I think Lucy Larcom said it best - Whatever with the past has gone, the best is always yet to come.

This weekend I celebrated my 26th bday and it was a refreshing change from the past few years that went by. This was my 4th birthday since moving back home from the US of A and it was without any doubt the best of the lot. I distinctly remember how the previous 3 birthdays were spent. (I know there is a certain someone who is going to tease me about my memory but hey, that’s just the way it is)

2006 was spent mostly in bed because I fell sick right after coming home from work the previous day and staying up till 12 am. Sent out the customary “sick so missing work” emails and then it was spent rolling around on the bed wrapped in a blanket with chattering teeth, answering a phone every now and then and trying to muster the energy of showing even the tiniest bit of enthusiasm for the first birthday celebrated back home since 2001 when I had turned 18 and ate chicken for the first time. Not much of a successful follow up birthday there. Anyway, as the story goes had some fam come over at night to cheer me up and we went out for dinner. I was freezing no doubt but still managed to grab some grub and be home before passing out. I was sick for the following 2 days.

2007 was spent not being sick but neither was it spent being awesome. Had a usual run-of-the-mill day at work:- showed up, got my hand shaken by about 30 people, cut a cake, had some laughs, went home a bit early to have dinner with the fam at the same place as 06. It was decent. The highlight was of course going in the morning to a car dealership and booking a brand new car since my earlier one had been stolen couple of weeks earlier. That car was found a month later just before the insurance company would have paid up anyway but that’s a different story. Wow, it’s been two years since my precious black stallion joined the stable – time flew by.

Moving on to 08. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach for about 2 months before the date that things were going to be different this year and how strange but true that feeling was. About 3 weeks before my birthday I found out I was going to have to travel to the US and the zany thing was the ticket was for the 4th of October 08. Yes folks, I had the pleasure and the misfortune of spending my birthday mid-air during without a doubt the longest birthday of my life. The flight took off at 4:00 in the morning and by the time I went through the middle east, changed flights and ended up in NYC it was still freaking 4th of October. I think I had a 27 hr birthday or something like that. Was dead tired when I reached the big apple. Hung out a bit with the fam there, cut a cake (yay!) and was off to bed fighting the jet-lag.

Having missed out on a kick-ass party since my college days 5 years ago I was quite adamant to do something different this year. Age had nothing to do with it. I had no false pretensions that overnight I was gonna turn into something I wasn’t before. I mean, we all hope a birthday will do what the new year’s resolutions fail to do – motivate us into doing something better, as if one birthday will turn into a seismic event changing our microcosm of life. But that never happens, we are still the person we were a day before the birthday. When you think about it, who knows when is a person’s actual birthday every year. Time is what we say it is. The position of the Earth when I was born was completely different than the one this year on the exact same day/time so looking at it from a deeper space/time angle, the funny feeling we get the moment the clock strikes 12 to signal our birthday has begun makes no sense whatsoever. There is no actual proof its my birthday – a calendar used by majority of the world says its the 4th of October in the year 2009 of the Common Era but does that really mean that my body, mind and soul have aged exactly 26 years – absolutely not.

Anyway I was getting sidetracked during that previous paragraph – basically the point of all the previously typed 4077 characters is that this year I organized a party which was different from any I had previously done. I have a history of being involved in parties that people enjoy and remember forever. Exhibit A> New Years 2002. Exhibit B> The Take a Break party 2004. I don’t know why it happens, the vibe is just good I guess. This year was inspired by…. drum roll please HIMYM. I think I’ve waxed lyrical about the TV show How I Met Your Mother enough already so I’ll skip ahead to the what rather than the why?

The concept of Game Night came out of one of my frequent re-viewings of the show and I knew I had both the right audience in mind and the right time-frame to pull this off in. Choosing the crowd was not as easy as I thought. There were tons of people who could have rocked it just as well but I needed people to mesh to create the vibe that can make or break a party. All it takes is for a couple of people who are just not in-sync and the whole evening can come way down. After careful selective processing, the list of about 15 was complete. It’s a tribute to the buzz one gmail thread created that every single person invited showed up. (Yes even CK right before 12 am for a piece of cake and a participation cert.)

The weekend kicked off as is the new custom – waking up at an ungodly hour to play a physical sport and feel productive for the rest of the weekend. Lately for the past two weekends, squash has been replaced by ping pong.. sorry CK. Shopped till I dropped for the parties getting groceries, drinks and stuff. Thanks to the ‘LSE-returned one’ for all the help getting the pieces of the puzzle right the day before. Hosted a friend from the Buffalo days for dinner with his fiancée and had blast walking down memory lane. Clock struck 12 and I still was the same.

Sunday came and made early morning stops to tick off the last remaining bits of pending tasks. Got dressed and went off to see the movie Wake Up Sid – a movie I could really relate to (no follow up questions). Back home, prepared a cd for the party (The OST of Game Night was sadly unused) and then began the slow trek of friends. Started things off with I never, the all time classic ice-breaker game. One half of the room was a bit boring never having smoked or taken alcohol, EVER. You can only be cheesy for so long so the game had to be changed. Guesstures – the charades game was next and was an instant hit. You just had to be in the room to see the level of energy. The teams were set and it became quite close in the end but my team won that game.

Taboo the game of unspeakable fun was next and the sudden change from being allowed to use hands and no speech to only having to talk without motion was tough on quite a lot of people. The game stayed close and had its great moments of controversy and yelling. I seriously had to be the voice of reason and settle most of the escalating arguments.

I had planned not to play but to host the final game which I called Mixed Bag (inspired by my rambling thoughts at 5:00 in the morning the previous weekend). The game contained a little bit of everything and if I thought it would be relaxing as compared to the ones earlier in the evening, how wrong I was. The shenanigans were out of control. There were some really good bits of sketching with the eyes covered and then the sketching contest between two people nominated by the opposite team because they were the weakest “artists”. I gave each of them the clue of Moscow – basically they had to draw the city with the eyes covered and the team had to guess. They both showed innovation – neither went for the Kremlin, tanks or bears and snow as I had thought – one drew moss and a cow (brilliant) and the other drew a mosque, tried to draw the flag of Russia and then showed some snow as an afterthought. But the wackiest art was yet to come. The Moscow round was forked due to the amount of cheating going on. The next thing I gave them was Africa and it was worth it just to see the barren pieces of paper, each trying not to out-draw the other. Eventually the experts took over and the round thankfully ended.

Gave everyone participation certificates and gave some of the key players best-performing certificates. Each was signed by the Game master – me. People grudgingly walked off into the rain, even I was wishing the night didn’t have to end because everyone was having such a good time. The vibe was good.

The pictures came out real well with the action and frenzy well documented. And to top it off it was an alcohol free birthday – prob my first this decade.

All this because as Chili Davis said, Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.

A weekend that in more ways than one was a dawn of a new era. Friday night was the last time I worked crazy nocturnal hours for the near future.

The strange part is that I haven’t caught a decent amount of sleep ever since. As I joked with someone yesterday I’m en-cashing sleep in installments. The biggest payment sleep has made so far has been 3 hours straight. Spent a sleepless friday night, played squash way early in the morning, lots of travelling to reach home just in time to see India lose to Pakistan in cricket. Dejected but unable to sleep again – a 3 hour installment.

Sunday was one of the best days I’ve spent in recent memory. The whole day was spent in great company. Got around to completing a ping pong game almost a year in the making. Back home, sleep for an hour and then back out again – the Times of India Bandra fest which was surprisingly real good fun. A pretty decent walk around an art gallery showcasing good local Indian art. A stroll through a multi-product expo which was quite refreshing. Caught a great rendition of a very popular play depicting the life of the average Indian maid.

But then came the tour-de-force – A live performance from KK (Krishnakumar Menon) one of the brightest stars of the Bollywood singing fraternity. The guy was always blessed with talent and a great voice but to see the man in action was truly a joy. The energy was quite commendable over two hours straight. The song selections were spot on and the crowd ate it all up. It was one of those things that those present will remember forever and fitting that one of his hallmark songs is about ‘Pal’ or a moment in time .

Lyrics are below with a translation of the main lines:-

Hum, rahen ya na rahen kal                  If we are or aren’t together tomorrow
Kal yaad aayenge ke ye pal                    We’ll still remember these moments
Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal                            These are moments of love
Chal, aa mere sang chal                            Come with me
Chal, soche kya                                            Come, what are you thinking about?
Chhoti si, hai zindagi                                 Life is pretty small
Kal mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi  If we ever get a tomorrow it’ll be our luck

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Hum rahen ya na rahen kal
Kal, yaad aayenge ye pal
Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal
Chal, aa mere sang chal
Chal, soche kya
Chhoti si, hai zindagi
Kal, mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Shaam ka aanchal, odh ke aayee dekho woh raat suhani
Aa likh dein hum dono milke apni ye prem kahani
Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Aane waali subah jaane rang kya laaye deewanee,
Meri chaahat ko rakh lena jaise koi nishani
Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Hum rahen ya na rahen kal
Kal, yaad aayenge ye pal
Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal
Chal, aa mere sang chal
Chal, soche kya chhoti si hai zindagi
Kal mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal
Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

I haven’t had decent sleep since. I finally left the bed right before dawn to pen some thoughts in the form of poetry called Shayari. Who knows what tonight will bring?

—————-
Now playing: K K – Pyar ke pal
via FoxyTunes

Been working those odd hours again and heard one of my favorite all time songs on the rotation in one of my cds in the car so putting down the lyrics here, some of which reflect my current state of mind.

I get up in the evening, and I aint got nothing to say
I come home in the morning, I go to bed feeling the same way
I aint nothing but tired, man Im just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help

You cant start a fire, you cant start a fire without a spark
This guns for hire even if were just dancing in the dark

Message keeps getting clearer, radios on and Im moving round the place
I check myself out in the mirror I wanna change my clothes my hair my face
Man I aint getting nowhere just sitting in a dump like this
Theres something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is

Stay on the streets of this town and theyll be carving you up alright
They say you got to stay hungry hey baby Im just about starving tonight
Im dying for some action Im sick of sitting round here trying to write
This book
I need a love reaction come on now baby give me just one look

You can’t start a fire sitting ’round crying over a broken heart
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark
You can’t start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark

All from Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen

Le roi est mort – The King is dead.

Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was one of the most famous people on earth for a long time. Nicknamed “The King of Pop”, he was one of the holy trifecta along with The Beatles and Elvis.

Universally accepted to be the greatest entertainer to have lived, his songs, dance and overall routine amazed generations and will continue to inspire future generations of musicians, dancers and music lovers all over.

Through all the controversies and allegations, no one doubted his talent. His fame transcended all imaginations. The Beatles were popular in a time without the internet and there was mayhem so it can only be imagined what it was like for MJ. His Thriller album still is the most selling album of all time. His worldwide tours are quite simply, Legendary. One only has to go to YouTube to see his popularity.

He was also one of the rare individuals who could choke the internet and that is precisely what happened. Google news shut down. Twitter crashed. Most of the major news networks suffered from major slow downs.

He joins some greats like James Dean, Kurt Cobain, Buddy Holly and of course Elvis who died with something still left in the tank. He shall be as famous in death as in life. I can imagine him up there already doing the moonwalk to his hearts content.

Thanks for the trills. We shall always Remember the Time.

Someone once said, “People who believe in co-incidence lack imagination.” Basically there is fate, destiny and other mumbo-jumbo but not co-incidence.  Someone also said, “Coincidence is the word we use when we can’t see the levers and pulleys.”

I don’t know what I believe in. Things seem to happen around me that make it seem that something is always two steps ahead of me, showing me where to go & what to do, knowing what is going to happen next. My history of having premonitions is well know. But those were episodic and usually related to some tragedy. But the ones I have on a regular basis are absolutely inane. Some people might find in unbelievable but I think I’ve fairly archived a lot of these experiences on this blog.

Sometimes a random song comes in my head and I hear it on the radio that very day. Some random name comes to mind, and I read it in the newspaper on online. Over the past year or so, I’ve been a loyal subscriber of a quotation service called QotD or Quotes of the Day. Every day carries a different topic. Lately a lot of things I think about end up being reflected the following day/week in the quotes. This can be a specific author of a quote, a quote itself or the overall theme.

Last weekend on Father’s Day, I went to the mall with my dad to watch a movie. To kill time since we were there early, we decided to peruse the electronics store and then a bookstore. I glanced around, picking up a few titles. I went to the very end of the large store and among all the books, one of them caught my eye. I lifeted it up and smiled to see ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’ by Ambrose Bierce. I have a e-book copy lying around somewhere and have always enjoyed the definations in this dictionary. I showed it to my dad and read out a few which he too enjpyed. That ended that story. We went to the movie, saw it and went back home and I put the memory of that episode to the far recesses of my mind.

Today I clicked on the quote of the day newsletter and the theme was, drumroll please…. Ambrose Bierce. He was born on 24th June in 1842 in Ohio. Amazing that I would see and read from a physical copy of the book for the first time in my life 3 days before his actual birthday. I really don’t know what to call it.

“The probability of a certain set of circumstances coming together in a meaningful (or tragic) way is so low that it simply cannot be considered mere coincidence. ”

— V.C. King

Quote for the day:
Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.
- Lewis Mumford, 1895 – 1990

Finally some umbrellas being used in Mumbai.

A belated happy birthday wish to my dear blog, celebrating for the first time on wordpress.

Due to a glitch in the way wordpress works, for some reason I thought the bday was today the 24th but as I browsed the archives it turned out its actually the 12th.

But I will not be backdating the post and will accept my fault and hope to remember the date next year.

To another go around the sun…. cheers.

A quote from the tv show How I Met Your Mother.

In many ways, HIMYM has changed my very existence. I usually prefer to stay at home and can play the introvert like very few can. But watching the assorted upper-twenty-something idiots on the show with their crazy theories, inside jokes and a general zest for life, it makes me wonder, why not me?

It is true that I prefer a good book and a movie to a wild night out; (someone’s got to) but I realized that there is plenty of time to read all the books that ought to be read and watch that which ought to be watched. What I may never get back is the next few years of my life. No commitments, no real responsiblities apart from those I owe to myself. This is the time to get out, travel, drink, eat, be merry… LIVE life. Which is why in a very unlike-me way I am off to Thailand for 5 days with my cuz Sameer for a getaway to debauchaery, memories and maybe even some crazy theories like the lemon rule.

The simplest things in life can tell you that things have changed. My hair for example… has always been kept short, crew cut style. However, I fear that the baldness that runs in my father’s side of the family might afflect me as well so I decided to enjoy my hair while it lasted. This led to growing it out to much chargin from familiy who liked things the way they were and were afraid of that other changes this might lead to. 

I may be looking for change but I am not stupid. No piercings and no tatoos. If the recent economic meltdown has taught me anything, it is this… don’t save after spending but spend after saving. I believe I have a steady saving plan in place (touching some wood now) so I need to use the rest and travel, see the world and enjoy. 

It comes down to the basic question: Do you want to be one of the many who appear in the background images of photographs, not knowing why they are there, spoiling a good picture and considered to be a mistake by people who make efforts to get rid of them? Or do you want to be the centre around whom the lights revolve? Or would you rather be the photographer, not in the flash but an integral part of the picture without whom no image would be possible?

For long I considered myself (and was happy) as an innocent bystander, caught on camera when all I wanted was to fade in the background… I have just started on the path to be a photographer. Time will only tell if I make it all the way to the screen behind the mirror.

You see, whenever I start feeling sick, I just stop being sick and be awesome instead.

- Barney Stinson

I’ve been feeling something quite different lately. Something that has not happened in over 2 years. That was the last time I was working these ‘effing odd hours. Now I’m back to the insanity that reminds me of a episode (not necessarily bad) of The Twilight zone. I’m facing some of the evils that took place last time around, but I have not allowed my health to deteriorate with a very strict diet: Green apples every day with Soy milk and light dinners.

The cocoon sleep has returned as well wherein I fall asleep and then then wake up right in the afternoon with no recollection of my dreams but only the realization that the world moved while I slept. I recollect from the archives of my blog that the week in April 06 when I was going through my first week of night work, it felt like I’d been doing drugs and tequila shots every day of the week. This time, things have been much smoother. However, I feel like I’m in constant stasis with every moment, every thought and every step requiring critical moments of concentration. I don’t think my reaction times have slowed down, its just that the world is moving at a slower pace which is perfect for me right now. You may have heard how people nearing death say the world slows down and their life flashes before their eyes. Some people have researched this and it appears to be a scientific fact about time slowing down so you can react quicker… actually its only your brain that makes it appear so.

So to sum it up, I’m a machine constantly on the edge of life without any real threat to it. I don’t know how long I can do this because for the past 3 months, the amount of time I’ve spent with myself is more than I have in any extended period of time.

The younger me would never have complained but he was immature and stupid to the degree I will be now when I look back 5 years from today. But isn’t that the object of life? To understand the importance of things and the quest to find answers to the questions one might encounter in real life.

To quote an old Chinese proverb, “Rolling stones gather no moss.”

Excerpts from a song that really haunts me at times and I can identify with:-

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

For some reason I can’t explain
I know Saint Peter won’t call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

- All from “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay