A Gathering of HEARTS!

Spending time with school friends, for me, has always been like reliving my childhood. Few weeks back, I had a dinner with some close school pals. We had planned for a get-together as we were tired of our hectic work-life and office politics. At least I was!

Since my earlier planned trip to Dalhousie got cancelled just at the eleventh hour, I was badly looking forward to the get-together with the friends for obvious reasons. And boy...what an evening it turned out to be!

Though most of us were in regular touch with each other, there was a couple of friends we were meeting straight after completing our schooling....a good six years to be very precise. So, the initial awkwardness in the air was patatable. Well...considerable lapse of time and distance do bring about changes in people. But, with friends it's a tad different. They might appear a bit formal initially when meeting after a long time but scratch a little on the surface and they would come across as their same old selves. And this is what precisely happened with us.

Soon the formality in the air was replaced by the familiar banter. All of us took turns walking down the memory lane. We had a good laugh over recalling our foolhardiness during good old school days. Next we found ourselves updating each other on career graphs, setbacks, latest crushes, trends, work-life balance and so on and so forth.

Throughout the gathering, what was heartening for me to notice was most of the friends had grown up into a sensible lot with the passage of time. Intelligence, mixed with an appropriate sense of humour, has always fascinated me. So, I enjoyed myself big time with the bunch.

When grown-ups meet, can adult jokes be left behind??? Everybody joined in the exchange of deliberate ambiguous statements. Thankfully, we had a mature and lovely girl with us who made sure that we didn't go overboard with the same.

The evening reached to the final stage where a scrumptious meal was waiting for us at Nirula's in the vicinity of Defence colony. Kadhai-Chicken, Shahi-Paneer, Malai-Kofta, Dal-makhani, Butter naan and stuff adorned our dinner table. A foodie like me couldn't have asked for more. The lip-smacking food resulted in a subdued BURP!

Ice-creams followed our supper and before leaving for home, we settled for a group photograph not knowing that it would kickstart an elaborate photo-shoot. I am sure it must have appeared to others that day as if our sole purpose behind the gathering was to get a group portfolio done.

At last, we dispersed after making sure that everybody reaches home without any hassles. Having eaten my fill, I didn't feel like riding my bike. So, after biking for a few kilometres, I gave my bike (YAMAHA FZ-16) to my friend who was riding pillion with me and had expressed his wish to ride the machine earlier in the day. I sat pillion on the scooty of my another friend who was more than happy to let me have a ride back home with her. Considering that I flirted with her a lot and embarrassed her on few occasions during the day, I was thanking my stars that she didn't kick my arse to settle scores with me. Thank you lady for the lovely ride and the kind advice regarding my love interest.

And before signing off, I would like to say a big 'THANK YOU' to all my friends (Partho, Shraddha, Nitin, Tulika, Manish, Natasha, Girdhar, Shilpa, Deepak, Shukla, Ravinder, Manisha and Ashish) for turning up for the do and making my day. You guys had been really nice to me. I am going to cherish the sweet memories for a long time...Goodbye friends and I hope you will be in the pink when we meet next time!

Enamoured By The Yamaha Machine!

More than two months have gone by since my last post. Just didn't feel propelled enough to blog about anything. But now I think I hv got sumthng which is worth a mention. Of late, nothing caught my fancy as much as my new possession (a motorbike) - Yamaha FZ 16. I bought it some 10 days back and ever since i hvnt been able to take my eyes off it. Guys, I cant tell u how excited I m. So besotted I m wid this machine that i, invariably, end up scrubbing it four times a day:-)

Unable to find enough time earlier, I got a chance today to lay my hands on my bike for d first time...n d feeling ws amazing. The roaring sound that d engine made was like music to the ears. I rode it for about two hrs...n I had a wonderful time doing that. Yuppiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee...........

Though I dont get much time to bike around, still m looking forward to many eventful rides on it. Hope I will be able to have enough time at my disposal to do that.

Life moves on...

Terrorist invasion...Mumbai attacked...the entire nation wriggled in pain. The last one month has seen it all. All this has led to resentment in people against our country's frail defence mechanism and anti-human elements in our neighbourhood. But one thing came out good of all this...revival of humanity. Life which was taken for granted earlier is being celebrated now...every day....every moment! Families reunited, neighbours and friends bonded better than ever...love bloomed in the air. As we approach the year end, Life has got a new beginning (...a new 'LIFE' we should rather say). Tragedies may come and go...Life doesn't stop. Lessons should be learnt and life be given another chance...Cheers to life!!!

Sensible + Minister = Oxymoron

I write this post to condemn Kerala CM, Mr V S Achuthanandan, who reportedly passed nasty remarks on slain NSG Major, a Keralite, Sandeep Unnikrishnan's family. Sandeep's father poured scorn on Kerala CM for not expressing condolence in time while Karnataka CM had already visited the affected family. Mr CM retorted to Sandeep's father scornful words by going on air. He said, "Is there a rule that the chief ministers of Kerala and Karnataka should visit together. Not even a dog would have looked that way had it not been Sandeep's house. Our attachment to Sandeep's father is special. Should not Mr Unnikrishnan, a soldier's father , understand this".


The comments, which are really shameless and uncalled for, came after Sandeep's father's outburst at Kerala's CM not visiting the martyr's house in time to express condolence and thus felt the supreme sacrifice of his son is ignored which can't be overlooked.


Sandeep's father said politicians were under 'compulsions and duress' to express solidarity with the terror victims in an apparent attempt to get political mileage and 'I did not want to respond to them'.


The episode has once again left a bitter taste in the mouth of public. Mr Achuthanandan, in his own wisdom, reached to a conclusion that he would be doing some great deed by visiting the martyr's family and they should feel indebted to him when he does so. Shouldn't he, being a seasoned person, understand the emotions of a bereaved father??? And when he doesn't feel for the Unnikrishnan's family, why did he go to pretend(express condolence) there in the first place?


Ministers and their ways of drawing a political mileage have really touched an all time low. Instead of understanding the gravity of the situation (Terrorists' Attack in Mumbai) and its aftermath, he did nothing but added fuel to fire. There is anger and distress which is bubbling inside every Indian who has seen the Mumbai massacre.

One can understand when the martyr's dad expresses in strong words that he feels bad about the system. But, what rationale can the Kerala CM give for the contemptuous statements made by him???

The octagenarian politician's irresponsible conduct have really knocked his own image and commitment towards nation for a six!

Alas! Such is the state of affairs in our country where attempts are not made to overcome a crisis but to worsen it.

Unchecked Nostalgia Takes U Six Feet Under...

Getting nostalgic about the past is a universal feeling. Still, why everyone's take on this is different???

For an instance, two friends, having studied in the same college (few years back) and once shared many a moments of fun and frolic, may now have two varied opinions about those 'gone by wonderful' years. While one of them spends better part of his present mulling over the loss of glorious past and finds it difficult to move on, the other one considers them to be the things of past. He accepts change, takes everything in his stride and gets ahead with life.

What is it that disrupts one person’s natural progression? What helps the other take to change as fish takes to water?

Let’s rephrase the questions…

Is it the psychological frailty of former guy that he can't think straight and always wish to go back in time to relive those 'happier moments' instead of concentrating on 'present'? Can it lead to lunacy in the person with passing time if such problems are not properly attended to in time? I feel the answer is YES!!!

But isn’t getting nostalgic about the loss of ‘footloose life’ common??? The feeling for holding on to one’s comfort zone is natural. But, if not checked in time, it can get worse. Then, how come here both the guys think in a different manner? Is one of them chickening out when it comes to shoulder the responsibilities of life while the other guy puts up a brave front or there is more to the story than meets the eye?

The rationale to the situation could be many. But let’s try to surmise as to why one’s life has become complicated when it should have been as plain as the other’s.

One reason why the latter one turned out to be a street smart (unlike his friend) with the passage of time could be the ‘right guidance’ he got just when it was ‘needed’. Few words of wisdom chipped in from mentors sporadically can make the task of facing the challenges of ‘modern’ life a lot easier.

People should really thank their stars if they have mentors in their life. Because we know well for a fact that life can neither be lived in past nor in future. Life can only be savored in present. It is the ‘present’ that makes or mars you. In today’s world, where cut-throat competition is quite evident, becoming ‘pragmatic’ about life is the thing to be done. A lesson well learnt here by the ingenious guy.

Moving back to the first guy, it can be gauged that his predicament is not irreparable altogether. In fact, he can come out of the whirlpool of ‘nostalgia’ with flying colours. Only a ‘good samaritan’s timely intervention’ in his life is what is required. One who can tell him that cherishing good moments is one thing and getting completely lost in the parallel world of nostalgia is another. Life can only be lived in present and not otherwise. There should be a fine balance between our emotional and rational self. Lopsided cases can lead to dire consequences. One advice…just one sound advice from a seasoned person can make the difference.

But do we have enough sensible souls around today???

What with everyone seems to have busied themselves so much in their routine life that it has started taking a toll on their lives – professionally as well as personally. At times, they can’t even see a troubled soul before them crying out for help! Even parents for that matter, sometimes, fail to see the writing on the wall.

Should it be the case, then we must admit that our troubled emotional self is somewhere forcing us to die a slow death! It is quite apparent in the first guy whose mind is clouded with 'well-spent past' and find himself perplexed when it comes to accept the second phase of life which begins with struggle, sweat and hard work. It is at this moment, the guy needs some emotional support and few words of encouragement and wisdom from family & friends. Worse still, the emotionally disturbed one finds himself surrounded with uncaring people, majority of which know what is what. Even though, they are accustomed to the erratic ways of life and have become wiser and mature with time, they show reluctance in helping the poor guy come to terms with the change in lifestyle pattern. Either they (family) have no time or they (friends/ relatives/ colleagues in offices etc) have become callous towards such useless emotions that retard one’s progress in life.

People live in modern age now. They understand well the theory: 'Survival of the fittest'. Apathy, craftiness and dogmatic approach have become their virtues now.

What does it suggest about modern life where people have no time to discuss emotional issues? In an endeavor to ascend the success ladder fast, people have busied themselves so much that their own near and dear ones are facing the flip side of this rosy picture (so-called success). Thus, more and more people today are becoming vulnerable as their problems are not attended.

In today’s fast paced life, people have become nothing but money churning machines. With no help around, wallowing in nostalgia is fast becoming a refuge for ‘sensitive guys’. Instead of helping them come out of their problems, they are left on their own. Sometimes being nostalgic is good but overindulging in it can expedite one’s journey to the graveyard.

Probably, you will be scratching your heads by now as to why I am championing the case of touchy-feely lots. Reason being, even they are also a part of our society. And these are the people who make us realize that in our ‘reckless’ quest for success, we, as a society, have gone ‘astray’.

So, what conclusion should we draw from the present scenario? When we can partake in social gatherings in times of prosperity, should we not share each other’s sorrows when we are hit hard by adversity?

Why is it said that ‘Man is a social animal’? That’s because no man can live in isolation. The situation changes for worse when social isolation compels a man to befriend nostalgia. Life begins to sink like a stone as the 'FRIENDSHIP’ deepens.

Is there a silver lining in this cloud or are we just fooling ourselves by hoping to find one???

As it is, people in general have become impassive towards basic human nature that, at times, shows signs of momentary lapses.

May be this piece of writing raises more questions than it answers. But, isn’t there a big question mark hanging over the future of our society. As if terrorism, indifference towards each other, corrupt politicians, debauchery etc were not enough. Nobody saw the underlying consequences (degeneration of emotional health) all this long that have begun to surface now.