreparably damaged.

Would you like to have some evening tea?

Just Know It!!

Years ago, when he used to preach us about how information is important and how knowing can change our world, some of us believed him, some kept gaping at him, and some were simply disinterested. As I vaguely remember now, I was my usual skeptical self - Yeah... might be info-tech is damn powerful and knowing is important but you seem to be stretching it too far man!

But as they say, you never know until you know (I don't know who said that but in case nobody said that, it's my copyright now). So, in the recent past, I realized the power of information and the virtues of knowing.

And the enlightenment dawned from many sources over the time. Be it the reading of Arthshastra by Kautilya, where he draws the details for espionage and underlines the criticality of such information for the emperor or the use of Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005 to get my thousand bucks back as well as to get the information from bureaucrats for a study.

But the reason of writing it all now is that I recently started tracking the traffic on my blog through some tracking tools. And I am really glad to announce that my blogs, which in my view were followed by barely two people - including yours truly, are not 'that' unknown. With about 250+125 views in three weeks and at least 24+13 unique visitors from two countries and over 15 regions, I am glad. Yeah... one can laugh it out! But I never expected even this much action here. Not that that I write for others but that sure gives me some more spirit to carry on with babbling and blabbering.

Thanks to all those who visited and more thanks to those who visited again :)

सात साल

It will be seven years in two more days, when Prof. Vaishampayan gave me this pen in our Macro Economics class during B.Com. III year. It will be seven years in two more days, when a friend had left the class in anger.
It will be seven years in two more days, when we spoke for the first time and I had got two new friends. One of them is gone long ago and second, not so long ago.
I don't know why I am recalling it all today. It will be seven years in two more days.

Some verses that were written once by someone and from some unknown dimension, just slip into my life to speak my mind...

कभी-कभी बाज़ार में यूँ भी हो जाता है
कीमत ठीक थी जेब में इतने दाम नहीं थे
ऐसे ही इक बार मैं तुमको हार आया था।

*******

तू तो नफ़रत भी ना कर पायेगा इस शिद्दत के साथ
जिस बला का प्यार तुझसे बेखबर मैनें किया।

*******

ये कैसे रिश्तों में फंस गया मै, ये कैसे रिश्ते निभा रहा हूँ
जता रहा हूं किसी से चाहत, किसी से नफ़रत छुपा रहा हूँ।

मैं ख़ुद को बिल्कुल बदल चुका हूं,तेरी हदों से निकल चुका हूँ
के वक्त रहते सम्हल चुका हूं, यकीन ख़ुद को दिला रहा हूँ।

*******

ज़रा आवाज़ का लहज़ा तो बदलो
ज़रा मद्धिम करो इस आँच को सोना
कि जल जाते हैं कंगुरे नर्म रिश्तों के
ज़रा अल्फ़ाज़ के नाखुन तराशो
बहुत चुभते हैं जब नाराज़गी से बात करती हो।

*******

तेरे लिये तो मैनें यहाँ तक दुआयें की
मेरी तरह से कोई तुझे चाहता भी हो।

*******

हमारे बीच जो भी अनकहा था
वो शब्दों से मिटाया जा रहा है।

Dear Shakespeare, It's all in our stars...

Around my under-grad's first year time, my mausi started learning astrology for reading horoscopes and all of us, driven by curiosity, happily served as the guinea pigs for that newly acquired knowledge. It was fun, amusing, and sometimes baffling also; but it mostly remained a superstition. Although I got my horoscope read and interpreted, I seldom believed those prognostications. I was, at best, an agnostic.

In the coming years, we witnessed many a predictions and foretelling coming true - almost as many as that went wrong. But as another fun thing, I started learning astrology and horoscope reading myself. Although I never learnt it too well, thanks to my impatience and tight time-schedules, but I managed to understand some bits and pieces of the puzzle.

In the past four years, I've done the readings for a few friends as well as have been keeping a watch on my own horoscope, in addition to consulting with some more enlightened ones. And over the period, I've got so many predictions correct about the looming crises and the good times coming that I somehow stand converted into believing in the 'science' of astrology.

Horoscope reading has benefited me in at least one dimension - I understand now that neither good nor bad times are permanent. And with astrological guidance, I can even estimate the duration of such phases. Sure, it helps in keeping me cool through the ups and downs of life. So what was fun, superstition, and unscientific once, I have no reasons to not believe it now.

Therefore, Dear Brutus, do not believe that Shakespeare fella (or that Cassius either), when they say, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars..."