INTROSPECTION

Dear God,
I am writing to you because I have started contemplating on my present condition and I am sure I will be needing some help. I don't have anyone near me to go to...

I have lived the life of a simpleton. Very few wishes. Very few wants. I have what I need and I am almost satisfied. I have enough to satisfy most of my wants. I am not shy in saying I am proud of my will to refrain from getting everything I desire. I have had this as a virtue ever since I was a kid. I remember not getting myself the geared cycle even though I was dying in my heart to. I remember settling down for a 200 rupee lighter when I could have got myself a 400 rupee one. Well, this is what I was proud of. But God, I am thankful for your gift too. I have a set of parents who let me buy a 200 rupee lighter when they knew pretty well I was not smoking and the agreed to buy me a geared cycle when they knew there was going to be at least a month's monetary constipation to follow. I still remember the trips we took and the innumerable key chains I bought just because I fancied them. I am sure it was just because of my parents that I am what I am, today. They gave me enough to make sure I did not miss them when they were not around, but gave me just enough to realize I was born with limits. If there was one thing they told me, it was I could spend as much as I wanted on food and books. I told them I was eating out and used the money buy books. They did not mind. They put me in college when they were fighting to save for a house to live in. They apparently considered me a better investment. I fondly joked saying I was a dead investment. Well, I certainly don't send home any of the money I earn. It doesn't stop them from being proud of their son. I convinced my dad that a digital SLR for 28k was a safer bet than a video recorder for 36k. I still don't know if he fell for it or if he succumbed to my incescent nagging for an SLR. But in the end I got one. He spent a cart load of money on my design courses. I attended classes to make sure the money did not go waste. My mother still feels I have my reasons all on the wrong things. Every step, I have been thankful to you and to them for what I am and what I have. I am sorry for being a load they have to carry around. The least thing I can do is to to make them laugh or at least smile. Like I said, I have little, but enough. But now, I want a bike...I don't know how to ask for it, but I don't have the money necessary to buy it myself. I am writing to you, GOD, because I know my dad reads my blog and if what I have written doesn't move him, nothing else will.

LOVE...PASSION..And everything in between

I walked into my room, on the terrace, late as usual from work. I tell myself I have to get back early each day. Somehow, I just cant. Not even for the one waiting for me. The very sight of her, draped in the darkest of blacks, sitting at the foot of my bed, waiting for my return, instills all hope back into me. She has been my companion for a week now. I had no idea I would get my hands on something so beautiful and slender. She is the find of my lifetime. I just have to look at her and I am already fresh and ready for the night ahead.

We met, perhaps a couple of years back, at a shop in chennai. I was rambling on with my friends an she was there, dressed in the same black, ogled at by a bunch of raucous, fat pursed boys. I slipped her a cheeky smile, out of pity and continued to crack away jokes with my friends. This was the first time I saw her. But it was nothing. No spark of any sorts.

I was then back in college and life went on as usual. I started bunking classes for the fun of it. Like every final year student, I had a project that had to take up 12 hours every week. I was lucky. I had finished most of my project the previous semester and was free to roam the college premises with anyone I chose. Problem, everyone else was busy thinking of a good project for their semester and no one was interested in checking the college perimeter out. I was alone. And like every lonely soul thinks, I thought. I thought a lot. Yeah...You are right. One of the major thoughts I had were about the, then trivial, incident in Chennai.

I am an ardent devotee of all computer games. I can play on a computer for ages and not feel in any way, useless. I would go to the sty they called a hostel, every day, just to get my hands on a laptop to play games on. Thats how I bridged my friendship with everyone in college. Games got me through. We would meet outside on weekends and play through the night. We would play at the Reliance Web World, paying through our noses for an hours worth fun.

Well, it was at a web world in coimbatore that I saw her again. This time she was with another boy. I was at first not sure if it was her, but it was definitely the same black-jet black. I was aghast at what was happening. She was better off without him. Again, I did not relate her with me. But it was not coincidence that had brought her to my city. Whatever it was, I was thankful for it. Now she started hogging my thoughts. I tried to talk to my mother (perhaps the one person I trust the most). She was helpful. She said, wait, you are too young and your dad cant afford to pay for all the expenses that are attached. She was right.

College was over, I started working for PRICOL and was drawing a pretty good sum.
I now thought the wait time was over and I tried to spot her in the crowd. She stood out to me. It was a matter of 2 days before I spotted her. She was in a shop that my friend's neighbor ran. I went in with the pretense of wanting to exchange pleasentaries and took a mighty good look at her. Man, the black was a stand out. The curves were just perfect. She would be an envy for any man. And she was alone. I just couldn't wait. The moment was perfect for me. There was nothing standing in my way anymore. Like any straight minded, un-adultered brat would do, I flashed my mobile around, then took out my debit card, and paid for my first PSP. Now I am no longer walking into an empty room. I have my love waiting for me. Waiting for me to hold her. Why the do you need girls when you have a PSP?????

My Pleasure DOOM

The early morning breeze hitting me on my face, sending a happy shiver of cold down my sculpted back. The hair on my bulky arms raise in unison, angry at the sudden exposure of nascent skin to the harshness of the weather. I lose the slightest trace of tire and wear at the sight of the brilliant orange of the sun, slowly revealing itself from the depths behind the blanket of the whitest clouds. I am best dressed for the morning. A skimpy shirt and a white dothi. The symbol of the contemporary nomad. The sun had just woken up the birds with its warm beads light. The best felling in the world when you are standing bare foot on the road and the birds are singing the morning song up in the heavens. I filled my lungs up with the fresh morning air. Neatly slid the ear phones of my then latest MP3 player, into the ridges of my ear. They sat there, snug, like they were made for me. The music was floating in like it were from the very air around me. It personified everything fresh.

I was leaning forward, arms stiff and out stretched. The wind trying with its acclaimed might to split my hair. My knuckles white from gripping the throttle for so long. My legs weary from the sudden and unsuspected braking and my thighs, holding my dothi to the tank.

Theres music in my ears, blocking any possible distraction for the outside. I am tapping my feet on the brake pedal.

("She's got eyes of the bluest skies...)
God bless Guns and Roses...
(She takes me away to that special place..)
How can he sing like that???
(I'd prob'ly break down and cry...)

Well, exactly at this point of time, I realize that I am not stretched out on a hammock, but driving on a busy road at what can be plainly described as "Break Neck Speed".

I slow down,

(I got a problem, much more in demand...
Theres world hunger, not enough to eat,
So much curroption, police brutality...)

When the hell did Michael start singing???

(Why you wanna trip on me??
Oooh stop trippin'...YEAH stop trippin'...Everybody jus' stop trippin')

I hit a turn at something close to 50 kmph. My slippers scrape the gravel on the road when I lean into the turn. I am hit by a wave of adrenaline. I slow down again while I hum to t=Micheal's amazing music. Its just awesome...I cant fathom how someone can create such a thing of immense beauty.

The song slowly melts into another song thats just as moving.

(Can I act like an angel, if I live like a jerk??
Can I keep on disguising, Can I make believe what I dont decieve, No No No....)

The lyrics just fall in place...Its like these people write with you in mind...

(Dirty money in my left hand, while the preacher's shaking my right hand,
They made me a winner, they made me a sinner)

I almost hit a man crossing the street and move on with his morning pleasentaries still ringing in my ears and my stomach.

( Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend
To the heart and mind, ignorance is kind
there's no comfort in the truth
pain is all you'll find)

WHAM!!!

SLAP!!!!!

That was the next thing I remember...Oh...by the way...wham was just a coincidence...The wham I mention above it the sound that was generated when I hit a bike crossing the road. I had hit him head on...at 60...I had knocked his handlebar and forks clean off his bike...And the "slap" is the people knocking me back to my senses.

Everything that followed next is still like a fairy tale.

I no longer go out with my head phones safely in my mother's hands. My mother mother bought me a brand new helmet to better protect my already fried brains. And I have live (happily) ever after. I do not miss my chance to laugh (I am not sure if that was because I hit my head in that little fiasco).

The strangest compassion

It was 9.30 in the night. I had been working late as usual. I am an ardent lover of all animals. There is this stray pup that I buy food for, each night. This fellow spots me coming out everyday and follows me to the usual spot where I buy him his daily meal. I don't have to ask the shopkeeper for a pack of biscuits. Its become a ritual and we work like clockwork. I got him his pack of biscuits. And like everyday, I share my pack of biscuits with him. One for him(he leaps and snatches it out of my hands) and the next for me(if I manage to cheat it from his keen eyes). We are regularly made fun of by my colleagues. Even if I do, he doesn't give a damn. He just keeps wagging his tail at me and I keep wagging the biscuits under his nose. Each day, we are closely watched by the local begger. He has his one eye on the dog and the other on the pack of biscuits that I use to bait the dog. I am sure he is need, it has never occurred to me to share the pack with him. I always thought that if a man could walk, he could fend for himself(all you need in life for protection are your legs, in case things turn bad and you need to turn tail). I never gave the begger a biscuit. Either I would eat one or two from the pack or I would give the whole thing to the dog. Its been two months since I started feeding this dog and now-a-days, I find the begger shooing the dog off at any possible situation. On this day, however, I was walking through the office gates, craning my head and squinting through the night's smog to catch a glimpse of the dog. Its a great feeling to find someone who is actually happy to see you no matter how late you are from office, or how insanely hungry you are.
I caught sight of the begger sucking away at a half used piece of cigarette under the shelter of the PRICOL bus stop. The dog was no where in sight. Suddenly, across the road, I heard the happy yelp of the dog, my dog. He was happily snipping away at the heels of one of the operators from my company who automatically shooed him away. Being the dog that I raised, he did not leave the half scared, half nervous man alone. He continued to snip at his heels and his shoes. The man did not realize the joy behind the dog's actions and kicked a him. Scared at the sudden movement, the dog jumped from the side of the road into the steady trickle of traffic. Being that it was 9.30 in the night on one of the busiest roads, the dog was hit by a passing Qualis. The car was doing quite a speed and he could not stop the car in time to avoid hitting the dog. Dogs are born with an instinct for escape. I have no idea, but the dog avoided being crushed and howled its way over to where I stood. I too dumb struck and nervous to move ad I couldn't stand the sight of the dog. He looked pitiful, howling like a baby, unable to stand on his hind. He fell down in a heap and I was still too queasy to do anything. I did not know how to react. The begger made his way to the dog and started slowly stoking him. It should have been soothing, because the dog was no longer howling as bad. Once the dog had stopped howling, he slowly held to the dog's hind and put it back on its feet. The dog winced and feel back on the ground. He did not give up. He gave it another shot. I do not usually believe in miracles, but the dog stood up, wincing, howling, but standing. I now buy the begger a slice of bread or two every time I see him. He had the courage to do what I couldn't.

I write this in the memory of the dog that no longer wags its tail when I am sad. I haven't seen him in over a week now. I haven't seen the begger either.

THEY WEREN'T, FOR A REASON

(A sliver from a brother’s diary)

July 29, 1939.

We have been running from the Germans for 3 days now. We were spotted for the second time yesterday by their sniper. We almost missed him. He was blended with the bushes. Don spotted him peeking. He had his camouflage on. Down to the twigs on his helmet. It was luck that gave him to us. I did not want to alert the entire battalion. I got my boys to lie low for a while. It was 2 in the morning and most of their men would have been asleep or atleast weary, for we had been giving them the slip for a week now. I was wrong. The sniper let out a shrill whistle out to call his mates. The whistle sent chill down my neck, combined with the strong winds at 2 in the morning. I froze. I got my men into formation and we changed direction to give them the slip. It had worked before and I was not going to try something new. But Sid pointed out to something small that was pulling a man behind it. The Germans now had dogs on our heels. I got the guys to split into 3 groups of 2 and I took Jack with me. Sam climbed the nearest tree and spotted atleast 20 men, including 3 snipers, 5 dogs. I thanked the clear skies and the bright moon. But we were just as exposed as they were. I did not want to loose any more of my men. I had already lost 3 to this bloody mission. I told my men to flange the Germans from behind the trees and take out as many as they can. The looked at me in stunned surprise. Our mission was to discretely take out the German base 20 miles into the Polish lines. Not try and survive an unnecessary barrage of bullets from a completely incompetent set of soldiers. I was confident of our victory. The Germans looked scared. The did not leave their formation. They were a clump. Its always easy to take out a bunch. It’s the stray ones that are troublesome. They were getting closer to us. My men had already managed to get behind their formation. Everything was set for a cross-fire. The plan worked. The Germans were caught in our cross-fire. The Germans fell to the American bullets. We took no prisoners. I lost none of my men. We trudged on for another 4 hours before we were in sight of the German base. We dug our pits in less than an hour. Got our supplied stashed and filled our satchels with what we needed. I got the guys to rest. Tomorrow we take out the base. We had to plan. Our C4 was minimal. We have to rig up a new one to blow the whole place sky high.

My bud from the 31^st battalion wrote saying he had an amazing new talent in the troops. A girl called something like Marilyn Monroe or something. He wrote to me saying was amazing on the field. The Germans infiltrated the American soil on the 15^th. She rushed to ground zero and ran stark naked to distract the Germans and to give the sniper his room for magic. She did not realize she was also distracting the sniper. But you gotta give her a ten for her courage.

I received a letter from Sam yesterday. It was a reply to my whishes for his 5^th birthday. Lisa had also written. I get it from the letter that things are not bright back home either. The state now claims to have their hands on a man called Rudolf Butler. They claim him to be the link to the German master mind Adolf Hitler. They claim Adolf to be Rudolf’s evil twin. Lisa works for the Intelligence and she wrote saying they are trying to seduce Rudolf into talking about Adolf. I want them to try this Monroe girl. But Lisa also said there is some small time pub singer they are working with. They are getting him to look like Diana Ross. And from what Lisa write, they are almost there. This man is going to seduce 12 year old Rudolf into talking about his twin brother. She called this man some Michael (a common name that can be over looked if ever checked by the Germans).

Well, I am atleast alive to command my men. I sure hope they get this thing wound up before the whole army is eradicated. I have 2 hours of rest before I have to communicate my plan for the operation ROOTCANAL, to the group. I hope I am alive till then. Although we took out the Germans on our tail, I still think they were just the tip of an ice berg. I miss Tequila on the rocks. And I miss Sam and Lisa. Love you guys, and you too Tequila.

DISCLAIMER:

This piece of text was written by an American soldier who thought he was leading an American troop of atleast 7 during the second world war on the 29^th of July, 1939. If you believe this is true, man you need a lesson in history. Also, I have no idea about Monroe’s courage. So there was no offence meant there. With Michael, please do not think it is Michael Jackson. I love him. This is just some Diana Ross look-alike Michael. If you feel any part of the above post is against your religious principles, please do not hesitate to add that in the comments.

MARTYR???

It was just past midnight. The owl's hoot woke him from his doze. It was never more than a doze. Not that he was a light sleeper, but because it was all he could afford. A still moment. A break from his march the whole day. He can never afford to stop. He was counted upon by his entire family. He was not the eldest. But he was the oldest. Everyone older than him were dead or were devoured by the drought. He had managed to cheat both. His mother had somehow managed to raise another family and now it was upon him to serve her and her new family. He was her minion. He was destined to serve her.

His family was so huge it was dubbed "The Colony". They had a whole hill to themselves. He was the eldest now and he had to bear the burden of bringing in food for his family. He did not necessarily have to haul the food in. If he found something worthwhile, he could call out for his brothers and they would come give him a hand with the haul. He seldom hunted. It was dangerous to hunt, given that he had to provide for his family and he could not afford anything happening to him. But when he was high on his senses, he would try his luck with a fresh catch.

He liked an adventure. He actually craved for them. He would wander into the most dangerous parts of the wilderness just to catch a glimpse of this huge atrocity of a monster that was the cause for all his sufferings and losses. The monster had single handedly devastated his whole life. It had killed his father (or so his mother said). He watched the monster kill his brothers with a single blow. He had seen it crush his brothers, armors and all. He had seen enough to trust in its immense strength. It was his mission to save his present family from this thing. He was ready to risk it all, if necessary. War was not new to him. He had conjured many a wars and had infiltrated a number of secure, so-called impenetrable sites.


The owl that woke him up, swooped down pretty close to him. He was worried for a moment that he might be caught off guard. But he had enough time to react to the owl's sudden frenzy. He was out on the prowl for some food for the colony. It was now 3 days since he had caught the glimpse of any food. He had recently found traces of some new food. He called it food because it was very much edible and it also had an amazing taste, quite unlike his mother's. He had never tasted anything quite so similar. He realized that this was the crumbs from the monster's feed for the day. It was not difficult to deduce as he soon saw a whole bunch of it placed neatly on a silver tray, the size of a parking lot. He decided this was going to be his dinner for toy and for years to come. He decided to call out for his brothers. A bunch of them could definitely haul the whole loot out. Trouble was it was well past midnight and there wasn't so much as a stray beam of light to guide him out of this wilderness and into his hill. It did not matter. He had left a trail for himself as a precaution. But before he left to get his brothers, he thought he would take a closer look at how just how much food the monster had left for him to forage. He was astounded at the expanse of food laid out in front of him. It was too much emotion for him to control. He almost cried in exhilaration. He tried a spec of the monster's food and wan moved by the very taste of it. It simply melted in his mouth. He decided it was worth risking the lives of his kid brothers. A least it'll keep the ones alive, alive.

He turned to get his brothers and caught sight of the monster. Rolling in his sleep, his mouth wide open to the skies. A long thread of drool hanging from his mouth. His snore was piercing through the air. Every breath of his sent a cold spike down his back. He stood there watching the monster's huge abs rise and fall in rhythm to his snore. He was disgusted at the very sight of this thing. He was reminded of the many brothers he had lost to this monster's swipe. He could remember his mother's drawl " You were fools to go to a fight naked. You should have dressed up like me. Those monsters like us women better than you puny freaks". It just infuriated him. He decided it was time. He controlled his emotions long enough to call his brothers to the scene. The trail he had laid earlier proved helpful. Soon his brothers were feasting on the monster's meal. When they were full, they slowly started shifting the food, speck by little speck, to their little hill.

Our hero slowly gave his brothers the slip and made his way to the spot where the monster lay. He clawed his way up an was now face to face with the monster that has caused him so much grief. He stared into the monster's half open eyes for sometime. By this time, the sun had just started to peek out from behind the clouds. A faint ray of light streaked across the wilderness, breaking the lining of the clouds. It cast a huge shadow of him on the monster's face. The monster, feeling the sun hit him on the face, turned in his sleep. Our hero, slowly made his way closer to the monster. With all his might and with all the strength he could derive from his every limb and muscle of his, he tried to choke the monster. He could not fit his limbs over the monsters neck so he tried biting off the monster's wind pipe. He slowly made his way to the monster's neck and again, with all his might, took a bite at the monster's throat.

Who can stand a bite at the throat, even when they are sleeping? I am no exception. I just crushed the ant and went back to sleep, without realizing that I had given a completely stupid ant, the title of a martyr.

THE MOBILE REVOLUTION

I have been following the mobile world for quite sometime now. I've actually fallen out of touch since I joined work. The mobile phone has so far been my favorite inventions of my lifetime(I do not mean to make it sound like I invented it...,but). I don't think there is any necessity for me to go on about how important it has been and stuff. What is best about this piece of technology is that it has revolutionized the the modern society. In a span of a decade, the mobile has transcended from being a symbol of modernization to an object the wife involuntarily picks to throw at her husband. I remember the monolithic sculptor they initially tried to pass of for a cell phone. I remember the buzz it created among the people. The endless opportunities it brought along with it. Any one who had the financial support to procure the then MOBILE phone did not anticipate the bill that was part of the package(like the news we dread after a fling). The phone soon ebbed away from being an invention for the people to being an invention for bankruptcy. But its legend never did fade. This particular phone I am talking about had features no one could have imagined at that point of time. It was a cordless phone and a pager all rolled in one. It could let you call anyone from anywhere. The best touch the guys had added to it was the good old snake game. It just blew the peoples minds away when they realized they could now actually do something when they were bored(this small inclusion helped reduce the population spurt by 15%).

Now that the mobile phone was all settled among the niche section of the society, it was now time to widen the avenues for market. The most daring move in the world of marketing ever and one of the finest in that too. The target group was set as the so called NXT GEN kids. The group that thought anyone above 25 was old and anyone nearing 40 was senile. Give them a tag to suck on and watch the product behind the tag sell like hot scones(how do you think PEPSI was a success? Imagine if they had tried to sell PEPSI to a bunch of immaculate 45 year old gentlemen). Tell the kids the mobile was a revolution inspired by their motives and pet peeves, you get yourself the widest market in the world. Well, this phone was designed to be slightly sleeker and more user friendly than the previous one. It was supposed to give the kids the feeling of freedom and the aged, the feeling of youth. Well, you now have a phone, pager, gameboy. What more can you give to sell your product? The answer was in the inclusion of an infra red port for easy data transfer. You can now send and receive saved names and numbers with the touch of a button and a wait time in the rage of an elephants gestation period. But still, it was another revolution that was now available to the common man(but are rich bastards that common?).

Technology improves with progress of time. Now the prices of the mobiles had started to fall thanks to the privatization of the network providers and the mobile was now truly a common mans pride. You no longer had to save for a house just to buy yourself a mobile phone. You just had to sell it. with this step, the phone manufacturers started adding fresh and innovative features to the mobile phone. If you could afford it, you could now go in for a phone that let you play 2 player snake games and display the names and numbers on a wider screen with a backlight of your choice.

The next innovation was just as good as the mobile phone itself. Now there were affordable mobiles with built-in cameras. You shoot a picture of someone, it turns up a sonogram of them when they were a fetus. But another step into the future. With the camera came other features like video recording, MP3 player(a savior for the lost and the hopeless), GPS(also a savior for the lost and the hplessly lost).

A sudden spurt in the mobile population. People started realizing the incentives that came wit the mobile phones. They started using the phone to their advantage. The manufacturers also started toying around with the customers. Showing them what they want to sell and telling them that was what they NEEDED. Your B/W Lcd back lights got slowly transformed into the color LCDs and the TFTs. The mobile got transformed. It was now ready to meet the requirements of a whole new defenition. It was no longer the MOBILE phone . It is now the Smart Phone. Smart name.

My friend recently got himself one of these babies. It was a bomb. It had features you can only dream of. Sliding key pad, edge, Wi-Fi, bluetooth, internet browser, office softwares and the rest of the paraphernalia. He paid a bomb for it too.

But all this is not the revolution I had in mind. I recently ran into a phone. No, THE phone. I am going to attempt to list down the features of this phone. I am sure to miss out on a lot, but the general look out features are

• Touch Screen (mind you, my friend's 11k phone did not have it)
• 3.0 mega pixel camera (with video recording capabilities)
• Bluetooth
• 4 built-in speakers with 3d surround sound(ITS AMAZING)
• Fm radio
• Slide Show capabilites

And here is the part that actually drove me to get this piece on nascent ingeniousness

• Built-in TV(appreciate the thought though the reception is a little sad)

The other amazing factor that drove me to get this phone was its tag. It came with 2 batteries, a USB charger, A USB video cable, 128MB memory card and a cute receptionist handling the customers' whims. It was priced at 4.4k(inclusive of taxes of any possible kind and a serious half-an-hour haggle).


P.S.

I am writing this blog to educate general public, about the presence of other trustworthy brands of mobile phones among the present DONS. The phone I bought was called

Looks familiar? I did not realize this for 2 days since I got my phone.