For the 2011th time...

...this is it.. the new dawn of the new year is almost upon us. World over the followers of the Christian calendar feel being on the edge of a cliff, only too willing to fall into a brand new year. Fresh starts, fresh promises, fresh hopes, and possible new beginnings for many! What is it about the new year that puts so many of us in a state of excitement and frenzy? No party seems as big as the one on new year's eve! This is actually a festival of the world which needs no mythological backing. And the countdown starts as November lazily makes way for December, distracting us with the changing seasons. In school and now workplace, December itself is splattered with round the corner festivities of Christmas and the annual exams/quarter end targets. We are working, but we are dazzled and distracted by the hum of excitement which has started around, and is too difficult to miss. The newspapers start coming out with the "hot and not" list of the current year; TV channels have their popular celebrities wishing all a new year, people are happy making, and declaring new years eve plans on Facebook; Year end offers and sales come out for those who enjoy retail therapy. Time Magazine comes out with the person of the year; back home, we are busy dissecting the biggest goon of Indian politics. We reflect on what could have been, and what needs to be done in the new year. 

New Years eve, is a talisman of hope, which everyone carries for the next 330 days, and then starts waiting for another new year!

In this biggest celebration on earth, its hard not to reflect on what all changed, and being taken along on the wave of excitement which has begun... the countdowns, the wishes, the planning are all now underway. We must be achieving something definitely every year, which is why we are eagerly welcoming yet another new year. We may crib and rant and scorn yet again, by February, or probably mid Jan, but things must be waiting to happen, sometime somewhere in 2011, for all of us - all those amazing moments which makes it so worth living!

Even if not amazing, then we have some events definitely to look forward to in the Indian life - 3G life, number portability, Mono rail for Mumbai residents, more Metro lines for the Delhiites, lesser scams, probably more sports events in our country - and other sports shining through, better songs becoming chartbusters!, vegetables not in the price range of gold, lesser terrorism, and an year which is well worthy to mark the beginning of a decade which is expected to be exemplary.

To end, if 2010 brought for me and my close ones new beginnings (college life, engagement), new jobs, new perspectives and better insights, a closeness which is ever present, then I hope 2011 is equally beautiful, if not better...

Cheers to everyone! Happy new year! Begin, with a smile...

Happy Birthday Sis!

I think it was the year when I turned 17 when I knew, she was, exactly like I had hoped for.

Till then I'd had her for about 10 years with me. Right from the baby she'd been to the 10.5 year old that she was then. And that particular winter of 2003, she had left for 2 weeks long holiday to our nani's place.

It was the year I had taken a drop from life's all pleasures.. except studying (!) .. and all my free time was spent with the cute little kid in my life, who unlike the others in family, was NOT growing tall like a beanstalk!

So anyways, she had gone. To nani's place. And we couldn't talk much cos', well STD calls weren't that cheap. And cellphones weren't very popular either. In any case, she didn't have a cellphone, so no use of me having a cellphone on me anyway.

When the plan was being made, I was secretly thrilled, cos' that meant I could hog on all the yummy food and not share with her, and I could play with our pet dogs, and not have her telling me how to have a ''better'' make believe game. And I could sprawl on the bed completely without her scolding me in the night to stop kicking her.

Within first 2 days I realized, my dogs weren't that interesting till I had her weaving out a story and we acted on it. I remember one such act; we used to pretend me and her are two strangers, and both of us carried each one of the two dogs we had... we would walk towards each other like two snooty British women (shimla inspired us tremendously) and make rude comments at each other's pet dogs, or clothes, or accent...

Some other fun "plays" we had was laying out all our books for sale, while we pretended to be the seller or the buyer, and this transaction involved us haggling in the most eastern UP accent that we could muster up.

Sometimes we would just sit and talk about the day, or what all fun we plan to do when we "grow up", read Harry Potter together, or just reminisce about our solo experience (till then) of vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate!

Delicious cuisines were no fun if not to be discussed with, and shared with her. She was the biggest source of genuine fun that year I had before I joined college, so needless to say, when she went on a vacation for 2 weeks, it became very very dull!!

And so for days I contented myself with chats on phone, or looking at her pictures. Suddenly, it felt unreal that I had such a cute, loving sister. I had her! I was actually the big DIDI of this angel looking child!

So on the gushing went, as I silently went on crossing the days in my calendar, awaiting her return eagerly, so that we could resume our routine of play-acts.

When she did come back, however, the first thing we did was not a tearful hug saying how much we had missed each other, but rather a big fight, over something which I can't recall now, but am sure would have been a trivial issue. But at least we were back to acting like the sisters that we were. 

As we grew older, moving to our respective hostels, communication dipped. But obviously, the bond remained. The age gap between us became a little more glaring, as I had my college talks, while she was still a class 7 child. But the cute voice, the talks, just the simple word "Didi" helped make the memories of the play-acts even more cherished.

Having reliance to reliance free calling has helped a lot. Now that she's matured much faster than I did (!), we have been able to understand each other a lot more. No day is complete without having updated each other on the most general of activities of the day, or having dissected and discussed our "feelings" regarding various places/events/people/tom, etc...

Luckily, some innocence of childhood has continued in our talks. Like for instance, we can still discuss Harry Potter for hours on end. We still think about the first time we had vanilla with hot chocolate. We plan impossible trips, events, thinking that now that we're "grown up", we can have the fun we thought of so many years back.

And we still love to talk in various accents, eastern UP being our most favourite.

Today my kid sister has turned 18. New ventures await her, and our life's paths may be totally tangential, but I hope we continue the bond even when we're 80...

...well her 80 and me 87! 

How about a Parent's day?

So easily we have fallen into the pattern of celebrating children's day... many of us, even in our 20s, feel that thin thread connecting us with our childhood give a little twang when children's day arrives. We love reminiscing about how November 14 used to be a celebratory day in school - a break from the usual routine. Now although, as I look back on school days, even the "usual routine" was so much more fun than what today's "usual routine" actually is.

Childhood is a fantasy world... the constant sense of discovery of the tiniest things left our curious little minds wondering for hours. With time the little revelation would get twisted into a fantastic thing, and the mind would be on a trapeze, jumping from one thought to the next, spiraling into an imagery, a fusion of brilliant possibilities and happenings...

Having embraced adulthood, with increased sense of perception and understanding, there are few things that amaze us in that wondrous way. With our exposure and learning, it seems as if the only things that are still left to the imagination are the deeply perverse and dark, which we never hope happens to us...

And somehow between all the struggle, the confusion, the wondering, the depression, the confusion (again!) deep down, we know we have one set of people constant in our lives, to help us out, to guide us through, to bear the brunt for us when the going gets too tough! Our parents are like these silent puppeteers in the background, stringing along the threads, and helping us dance through this madness called Life!

They make you believe no problem is big enough that it can't be solved, no mistake can be ever grave enough that it would break the relation between you and them, there's no match to the selfishness that comes to their fore when there's something concerning US, their children's' welfare... then no prize can be good enough, no necessities luxurious enough, no facilities comfortable enough... It is for us that they keep driving themselves - we may define is as a way of life, but really, who are they actually doing it for?? Had it been for their own self - gratification, there would be no fixed deposits they would be taking sacrificing their own present enjoyments, no insurance policies to handle problems immediately when at bay - we would in-fact having an anti- parent, the one who would live for the moment and expect us to make a living for ourselves right from scratch.

At least in the Indian setup, I believe, the idea of assets passing from generation to generation still holds quite strongly. One way or the other, either we're born with a silver spoon, or we have our parents make one for us.

And still, their work started long long back! Suddenly, with our arrival, they had this responsibility that was too big to fathom. So we have dads cooing to understand our first words, we have the mothers trying to read through the incessant crying. We have both trying to understand our lisped words; our unattractive building of clay becomes the best Picasso work for them, and the smallest gesture of getting a glass of water for them becomes the biggest delight!

Through our teenage years, they brace themselves for the caustic mood swings we go through, when nothing they do can be good enough, and everything they say becomes  an anti-teen way of life!

And then life comes a full circle, and also in this blog, when we reach our twenties, and begin to depend on them again. "What if I do this?" I think, and Pop says, "but beta won't that  be better?" And I think " wow! will I ever be able to think like that??"

Mom's advice suddenly becomes word of law, and you react scornfully when your younger sibling acts like your bygone self - and don't you wish he/she saw in your mom/dad - what you can heartily appreciate now!

On Children's day  I saw umpteen sets of parents prance around their wealth of joy, dapperly dressed, buying them little gifts, taking them for outings, making them feel special in whatever way possible. No demand was given a No, 14th November, becomes every kid's birthday!

And if we are so special to our parents, without doing anything much at all other than, well, being their kids, (and kids we will always be to them, even if we are 50!)... and if we can be pampered so much, then it makes much more sense to have a true celebration of Parents Day!!

How about a nice card to our parents appreciating them for their love and understanding? How about a day of listening to your parent's wishes and demands, and making them feel like a kid! A day when we ask them to take a break, relax, and we handle the mundane household  chores. The celebration needn't be big, but the gesture, the underlying thought, might just work wonders to make them feel special. Even if we just listen to their preachings, actually LISTEN, it might make just make their day!

Observe your mother, look at the things that make her laugh... she would look wonderfully beautiful in that moment of innocent happiness... Or your dad, who has a tough exterior, but inside he's such a softie he could make your heart melt. Their demands extremely measured, their expectations very little. Even fulfilling all those, even once a year, would be a great move!

More than children, we are now in a position to become their best confidantes. Maybe for some it has already happened, maybe its in transition for rest. But what we can imbibe in ourselves now is a sense of responsibility... for our loving, still 'young' parents.

If only I could apparate

The second to last edition of the harry potter movies is almost upon us, and like any other die-hard - loving harry potter fan, despite the fact that between the time when I first laid hands on Harry Potter, and today when there's still 13 days to go when the movie releases, a period of 11 long years have passed... the passion, the excitement, is alive and thriving like back in my teenage years, and probably the only remaining connection between today and those long foregone years...

Since in the last book, Harry finally earns the magical legal license to apparate, I wondered, if I had the magic blood too, what all would I do if I could apparate!!

Apparate, according to the harry potter parlance is "a magical form of teleportation, through which a witch or wizard can disappear ("Disapparate") from one location and reappear ("Apparate") in another. It is sometimes accompanied by a distinctive cracking or popping sound, though this is associated with ineptitude rather than success; the most skilled wizards can Apparate "so suddenly and silently" that they seem to have "popped out of the ground" (Dumbledore)" (source - wikipedia)

And during the reading of all these instances of apparition, besides imagining myself a part of Harry Potter world, I wondered how wonderful it would be to be able to apparate, and be present at a place of my own will, at just a wish of my mind. Not only would it save LOADS of travel time (and money, but right now that's not important) but to be at my chosen place at any time I wish to.. that would be amazing!!!

If only I could apparate, I could reach at each of my friend's wedding scheduled starting from 29th nov till 30th Jan (5 weddings! 5 weddings!).. and explore a lot of places of India in the meantime!

If only I could apparate, I would be easily be present at my baby sister's 18th birthday, as soon as my office work got over, and not worry about leaves!

If only I could apparate, I would have made a visit at each of my special-friends place on diwali night, given a hug and best wishes, and then reached back to my own home just in time for the annual puja... and petted my adorable pup Tom

If only I could apparate, I would right now be next to my sister, forcing to set up the chat option on her new phone, so that we can be in contact 24x7!!

If only I could apparate, I would be just in time for everything, explore all moments, make many more wonderful memories than possible as a Muggle!

For anyone else, I guess the desires would revolve around which would fulfill their emotional fantasies and desires... quoting many of my friends current situation, they would want to be with their better halves whenever they desire, without having to go through the physical and mental rigmarole of travel.. to be with them everyday, share the day's moments together, bridge the physical gap and enjoy the little moments that come by themselves..

On a lighter note..

A friend who would like to remain anonymous (and rightly so) remarked, she would apparate to walk in onto two people making out! This would be so that she could register the shock on the very embarrassed twosome, and she could have her devil laugh ...

Another wish comes to spend every weekend in Vegas..

My sister, and me too, would want to apparate to every fine dining place in the world and explore rich cuisines..

The she-devil continues with her wish list, and I quote- " i wud want to catch all actresses/models in their without make up mode...and feel gud abt myself "

The philosopher in one person wishes to visit Antartica and see ice, and only ice, around him...

The same philosopher suddenly professes the need to visit all the 7 wonders of the earth, and then make a journey to the center of the earth

A very serious and righteous use of this power is expressed as one that could be used to nail all criminals, by apparating to the crime scene at "just the right time"

Travel - friendships - family - food - defense - many emotions are captured while trying to use a magical power.

While we may never get a magical power, I do wish we all get the means to achieve these different dreams.

Except for the She-devil.. she's gonna make a lot of people uncomfortable!!!

Commonwealth Games, New Delhi, 2010

I will always always remember the opening ceremony of the commonwealth games. It will be the medicine I turn to when I'm down. It will be the source of positivity that I will look for when in doubt. It will be the belief that we all sometimes need, the proof of believing in our great nation, India.

The countdown to the games were trodden with their own controversies and negative media reporting, lambasting in the public and private, rampant. It was a process we've grown accustomed to, and maybe have made it a part of our lives. Corruption, lies, lagging work, hatred towards the bureaucratic set up, the mocking and jeering of the word "Incredible India", cringing when the ad "Dilli ho ooo" came on air - thinking about the unfinished work and wondering what exactly are we inviting people over to Delhi for, further disappointment when A R Rahman's inauguration song came under fire too, and what not. Hoping, wishing, deep down, maybe we'll get another chance to show the world what we've really got, yet realizing why we need to procrastinate everything?? This was it, this was the chance, and we've blown it. Maybe we're known the land of snake charmers, not for nothing. Maybe thats what we should go back to doing.

But wait, maybe all is not lost. Okay so maybe some parts of the game village are dirty, how long will it take to clean them up anyway? And the stadiums? Well they seem to be pretty well built. Corruption? Ah well maybe it happened, maybe its just overblown by the media. After all, we do tend to be negative sometimes, don't we? Maybe, maybe, maybe things will be fine - no further embarrassments God!
And so on and so forth, Indians prayed together to their Gods - the Hindus to their 84 lakh versions of different gods, the Muslims to their Allah, the Christians to Jesus, and so on.

Suddenly, somehow, the slate was wiped clean, a little. Okay, so maybe a cobra was found in the village, but that was just Lord Shiva at work! And the diplomats and athletes agreed to come, didn't they? Like PT Usha said, athletes are used to living in little "rough" conditions. Well, that settles it then. We have prepared "decently". Not too great, but presentable. Next time, pakka, we'll show them. We already have too much on our minds, don't disturb us, world!
Defensive mechanisms on work at their best!

The night arrives, and we sit with fingers crossed. Comparisons with China started even before the actual event did, and we are already edgy. This might turn out just more important than an India - Pakistan match. That just seems like a gali match right now. Here, our pride, our might is at stake.
Dignitaries arrive, and we look for notes of anxiety.. we try to gauge how excited the public is.. the stadium is full, so that's a good sign! No outwardly unruly behaviour, no negative reports till now, this better turn out good!!
And the next few minutes take our breath away.
Here we are, in front of the whole world, the 2nd most populated nation on earth, and no fear shows in our preparation, or in our capabilities. We display a spectacular show of wealth, culture, grit and determinedness, we show more to ourselves than to the world that Indians are not beaten, we are aggressive and patriotic to the hilt, its our emotional nature at work which is working hard despite all hurdles and negativities to make the event a grand success.. and not just a success, but a performance, an organisation which is at par of the world's best.
Everyone worked so hard at displaying what's wrong with the CWG... but no one took the care to look at the behind the scene people, who worked hard for the pride of the nation, and instilled in all of us a hope, that we too can work hard for this country, and feel blessed to be born here. Its the ordinary people toil which inspires us, after all, India was never anything but a common man's country. And all the performances, the showcase of culture, dignified and glorified all of it.
It's almost 24 hours since the ceremony, and yet all of it is still fresh. I can't help seeing the videos again and again, and feel the goosebumps rise. I will do so, till the excitement dies down, and then will preserve it as a wonderful memory.

A more extrovert person would want to go to the roof and harp to the world " Look at us, India and Indians, we rock!!"

The Little Important facts

Take a moment off your usual routine life today, and think over - Which have been the most endearing and magical moments of your life?

With this statement, I'm sure there are plenty of thoughts swirling inside your head,so just select any one at random...not unlike selecting one photo from a row of negatives. All different people, at different phases of life. 

Now that the virtual memory is in your hand, think over the moment deeply. What does it hold within its own simple existence, that forces your brain to keep holding on to it, to keep it safely stashed in some corner, and bring it promptly to your notice at the first request? Who are the people who are present in this particular fraction of your life? Mathematically, those moments may form a very small part of your very long existence.. but something happened, and it gained precedence over many other moments. 

Once you start relieving that moment, you will find yourself being transported.. to a totally new place, and yet once upon a time you lived there. Its hard to believe that just some thousand heartbeats ago, you were having this part of life in the present, and not as a part of your past. You were somewhat a different person then, you feel. Is there a connect you see, in the continuous evolution of yourself? The people in that memory - how do you relate to them in the ongoing craziness of every busy day today? Your priorities were different - did you achieve them all? What is it, that tickled you most? Does it still bring a smile? What was the most important activity for the day? Which person(s) did you look forward to seeing and talking to, the most? If these people are still gracing your present, are you grateful for their continuing existence in your life? Do you feel, that somehow in the  bygone days, you were more flexible to opinions and less judgmental? Do you want to get to that carefree mode again? Do you think you've grown up, and yet not achieved in every department of life that there is, the perfect life, that was once envisioned through the long night chats with friends?

Lets shift to the people in the snapshot closely.. but this time, not to the ones that are in focus, but to the ones in the hazy background. How would you react to them, if you were to again live that part of life? Would you be more/less receptive towards them? Or would things remain the same as have been? Probably you were content enough with what you have around you, and hence want the image to remain untarnished. In this case, you can happily look forward to the future. You have no regrets!

But just in case, you feel things should have/could have been a little different, then bingo! You have just realized that things have not gone as expected. And herein lies the wonderful opportunity to reconstruct, and bring a newness to everyday. A reflection from the past will help you build a new you, and bring in changes which you've always wanted. So that, 5 years from now, when you look back, the memory image would be a perfect snap, with just the right amount of tones (read human emotions) -  just like the way you wanted it to be. 

For me, life is a continuous reflection on some of the most treasured memories, which I would never change. And yet, it becomes imperative to change today, and all the coming days, so that I can value my future, just like the cherished, carefully preserved past.

Devils

Black and yellow

corpulent in sight

oh how they swagger around!

filled with might

You wish you could

just swat their pride

reject them on sight,

like they do everyday,and yet,

life doesn't go on without them, so

you carry around a daily hope,

that tomorrow would be "the end"

of this perennial fight!

If only you could throw them some light

that they're not always right

You have nothing in common

yet you still go on

Hoping somehow,

tomorrow will be fine

Maybe one day, 

they'll understand your plight

offer you a ride

without a fight

oh these

yellow and black

Mumbai AUTOS

The First

A journey need not always have a destination.. or have a profound meaning attached to it. A simple outing can turn into an experience of sorts..or as in my case, give material to kickstart a blog.

Before starting on anything, a simple introduction is in demand- the simple ASL - age/sex/location - filling in those blanks would describe me as a 24 yr old girl, living and enjoying her life in India's maximum city Mumbai. High ambitions, high attachment to friends and family, high desire to eat good food ALL the time- high is a word which defines me often- and why should it not, when i'm standing high at 5 feet 7 inches.

Which brings to fore a 4th dimension which I identify with myself - good humour. But if going by how most people react, this was another of my many "poor jokes".

So this was a brief interlude and now the story starts.

I was out celebrating, for no reason, on 15th august. Simple plans, nothing too grand. Land at a mall, a little window shopping, some lightening of pockets at the essential things pending, which i shall strike off my list, and back.

The little trip wasn't bereft of its own woes or jubilations. Rain made its appearance after many days, and for a while I was transported back to the fond days of cruising around in my special vehicle Maruti 800, on the chandigarh roads. Wide roads, green lanes. Chandigarh was truly heaven. In the rains, it looked especially beautiful..

I was jolted back, literally, when the auto ran over a pothole. Suspension isn't very big on Indian autos. Just for the record, the above-mentioned beloved car was sold off for scrap the very same day, having faithfully, loyally and lovingly served its time for over 15 years.

Inorbit, being Inorbit, was full. Specially being India's 64th Independence day, people were out declaring how much financial independence they have in the post Lehman world- and along with that everyone sported miniature indian flags, probably to remind themselves what day is actually today.

The usual scene was on. My first stop is always the bookstore. The demographic distribution is always the same. Post 40 were in majority. In the fiction/non fiction, more so. The relatively younger generation is spread near the magazine section, or the cookbooks, or books more inclined towards self motivation, instant success and so on. The only kids spotted are always near the DVD section... if only everyone could instill in their kids, the joy of reading and getting amazed by your imagination, like my mom did.

Moving on, it was a riot at the food court. A young couple tried hard to placate their bawling 2 yr old with donuts (mad over donuts, yum! I went for one myself) The kid dodged her head left and right to avoid the offering, finally deigned to take a bite. Chubby cheeks, even more stuffed with the donut, the child looked a treat! The donut must've appealed the taste buds of the toddler, because a minute later, she reached out with a pudgy hand for another bite. the couple's smile hid their sigh of relief. Crisis solved!!

Seating spaces overflowing, serpentine lines at food stalls, big garish posters screaming SALE!! or HALF OFF!!, people rushing around with harried looks trying to locate missing shopping bags, or missing leftover change from the previous extravagance, or at the bottom of their worries, a missing family member.

I watched all this from my own cozy space at Ruby Tuesday, (where i'm very much tempted to take an annual membership), a book in one hand and a forkful of tangy pasta in the other.How I wished I had brought my camera along, and this blog could have been punctuated with real people,and their real emotions. 

Malls are a frenzy of activity, a celebration of varied human emotions, their needs and enjoyment. The flavor of this instant, efficient and fast world. I personally love malls - EVERY off day my destination is a mall.

My personal salary drainer? The Mall. The origin of the first blog? The Mall. And the one stop for all cuisines possible? Malls.

Readers shouldn't be stupefied if my next blog might just turn out about food- at the mall. 

This one for those, who always believed my written word is okay enough for everyone to read about.A product of the "Arpita Mishra Left Brain creative division" dishing out the musings and experiences of an uneventful trip. Hope everyone appreciates a first attempt. Special thanks to mom, who pushed in her own style, to take a "next step" in writing; to Chinu, who criticized and edited many of my writings impartially; pop, who always thinks I'm the best; mama and mami, who on FB, as well as recently, encouraged me to write more, Bhola - who's always amazed at how much I can write!, and Shelza who once said to me and Vriti- you girls write so well, you should start a blog or something - and that's when the idea sunk in.

Lots of love