Mind Frame

Contrary to the undercurrents prevailing in the present state of our hallowed nation, I for one have always been grateful to women who are and always will be the better of the two sexes. Here are some who made 2012 an absolute rocker. Their mentions are in the order of how I met them or how they have always been around me. Sisters Neha & Aarti (Indescribable) Renu a.k.a Renuka (Temperamental, Mental, Temperate zone dweller - mood defined) PC a.k.a Priyam 'LongBongSurname' Mood capturer, Part British, Exotic Indian living in the land of the long sword (Oman) Chetasi, Neha, Vigya a.k.a Chittu, Chotu & Vigsy (Green card holder, Fashionista, Dreamer - respectively) Arunima a.k.a Shorty (Lights up your Dey, thinks in technicolour & conveys in Dolby) Deb a.k.a Debby (Thinks Dolby, talks Dolby & lives Dolby) Shilpa (She sings, strums,serenades & is one hot Tam babe) Praachi Kapse a.k.a Po...

Dark night, Yellow streaks, Dingy lights, Empty streets, Tricky ride, Wheels that squealed, Cold hands, Shivering feet, A long drive & a small seat. A conversation for company, A smile to convey.

Curdled by sips and stirs… There is a romance that brews amidst the fusion of brown and white…  Confined by a flavour of sugary dose, a high that should milk more out of the brew master than the one intoxicated… Unless the conversation is as strong as the concoction, there is little to take away…  And if the conversation is candid, it hits you harder than the potion that lies at its deepest base..  That is how I like my coffee….

Round tables, Corner offices, Bottom line, Top end, Big picture, small idea, Pin stripes, Ball parks, Set rules, Disrupt practices, Coloured vision, Clear goals, Waterfronts, Fire exits, Attractive mixtures, Bland tastes.

The woman is on top of the food chain, Man or animal.

So I have these superior friends for Bloggers who have started writing about their top 10 lists of food, places and almost all their exciting things in life. I on the other hand have a new pair of headphones to talk about and the fact that no mosquito bit me in the past two nights of slumber. Blame it on the fact that I slept like a log, but hey - a record is a record! So I too have decided to share my 10 top achievements of the year gone by. Yep, I had some too! These are personal and public. Private yet shared. Starting to write in Hindi. I know I can and rarely share what I write but then a start has been made and it shall soon become better. Another plug in here being my Punjabi has improved too. More on that later. The SLR. Long time since I planned on buying one and finally I did so. Needless to say I have improved with the mechanics of painting with light. Delhi. What more can happen to someone who loves prose, likes to write and owns a camera. Delh...

There always is a kid who is dreaming.. There are always books with words that make you pause and wait.. There always is a walk that can make things clear.. There always is a quaint corner in the madness of the city.. There always is that refreshing glass of water.. There always are people waiting to surprise you...

And when it strikes you, and I know it will. All you will say is, I wish I knew, I wish I knew.

Rumi has been a serious discovery and I feel each verse is simple but cuts within layers of a conscience. Some that have truck a chord are: If I could say my feelings for Delhi in a way, this would be it - “Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.”  “The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep.” - For my insomnia that begins then.  “My lips got lost on the way to the kiss - that's how drunk I was.” - To many evenings in Post Grad school staring at the sun go down.  “The lion is most handsome when looking for food.” - To renewed vigour and hunger for good work.

I am in Delhi now. Mumbai seems to have been shifted to a later date for destiny has its ways. This city is a maze of memories, this even if one has not spent time here. Its resonance with a past seems to evoke a sense of deja vu and  memory, even those from distant lands. To me Delhi - old or new is like a child born out of wedlock from travelers stuck in different periods of time. The child built of city walls and structures that speak of  romance between emotions and time. A child that engages in conversation with anyone willing to discover her and unravel stories she has to share. All she asks of is a someone willing to have that conversation.

कई बार इरादे बदले , तो कुछ समय राहों ने  साथ न दिया

People are happy only until they realise, what happiness truly is.

कहने  को  तो  तुमने  कुछ  कहा  नहीं, पर ख़ामोशी  को  भी  तुम  जुबान  देगायी..

I am in a phase of recovery and discovery. Its been a while since I listened to something with quite a zeal and passion in such a way that I pick up a pen and scribble away.  This season its John Mayer, Oasis, Lucky Ali and a few others that are constantly at my beck and call thanks to a button called - replay. Drop his name,  Push it in and twist the knife again,  Watch my face,  A s I pretend to feel no pain.. (Heartbreak Warfare) Even if your hands are shaking, And your faith is broken. Even as the eyes are closin', Do it with a heart wide open. Say what you need to say.. Hold up, Hold on, Don't be scared, You'll never change what's been and gone, May your smile (may your smile) Shine on (shine on) Don't be scared (don't be scared) Your destiny may keep you warm Stop crying your heart out - Oasis And when you're needing your space,  To do some navigating,  I'll be here pati...

इक अरसा बीत गया तुझ बिन अब, तेरी रातों की यादों मैं, भीगी पलकें, सासें फूली, खो गयी रातें किन  राहों मैं... तुझ बिन कुछ दिन , गुज़ारे हैं जैसे नहीं मिले हम सालों से, फिर क्यूँ आखिर तुने तय किया, की हम खो गए किन राहों मैं. खामोश हुई है ख़ामोशी, जब तेरी जुबान पे नाम आया,  भूले मंज़र,  भूले वादे,  जब तेरे दर पे कोई और आया।  इक अरसा बीत गया तुझ बिन..

Of late I have realised that half the youth in this country gets into drinking out of peer pressure if not all of it. Not that it bothers me. To be honest it provides comic relief. Sitting with friends & colleagues and often the butt of all jokes when I grab a coke or any other non alcoholic brew, is a common occurrence now. I do drink. I am not a teetotaller but then its the company & the occasion that matters to me most importantly. I can count on my fingers the few people whom I would love to grab a beer with and will do so without fail when the opportunity arises. Its all about the moment. Alcohol does not intoxicate me. Life and its moments do and if one has to take to alcohol to get life to kick started...well. PS: I trip on wine and beer. In that order.  

I am in a phase where I am realising the value of relationships - again. Not that I did not do so earlier, it is just another time that I realise how deep they go. I know this is a phase of self realisation, something that will repeat it self not because these relationships will only teach me new things every day but they will run deeper as time passes by. Simply put, I am learning how to love back harder, greater and deeper. This with respect to a few special people in my life. A sister in a far away town, health issues of one of the most major influences in my life - my grand mom and tiny specks of my career that is still in its nascent stages. Life teaches you things - and how. All you need is already with you. Best summarised by Lucky Ali in one my favourite tracks. अनजानी राहों में तू क्या ढूँढता फिरे, दूर जिसको समझा वह तो पास है तेरे.

आखिर आ ही गयी तू मेरी गली, जैसे बहती हो कोई पगली नदी. तेरा आना बताए तेरे प्यार का रंग, जैसे बिखरे है थाली मैं से कुम कुम के रंग, मेरा दिल खीचा चल आए जैसे तेरी आँचल की डोर, जैसे ही मुड जाये तू मेरी गली ओर. तेरी पायल है खनके जैसे सावन बिजली लड़ी, लटे लिपट जायें माथे पे जैसे आंधी - पत्ते कालि, मोहे चिढ़ा सी जाए तेरी सुनहरी महक, जैसे गर्मी मैं भीगी हो किसी गली की सड़क... देख, आखिर आ ही गयी तू मोहि गली, जैसे बहती हो कोई पगली नदी. Thoughts of a young man who describes the entry of a young woman (he is in love with) in his lane as he waits for her every day, always.

So plans are in place for a great time in the near future in Mumbai. The list and itinerary for things to do in the magical city grow incredibly fast and only multiply each day. I have my bucket list of things to do too. So here goes, my wishes for the city of mania, moods and money. Watch Monsoons lash the city at Marine Drive and Carter Road. Drink coffee at 2am on a winter night at Churchgate. Photograph the entire Gothic length of South Mumbai's famous addresses. Pick up a wine stack - a place where bottles can be stacked and memories stored in old yellow paper books. Document the wares and its sellers on a crowded Sunday afternoon at Chor Bazaar & Crawford Market. Complete a documentary of the Irani coffee haunts of South Mumbai. This includes haunts that are non-Irani and legendary still. Stack a list of top ten places in Mumbai that wine is best consumed at. Pali Village Cafe surely will be No 1.  Catch a game at the...

It was funny, we hugged more often than we spoke. Our smiles exchanged more than a warm handshake in the winter cold could. And still all unsaid was said with a single momentary unison of feet tapping to a rhythm that played on till the clock struck 12. Aunts are special.