An Open Letter To Mr. Shahrukh Khan

The picture that inspired this open letter. Follow the link for the original NDTV coverage.

Dear Mr. King Khan,

For years I have tolerated your mediocre acting and monotonous monologues. For years I've watched and supported the 3 hour mind-numbing PR coverage, you call movies.

I have in fact paid for them with the peanuts my parents passed off as pocket money, picking your movies over a steaming hot plate of momos that promised a fixed amount of satisfaction. 

I'll be honest, I find Chetan Bhagat's political articles more engaging than watching you prance around the big screen trying to get your lady love's attention. In fact, your competition Himesh Reshemiya seems like a far better entertainment investment at this point, providing ample opportunities for some wholesome movie-bashing-fun group activity.

Your movies though Mr. Khan, are a different realm of torture altogether. First I'm forced to endure the 3 hour long fiasco only to have your brain-washed-drones for a fan take it upon themselves to inhibit my freedom of expression, should I try to put my two cents of reason in.

As if overacting wasn't enough you have been, among other things, leading a nation full of young, unsuspecting, impressionable minds to believe that it's imperative a person truly in love, must in a moment of desperation or melancholy or both, open his hands wide in a dramatic slow motion as if ready to hug the world. Of course the gesture only holds meaning when done in the middle of the- road, bridge,market, stadium,mountains, and never in the safe and private confines of one's home.

Don't judge this letter to be a rant of a bitter fan, for I do give credit where it's due.

'Chak De! India' was a pleasant surprise and I must admit for a moment you had me fooled. I was sure you'd turned a new leaf. I came this close to hitting the like button on your Facebook page.

Then again, you're not the one to take a win and go home. No Sir, you refuse to rest on your laurels. You had to immediately go and make 'Om Shanti Om' and 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' to set your image straight, lest some of us mistake you for an intelligent actor. Of course you wouldn't be 'King Khan', if you just stopped there, so what do you do? You add more gems like 'Ra. One', 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan', and 'Chennai Express', one after another to your already distinguished creative portfolio.

Don't get me wrong, I am a sucker for a good underdog story as much as the next person.
Although, in this particular case I have drained all the sympathy a humble beginning, no godparents in Bollywood, few admirable box office hits, DDLJ and two dead parents would inspire and now I'm all out.

I'm sorry that you hit your mid-life crisis right when I ran out of my sympathies for you.

Why else with industry's best fashion consultants at your disposal would you choose to dress like a teenage hipster with sagging pants at an IPL match? Do you realise it makes you look like a road side romeo and not exactly the 'badshah' of the Bollywood?

I understand of course that our fashion-centric Bollywood can be quite demanding. The ever changing fashion trends can be very confounding, but when was having your underwear join in the collective cheer considered fashionable, even for teenagers, let alone a 48 year old grown up man?

Mid life crisis can be hard Mr. Khan, but yours seem to have a simple solution. It's called a belt.

I'd go into the deep V neck blouses you pick to show off your painstakingly waxed chest, but I'll save that for another day.

If at all your underwear-showing-pant-slipping dress choice at a public event like an IPL was because you were trying your hands at method acting and were simply attempting to crawl into the skin of a character for a future movie, I apologise profusely Sir. 

Misunderstandings happen.

I'd wish you G'luck, but you've already come so far with your mediocre talent and sheer dumb luck, I'm sure you'll be just fine.

Sincerely

Need I say more?

Why am I Making Such Fuss over Crime Against Women, you ask?

Because I'm a woman and I'm terrified of going out after dark; because my mom calls me every 10 minutes if I'm not back home after 6 pm; because Delhi is my city too and I'm sick of living in fear, sick of constantly looking over my shoulder, sick of being whistled at, stared at, groped, molested and harassed every time I venture out. Because I'm a woman and not a bird who should be back in her nest after dark; Because I believe Delhi Police's ingenious idea of putting us women under house arrest after 8 pm in the name of our own safety isn't so ingenious after all, but instead reeks of laziness and apathy.

Because before being a woman, I'm a human.

An apologetic goodbye- RIP GIRL. I am sorry (Delhi Rape Case)

Dear Friend (Medical Student),

I know it's a bit too late and may be too little for what you've gone through, but I want to start by aplologising to you on the behalf of a society that needed an 'educated girl like you to be brutally mutilated on a public transport on a route that they themselves have taken at least once in their lifetime' to awaken, because this time it was too close to home for them; on the behalf of the inept, inert, apathetic Police force that sincerely believes that women themselves are responsible for getting raped- after all real victims never report and that couldn't protect your basic right to live; the corrupt, torpid & dormant government that wakes up occasionally to issue statements after every crime, and promptly goes back to sleep.

I apologise to you on the behalf of every Indian who takes pride in his/her country and defends the misogynistic traditions and hypocritical patriarchal culture it stands for; on the behalf of a sad nation that will call you on the 8th day of Navratras and respectfully wash your feet while being glad that you weren't born in their family; on the behalf of every mother and father who claims that they treat their children equally and give them equal opportunities by sending them to school, while asking their daughters to be back home before 'sun-set', on the behalf of all those men, women and politicians who feel one accident should turn a woman into a 'Zinda laash'; on the behalf of the entire media that made your whole life look meaningless in comparison that one incident and went on to nickname you 'Damini'. I'm sorry, that we Indians are like that- we just love our butter chicken and Bollywood, and I'm sorry that you went out with just any male friend and not with Sunny Deol by your side, but being a Delhite you should have known better that you'll need to be protected, that you'll need a real man by your side to fight for you.

I apologise to you on the behalf of all the people who felt sorry for you, angry even, but who instead of actually getting up and doing something about it updated their facebook or twitter status and instantly felt better. I apologise on the behalf of each and every person who readily passes the buck and blames the politicians, the miserable system or even the police instead of admitting that they themselves at some level or the other were part of the problem; on behalf of everyone who will tell you to rest in peace while those rascals breathe easy and your family runs from pillar to post for justice.

Please also accept my apologies on the behalf of everyone who is demanding death penalty, life imprisonment or even castration for those bastards- I wish I could ensure a more medieval punishment- stuffing the same rod in every possible hole in the bodies of those men several times a day, everyday, till they are dead.

I know you must be hopeful, but let me apologise to you in advance for all the disappointments that are about to come your way when the government fails to do something, anything; when the flurry around you dies down and people get back to their routines; when you're forced to fade into oblivion by celebrity marriages or even cricket matches, and become a date in archives of old news papers until other mutilated rape victim takes your place.

Last but not the least I want to apologise to you of my own actions and inaction- every time that I gave into my mom's demands of being back home before dark, every time I didn't give hell to those sexual harassers on the public transport because I was tired to my bones or wanted to get home early, everytime I saw a woman being harassed and let myself be pulled to safety by my friends instead of doing something about it. I have slapped, beaten and dragged men to police vans for sexual harassment, even broken their cell phones for taking pictures of unsuspecting women but I apologise for just stopping there and even feeling good about myself. I apologise for not following up at the police station because I got busy or just lazy.

I apologise sincerely and from the bottom of my heart. 

With a hand on my heart, I bid you Goodbye my friend. 

I can only hope you're in a better place now.

Epiphany (I)

Often, friends and family have told me how they are almost certain of seeing me in some news paper someday. Flattering as it might seem, their remark more often than not leaves me perturbed and secretly praying that it's not on the third page of some news paper under the obituary column.

I'm not sure if it's the youthful idealism, arrogance or my ego but I do desperately want my life to mean something.

D
...........................................................................
Additional NOTE:
Dear D,
Even though Paulo Cohelo told you otherwise, you can't just want something badly enough and then leave it up to the conspiring universe to do the needful. Believing that this or any other parallel universe will conspire in your favour just by virtue of wanting something isn't just stupid, it's beyond stupid.

It's about time you stop being stupid, got off your lazy ass and started doing things. Also, start USING ME for a change, I'm one of those wonderful things that the more you use, the more I grow.

With Love,
D's Brain

You know you're with the right guy when..

..even after being with you for 4 years

• the thought of being with you for another forty still fills him with a sense of wonder
• he remembers the stuffed white tiger you liked in the mall and surprises you with it and a little tiger cub at your work.
• he drives through traffic to your work just because you have a sudden whim to have lunch with him
• he wrote a special song, just to put you to sleep
• he holds you by the waist and sings softy in your ear till you completely forget what was bothering you
• he drives around entire city to find you momos exactly like the ones you loved in back home
• he tells a store manager to keep an eye out for a particular blue dress you had been obsessing over and randomly picks you from work to get you the dress as soon as it arrives
• he celebrates your ‘Birthday Eve’, ‘Birthday’ and throws in another ‘Birthday++’ because you don’t want the celebration to end yet. 3 days of birthday celebration because he knows how much you love your birthdays
• he gets you lunch because you are too lazy, too hungry or too caught up to get some yourself
• he knows that you’re sharing your last piece of chocolate cake with him only and only because you’re full and still loves you
• he sings you to sleep
• he tells you dragon stories(if you still love dragons that is) to keep your mind off the pain during your periods
• he quits smoking because the smoke makes you nauseous
• he flies down from another city over the weekend because you really miss him
• he randomly gets you roses
• he sees the world as - things you love or would love and things you dislike and hate
• he is willing to let you drive his car even though the last time was a disaster
• instead of ignoring you or waiting for you to tell him, he still gets bothered if you are even slightly angry, upset or even irritated
• he stops the car and runs across the highway to get you some wild dried plant that you thought looked fascinating
• he takes out time every once in a while to tell you that you are the best thing that happened to him

P.S: Still confused? Well let's just say if you're with the right guy, you'll already have a list of your own. ;)

The Right Guy? 

Life altering realisation...

The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.

DEL-BLR

Happy "Shoving-your-love-in-everyone's-face" Day.

All you need is love?  Really?
Well, then now is your time. Never before was love put up on sale in display windows of fancy shops at such a large scale. Take out that credit card and use it well.

On the other hand getting a little realistic every once in a while doesn't hurt. But if you are not the kinds, then hold on to your prince or princes real tight and dance on. Live your fairy-tale for you never know when the clock strikes twelve!

Lift up your glasses.. CHEERS.. for that elusive 'Happily ever after'.

Sheila Ki Jawani..

You're about to become a part of an experiment. Be ware.

1. Were you named after anyone?

No. My parents like to be different. In fact I dare you to find another person with same name as mine.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I was livid and was almost reduced to tears when someone told me how amazing I am and promised me he meant it.

I think my reaction messed up his 'understanding' of women .

3. Do you like your handwriting?

Yes. I was forced to make all soft-boards and charts in school.

4. What is your favourite lunch meal?

Momos, creamy mushroom pasta, chicken (roasted, tandoori, tikka, kabab, butter, curry, grilled.. you name it)

5. Do you have kids?

I have a wife, a would be husband, many would be wives and a tiny brother who looks up to me and that I bully around. But no real kids.

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself?

There are exactly two possibilities: 
a) I would be best-friends with myself   
b) I would kill myself and be proud that I did mankind a favour.

7. Do you use sarcasm?

Would you leave me alone if I did?

8. Do you still have your tonsils?

Yes, I still have my tonsils, and my appendix and all the other useless organs in my body just like I still have all my small clothes, books and toys. I find it hard to junk stuff no matter how useless they are. YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?

9. Would you bungee jump?

What is there to not like about the idea of hanging upside down and looking at the world with a whole new perspective?
Literally.

10. What is your favourite cereal?

I am required to have a 'favourite' cereal? What are you- my mom?

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

If I could convert all the time I saved by NOT untying my shoes into money I would be a millionaire by now.

13. What is your favourite ice cream?

Butter scotch, Chocolate, vanilla

14. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Whether or not they possess the art of conversation.

15. Red or Pink?

It has to be the colour of Passion, anger and DANGER. RED.

16. What is your least favourite thing about yourself?

My volatile moods

17. Whom do you miss the most?

RKC. I don't think I would have been familiar with the concept of 'missing someone' had it not been for him.

18. Do you want everyone to complete this list?

Because completing this list is such an enriching experience that if they didn't their life would be incomplete?

19. What colour pants and shoes are you wearing right now?

At home I am only found in boxers or skirts. Yes, even in winters. 
Pants are just too restricting, don't you think? 

21. What are you listening to right now?

My grumbling stomach.

22. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?

WHITE. 

- I'll be good as new, always

- kids wont be peeling my cover and rubbing my face on  paper trying to fill colour in some old man's payjamas

- I would have to do no dirty work, yet no crayon set would be complete without me. ;-)

23. Favourite smells?

Wet mud, pertol, vicks, camphor, nail polish remover, chicken being cooked. 

24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?

My grandfather.

25. Do you like the person who sent this to you?

It wasn't sent to me. I just picked it from Anta . Yes, without even asking her. Is that rude?

26. Favourite sports to watch?

Lion/tiger/crocodile/Snake hunting their prey.

27. Hair colour?

Black. And just so you know, my heart is black too.

28. Eye colour?

How bored are you?

29. Do you wear contacts?

No, seriously?

30. Favourite food?

Can I write a 5000 word essay here?

31. Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

Scary movies with happy endings.

.

32. Last movie you watched?

American Beauty

33. What colour shirt are you wearing?

How on mother earth knowing the colour of my shirt will add value to your life in any way?
Or are you going to judge me on the Shirt colours I pick?

34. Summer or Winter?

Winter. I alway pray for its long life and good health. :)

35. Hugs or kisses?

Mostly its just handshakes. But then there are people that I hug and kiss all the time :)

37. Most likely to respond?

To invitations for: parties with free food and drinks, gate-crashing weddings, goa trip, dog's birthday and climate change conference (again for free food.), suicide plans, paint-ball war, war, sword fight,etc

38. Least likely to respond?

To mundane things.

39. What are you reading right now?

Nothing. Sad but true.

40. What is on your mouse pad?

My mouse. Duh! 

41. What did you last see on TV?

I don't even remember the last time I watched TV.

42. Favourite sounds?

Papa's car lock sound when he comes back home. I miss it.

43. Rolling Stones or Beatles?

Both.

44. What is the farthest you have been from home?

Kanyakumari. Thats where we welcomed 2010.

45. Do you have a special talent?

No.

Shoot me.

oh wait I can make people cry.

46. Where were you born?

Pataliputra.

47. Whose answers are you looking forward to getting back?

Well, if you Do it, you must let me know :)

48. How did you meet your spouse/significant other?

Blogging!


P.S: In case you are still wondering, the title of the blog post has got nothing to do with the post. 
I am just bored and am experimenting.

Rajnikant(ism)

Feminism, racism, sexism your 15 minutes of fame are over. Make way for Rajnikant(ism)?!?

P.S: Rajni 'CHUCK-Norris'-Ass' Kant anyone?

One of those 'Random Confessions'

A little less dramatic, but close enough..

For someone who enjoyed writing, I haven't written anything in over a year. A long dead and neglected blog is a testimony to that.

It's not because of some writer's block that stretched well over a year. It's not because I lack the will. ‘I’ve been busy and occupied’ is the excuse I give but everybody knows it’s just that, an excuse. Yes, I am lazy, but that's not 'the' reason. I haven’t been emotionally dead for so long either. I had plethora of emotions pulling me in every direction.

I have been livid with anger on numerous occasions, so livid that I cried violently every time I tried writing about it and I have been happy too, so happy that if a genie materialised in front of me right then I won't have known what more to ask for.

I did feel loved, so loved that I couldn't think of a more lucky person.

I felt humiliated, depressed, trampled, crushed and hopeless for days at a time. On the other hand there were days I felt happy, elated, ecstatic, obsessive and passionate.

There were days when I loved every living being on the planet and then there were days when I despised mankind altogether.

There were days when I believed with every grain of my being that the world loves me and on other occasions I believed that I make no difference to this world what so ever with the same passion.

There were days when I went out and made friends of strangers and then there were other when I severed all ties with the world.

Evidently there wasn't a dearth of things to write about. Every emotion that I felt had one common thread, one thing, the only thing that could ever make me write- Passion.

I had abundant opportunities to tell a story that instead of sharing I chose to strangle and push under the carpet.

Why ?

Well, because as I have been told multiple times I am an IDIOT. 

This blog was more than just a blog. It was a promise I made, goals I set, expectations I had from myself. Although I have come a long way since this blog was started, yet, every time I failed to keep those promises, fell short of reaching those goals and meet those obscenely high level of expectations I felt unworthy.

I wanted to write. I wanted it, very badly and so I tried. I tried over and over again and I gave up over and over again. Every time I failed and felt unworthy I marked the occasion by killing a story I could have told.

Now as 2011 inches closer I find myself sitting on a pile of skeletons of stories I killed with what seems like a wasted year, a neglected blog, a confounded mind, two roads diverging in the woods and a scared heart.

P.S: Note to self

Dear scared heart, Please believe. JUST BELIEVE.

Dear Confounded mind, Try harder. You are capable of much more. 'Scared Heart' has a lot of faith in you.

Drugged

Mr. Heart is struggling to break out of the rib-cage. He wants to hip-hop on Delhi streets. Mr. Right Foot and Mr. Left Foot are having a hard time staying in one place. All they want is to hop, jump and run simultaneously on the road.

The Lip sisters have been apart for a long time now revealing the tooth family. Ms. Right Eye and Ms. Left eye don’t feel like blinking… the world never looked so fantastic.

The Ear brothers are in love with Ms. Vocal Chords, who is seemingly aware of her secret admirers and haven’t stopped singing since morning. Kind Mr. Lungs is tired, overworked and out of breath! His ‘Café Oxygen’ has been getting too many delivery orders and he is finding it hard to provide oxygen to everyone despite inflating to twice his size.

P.S: My body is under influence of The happiness drug. :-D

Close Enough. ;-)

A compulsion

As a student of journalism and a future journalist I would be mirroring the needs, aspirations and plight of the society. However, being driven to college every morning to meet the attendance requirement as a prime motivation makes me feel like a donkey. Led to the desired destination by a hanging carrot, the striking similarity of the situation and makes it highly demeaning. The 75% minimum attendance requirement for 'Journalism Hons.' in Delhi University hangs on our head like a double edged sword. Did the authorities get confused between minimum and maximum? By what standards is 75% minimum?

It's almost like we are sleep walking. We go to college because... uh, to get education. Why? Didn't you get enough education in your 12 years at school? Well, but that's what people do after high school. You need to go to college to get a good job (good job= great money = fabulous life style)and you need attendance, both in tutorials and lectures to take University Examinations and to be eligible for promotion to the next class. All those required classes are just obstacles one has to climb over to get the highly solicited degree.

For most students, college is somewhere between a stepping stone and the first taste of freedom. The reasons for not attending classes can range from, a genuine family emergency, a test in another class, time out for recovering from a bad breakup, an incomplete assignment, a beckoning PlayStation, a sudden urge to play Frisbee or even a hangover from the night before or because of your hatred for the class with every ounce of your being.

Coming back to the issue, is attendance the most convenient thing you can do to succeed? And is the lack of attendance the single easiest thing you can do to fail? Or is attendance just another innovative whip in the hands of faculty to bring wayward students on track? I am not against attending classes or the attendance rules requiring students to attend a particular number of classes. I agree that a certain amount of discipline is required but what's the point of attending lectures of the courses which have only instrumental value? All you need to pass these courses are a couple of reference books and notes which have been and are being passed to us by the seniors year after year like some sacred legacy.

In such a scenario caring about the course content or attending classes where the lecturer will dictate the same notes which he gave last year and last to last year and the year prior to that, well seem like wasted effort. Rather than making a grand show of attending classes of the courses which any student with an average IQ can handle on his or her own wouldn't it be better to attend various seminars, film festivals, workshops etc. instead which would help in the over all personality development of the students and equip them with practical knowledge required to handle real life situations.

Skills like original thinking, problem solving, critical ability, creativity, thinking out of the box, handling people etc and experience can't be taught by a lecturer reading out from his/her notes. What's the point of forcing some rules on students just so that the lecturer has a decent number dozing in his class that he can boast? Laying so much interest on attendance makes the entire system attendance centric rather than education centric thus defeating the entire purpose.

Apart from being shameful, using attendance as a stick to rear students to college manifests the shortsightedness of the authorities. These rules will only ensure physical attendance of students in class while they happily sketch cartoons, make graffiti, exchange texts, read the latest bestseller or chick let or just catch up on sleep… waking up occasionally to pretend to be taking copious notes. Let's face it; students will study when they want to study. If authorities really want the students to attend college, they need to look beyond attendance and should try to give the education system the much needed make over.

P.S: Is anybody listening?

All you need is...

Love?

Geez, did you buy those rose coloured glasses or did you paint them yourself? Do take them off before you look at the world next time. Anyway...

Every time I smell flowers I invariably find myself looking for the coffin.

People blame my cynicism. I blame experience.

Belief is elusive but doubt is better than cure.
P.S: All you need is 'cynicism'.

You still haven't taken off those rose-tinted glasses, have you? 

Ouch..

Fact of life: I get bored of people.

Current Realisation: Myself Included. [Ouch!]


P.S: Its been long since I surprised myself.

Bent in smile

A rosy world;

Rushing blood, playful smiles

A warm protection,

Surrounding you for miles.

Surreal days,

Starry nights

Caressing memories

Cute little fights.

Ignited roads

No darkness, no fear

That elusive feeling

Hell, I’ve been there.

Mere harbingers,

of what lies ahead.

Walk you shall

But you’ll be dead.

Lips bent in smile

those grieves defied.

Shining bright eyes

With tears inside.

Happily Ever After

I am sure that's what you were hoping for and looking forward to? Or at least wishing for? Right??

That’s the cherished dream, I get it.

Good Morning.

Now wake up and go wash your face.
Done?

Look around, yes go ahead. Does it look like you are in a fairy tale?

Exactly.

Welcome to the real world. Have a pleasant stay.

Does it look like you're in a fairy tale?

One Last Time

There is always the ‘next time’ after ‘one last time’. 

I give in and then hate myself for every ‘next time’ that happens after my ‘one last time’.

I am going to have drink just ‘one last time’.

I'm going to let it go 'one last time'.

I am going to lie just ‘one last time’.

I am going to meet him just ‘one last time’.

I am going to talk to him ‘one last time’.

I am going to be nice to him, just ‘one last time’.

I want to hear his voice so bad, ‘one last time’.

One last time…

And then invariably there is the ‘next time’ when I give in telling myself again that I am going to do it just ‘one last time’.

How weak does one have to be to have a next time after every ‘one last time’. 

May be I do it because I am weak and because it’s easy. I know it’s not the best thing to do, but I promise I will do it just ‘one last time.’

P.S: In Oscar Wilde's words, "I can resist anything but temptations".

Of Bfs, love & Forever- Part-II

(This post is a follow-up to 'Of Bfs, Love and Forever-I' which I wrote a while ago.)

I am certainly more experienced as I sit to pen down the second part of “Of Bfs, love and forever”. Yes, well experience is the name I like to give to my mistakes, it sounds more cool and optimistic and no, I wasn’t wise enough to learn from others' mistakes that’s why I ended up making my own.

We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities and my fellow mates can tell you in detail how having a boyfriend or a girlfriend is more of a necessity than a mere want. In fact having a boyfriend almost felt like having a baby or a puppy; everyone stopped to coo and talk about it! And now, after having learnt from my mistakes when I go around telling people that I don’t really need a boyfriend, they look horrified, like I was claiming that I don’t really need any clothes!

Have you ever got something new, and then tried resisting yourself from using it? Noticed how tough it is to resist? I too couldn’t resist using my newly acquired wisdom and life experiences, so I donned the jacket (I personally don’t like hats too much) of ‘love guru’ once again.

What came next was another flood of relationship problems, issues, situations and confusions. Armed with my better understanding of relationships and members of not-so-fairer-sex in general… I set forth to help my fellow sisters.

Here are some eye-openers for the benefit of general public:

Case 1: So I really really really love this guy (yes, we girls tend to use a word multiple times in order to lay emphasis), and I am absolutely crazy about him, but he is not very expressive and stuff... He says "I love too", when I tell him that I love him but sometimes I doubt whether he even loves me or not? And that makes me very insecure. May be its just me, but is there any way by which you can tell whether a guy loves you or not?”

Reply 1: Sure. When a guy loves a girl, he would ask her to marry him- to change her name, quit her job, have and raise babies, be home when he gets back from work, move where his job is.
(It makes me wonder what he might ask if he didn't love her!) But there you go.

Case 2: Ever since I started dating this guy…. You know? First that, then that, then that and now this… I mean there have been so many turning points in our relationship.

Reply 2: Really? With so many turning points in your relationship, how can you be so sure that you are not just going around in circles ?

Case 3: He is so blind to my emotional needs, he is never there for me when I need him, I could be crying my eyes out but it’s still hard for him guess that I might be upset… Do guys even have any feelings?

Reply 3: It would be highly unfair to say that guys don't have feelings. Of course they have feelings, but more along the lines of ‘Who cares!’, 'I'm hungry', 'Damn! India lost the match', 'When-the-fuck-will-she-shut up', 'I wish I could have a threesome with her and her best-friend.'
(Not necessarily in that order.)

Case 4: I have never been so happy in my life… I am in love and guy I am in love with is totally in love with me. Life seems just so perfect.

Reply 4: You fight every day, you cry your eyes out every alternate day, spend hours on phone with your best friend telling her about all the billion irritating habits of your guy and all the zillion problems that you are going through in your relationship... but you are happy and life is perfect! Illusion as Oscar Wilde says, is first of all pleasures. Enjoy.


Case 5: When I met so and so, I felt this is what I had been waiting for all my life. He is so sweet, so loving, so caring…. And now that we are together I feel all my prayers have been answered!

Reply 5:  God is smart. When he wants to punish us, he simply answers our prayers.


P.S: Love is the food for soul; no wonder my soul died of food poisoning.

Why do I have the feeling you're wearing one of these around your neck right now?

Mumbai- The Resilient City

There have been series of grave terrorist attacks in the recent past and this is what the government has done:
First they condemned it.
Then they said such acts will not be tolerated.
Then they said it should be crushed.
At last they are back to praising the "Spirit of Mumbai" and using it as a resort for not doing anything. Mumbai has been through so much yet it fights back and recovers... is the strenght of the Mumbaikars a convenient excuse for not taking any action??

We are sick of reassurances. We are sick of top leaders issuing public statements after every attack and then going off to sleep. When will they wake up and do something??

Solitude

The slight ticking of the clock tells me it's one o’clock in the night. Only sound I can hear is that of the ticking clock and my own breathing which seems out of place. I frown and wish I could stop breathing so as to enjoy the absolute silence.

The silence is comforting and it only feels safe in the dark. I feel safe in the dark. Darkness is like a huge comforting blanket that engulfs all the troubles, pain, misery, death- everything. It’s not that suddenly in the dark these things cease to exist. It’s just that I can’t see them in the absence of light and when I don’t see them I don’t think of them. Everything becomes a blur, like a distant bad dream, very far from reality. I'm certain I'm not alone who finds the darkness soothing and comforting.

I just want to pull this darkness over me like a cosy blanket of safety, close to myself and go off to sleep. I don’t want to face the world, it's ugly. I don’t want to see the light, it's blinding. I don’t want to be able to see things as they are, they are appalling. Yes, reality is appalling and I am disgusted.

I don’t want anyone looking for me, calling out my name. People are pathetic, every single one of them. I don’t want them disturbing the silence, waking me up from my dream. There is just one person I want to be with- myself.
Solitude is the most faithful companion and the best company. Indeed.