Kabhi lagta hai

Kabhi lagta hai,
Tum theher gaye ho,
ruk gaye ho.
Ya shaayad
Duniya aage chal padi hai,
daud padi hai.
Kya sach, kya jhooth
Tumhein yun kuredti,
Aisi woh nishthur ghadi hai.

Kabhi lagta hai
Rahon mein kaheen,
Meet tumhein chhod gaye.
Ya shaayad
Tum hi kahin,
unhein chhod aaye
Ab sab tanha hai.
Hazaaron sawaal poochta,
Aisa woh ziddi lamha hai.

Kabhi lagta hai
Hawa ne rukh badla,
Is liye mushkilein aayeen.
Ya shaayad
Disha tum hi ne badli,
Anischit tumhaara hi mann tha.
Galat tum the yeh hawaayein,
Is kashmakash mein tumhein dubota
Aisa woh nirdayi kshan hai.

Kabhi lagta hai,
Zindagi tumhaare saath
khel rahi hai.
Ya shaayad
Tumhi ne zindagi ke saath
Kiya chhal hai.
Kya is prashna ka uttar milega,
Yeh poochta, mujhe ghoorta
Aisa woh ajeeb pal hai.

(Hope to put it up in Devnagri :) )

Three word theory

Think about it. All you need. Just three words. Three's a crowd? I think not. Not with words. Three's just right. Say a little. Say a lot. Say something nice. Say something nasty. Give an instruction.Take an order. Just exchange greetings. Say your hellos. Say your goodbyes. Go recruit someone. Go fire someone. Chant a prayer. Utter an abuse. Ask for forgiveness. Say something profound. Say something memorable. Say something forgettable. Make a brand. Destroy a reputation. Spare a moment. You will realise. Three are enough. More than enough. Maybe one less. Maybe one more. But that's it. I'll show you. So here goes.

How are you? I am fine. What about you? I'm doing good. I love you. Love you too. Stop the mush! Get a life! Go to hell! Peace, peace, peace. Divorce, divorce, divorce. Those in hindi. Work is worship. Speak the truth. Keep the faith. Never say never. Change is permanent. Nothing else matters. Sad but true. Words of wisdom? Thanda matlab Coca-cola. Just do it. Awesone, weren't they? I agree too. Let's move on.

He's the culprit. Call the cops. Take him in. One phone call. Call my lawyer. Court is adjourned. Invoke divine intervention. Om Jai Jagdish. Buddham Sharanam Gachami. Allah Hu Akbar. He is innocent. Yes, I'm free. I'll sue you. Congratulations to you. The job's yours. We have expectations. You'll do well. We are sure. You want leave? You've just joined. You're screwing up. Please forgive me. One more chance. No, thats it. You are fired. That's too bad. I just quit.

Funny isn't it? Just weird maybe. Even think expletives. For that matter. In any language. English, Hindi Marathi. Or any other. Write them here? Are you crazy? My parents read. But, think aloud. Three is awesome. Abuse a little. Abuse a lot. Get it out. It feels good. Does it not? What say you? Laugh out loud. That feels good. I'm pretty sure. God is great. Praise the lord. Such is life. It goes on. So keep smiling. Love you all.

Just an afterthought. Leave a comment :) Wasn't anything profound? Read it anyways? Thanks for reading. I stop here. And bid adieu. I'll keep writing. Amen, to that.

Sad but true

Reality bites.

And chews. And swallows. And Digests. And then shits all the crap right in your face.

Its been established (by me :)) that Reality has a form, a shape, a brain, a heart and a soul. Oh, and a digestive system too. And lives with with one purpose only. To hurt you. And I believe that's his (for now, I'm unable to take a call on the gender yet) role in this big bad universe. Life as we know it depends on how equipped, or ill-equipped we are to take on Reality, Our Tormentor. Nothing new. Nothing profound. But I shall theorize anyway.

With weapons of pain, suffering, poverty, disease, heart ache, death - the list is endless - he launches attack after scathing attack, crushing the very spirit of human existence. It is upto to us which battles we win, and which ones we lose. The war shall anyway be a lost cause. For it is he who shall have the last laugh when he sees us consigned to flames, buried six feet under or thrown to feed hungry scavengers, or whatever way it is that we have to go. But go we shall. Not he. He will live to fight another day. Reality as I have deciphered as of now is immortal. But its the live-to-fight-another-day lesson that we need to learn from him. Fight and win our daily battles. And though go we must, it shall be with a smile. The choice of not giving him the satisfaction to see us go unhappy lies with us. And thats what shall make a difference.

Dictionary.com defines reality as
1. The quality or state of being actual or true.
2. The totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence.
3. That which exists objectively and in fact.

I found these definitions lacking in explaining a lot of things, because I probably question the "absolute" basis for these definitions. I find that most references to Reality are always with some negative connotation (could be flawed personal perspective, but then this IS MY post), or quite abstract .

Reality sucks. Random general usage.
Negative connotation?
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein.
Abstract? Fathomable yet somewhat distant?

Isn't it ironic that references or usages that have to do with reality are so abstract? Why is it that even the definitions of something "real" are not "concrete" (for want of a better word) enough. I know I'm probably heading towards a Matrixesque spin here. But then I'm not talking about a movie. Truth is, there’s got to be SOMEONE (Something maybe?) named reality on whom we can all pin the blame of the battles that we lose. Which is why, He must exist. Comfortable cushion. Isn't it.

In the words of a very dear friend (avid Metallica fan, at that time, dunno about now) who had these words as solace for every difficult situation we encountered - Sad but true.

"Happiness is just an illusion caused by the temporary absence of reality."
- Anonymous
Once again. Sad, but true.

Ork(AP)ut!

Scrap Back. Keep Scrappin. Scrap and lemme know. Buzz words that seem to have swarmed the world wide web. And how. Orkut has arrived. And from the looks of it, it's here to stay. So now, more and more people will spend hours and hours in front of the computer screen surfing the internet looking for old "friends" as they scout friend network after network, community after community writing "scraps". How thoughtful, isn't it that those words you leave behind are called "scraps".(Waste? Anyone?). I might come across as cynical :) which is what you are probably thinking as you read this (and I am to some extent), but I believe my conclusions are more an outcome of logical reasoning than just pure skepticism.

Man is a social animal,and in your lifespan you probably end up 'meeting' at least ten thousand people (could include your sweeper, pizza delivery guy, daily bus travel dude / dudette, someone you met at a college festival,). You end up making somewhere around 1000 to 2000 aquaintences (that would include your batch at School, Junior College, Graduation and Post Graduation, the people on your floor at work, etc). You have say a hundred friends (your 'groups' in School, Junior College, Graduation, Coaching Classes,etc.). And then maybe you'll have around 10, maybe 20, maybe 30 really close friends (the people whom you think you can call at midnight if you were in a soup).

Now, I believe that the people who fall in the last category, you would anyways call or be in touch with over mail on a regular basis. The people who fall in the third category, you would meet online, exchange pleasantries on chat, mail if something of importance comes up, etc. The second category you would bump into at alumni meets, or if you happen to be in the same sphere of work then a freak meeting is somewhere in store. Would you really want a regular update on what each one is doing, how much each one is earning. The occasional bumping into is just fine I say. How much difference would regular knowing about this lot make to your life anyway? And with respect to the first category, I'm sure you wouldn't exchange more than a half smile when you see them a second or a third time.

Nothing will ever change with your really close friends. But now that Orkut is here, the other three categories are going to see some flux. You will start helloing these people with warm smileys, curiously enquire about who is doing what and where and gossip about the relationship status of every Tom,Dick and Harry you ever saw. Nothing makes juicier talk than who was with whom for how long and why they aren't together anymore. Does it? I do not mean to and will never disrespect anyone in the third category. But with regards to the aquaintences and the 'meet' variety, ask me one question thats out of bounds and you'll surely get a WTF from me. In an age when we know for a fact that more than 90% (or is it more than that?) of all information that we process everyday is virtually useless, why add to the garbage dump in our heads? Would you rather not read a book, or for that matter go meet (for real! not a virtual meeting!!) a friend who really matters or do something nice for your mom!! But NO. Its time to go orkutting is what the world on the internet seems to be saying.

The communities are probably the biggest positive (and the biggest negative at the same time) that Orkut offers. I say so from a purely professional/meaningful perspective. Like minded people can have forums to discuss problems and get solutions. Math freaks can share problems with other Math geniuses, Designers can discuss photoshop and corel problems and get help from someone in the community who is experienced and has an answer that you might not have and so on. At the same time these communities can be and are misused by a number of anti-social elements out there. Racist communities are established, communities are established for nation bashing, hate communities are established against individuals or groups and none of these are EVER going to do any good to society.

Maybe if this were started and run as a pure business network, Or at least if people happened to use it with a little more restraint, Or if people had the sense and the etiquette to know whom to ask what, then I would see some sense to it. And despite all the stuff that I've written above, I AM on orkut, with the hope that it will someday serve some purpose that shall make a difference in my professional or personal life. That an orkut 'connection' somehwere either helps crack a business deal or maybe help get someone from a matching blood group for a relative/friend in need. ( I'm an optimist at heart you see. A cynic is what the world has made me :-) )

For now though, I'll just stay put. And if my belief changes over time (i.e when the cynic in me beats the crap out of the optimist in me), then it shall be time to go Ork(AP)ut!!