Titles are overrated. Cant think of one.

What if you were told you had only 3-4 healthy years ahead? What would you do? Would you be in the same relationship you are in? Would you stay in the same job? Would you live in the same house? Are there people you would call on more often or are there people you would avoid? Would you be more thankful of the time you have or would you turn cynical with each passing day? What choices would you make? Ask yourself - what would you do differently and then do it.

Anyway, I thought to pen down a few of life's lessons and many do's and don'ts (some from my experience, some from experiences of those around me).

1. The best people for you are the ones who bring out the best in you. Don't let them go.
2. We need atleast one person in our lives who thinks we are superman! :)
3. If you can still smile when thinking about it - it was worth it.
4. Never love too well.
5. Trust your instinct- always.
6. Drink lots of water.
7. Nobody worth possessing can be quite possessed. (borrowed from some famous dudette)
8. Dress up. Everyday.
9. Money doesnt buy happiness but it rents it well. :)
10. Exercise.
11. Sleep under the open skies once.
12. Give a baby a bath.
13. Go swim in the sea once.
14. Get yourself a dog, love it dearly.
15. Do something uncharacterstic of your own self some time.
16. Buy yourself a gift- celebrate your own success.
17. Watch a movie alone. Its liberating- in a weird way.
18. Get soaked in the rain. Enjoy it and dont run for shelter.
19. Go on a long drive with someone you enjoy a conversation with.
20. Laugh loudly.
21. Text friends- lots.
22. Confess your love.
23. Admit your follies to yourself and then forgive.
24. Tell someone they are your hero!
25. Listen to mummy.
26. Confide in someone.
27. Write your thoughts and revisit them months later. Its fun to get reintroduced to your own self of a decade back.
28. Play the fool sometime.
29. Dance with abandon.
30. Buy me a teddy bear.
31. Go picnicing.
32. Leave your worries by the pillowside.
33. Listen to someone else's collection of music.
34. Explore. Travel. Learn. And yes, try the local cuisine.
35. Play sports. esp. basket ball (and avoid cricket).
36. Forgive and don't carry a grudge.
37. Fight the establishment.
38. Be true to your own self.
39. At a party make conversation with the one who looks the most lost/lonely.
40. Never make anyone feel small.
41. Read comic books.
42. Never drag a dead relationship. Or hold on to someone who isnt there.
43. Tried and tested by almost all I know : If you love someone let them go. if they come back, they are yours, if not they never will be.
44. Never trust a man fully who lies to his own mother.
45. Keep the faith.
46. Cultivate the art of writing and reading
47. If someone gives you a compliment- donot contradict. Accept it. Graciously.
48. Read a holy book.
49. Spend a day without looking at the watch. Just keep your own time.
50. Learn some jokes.
51. Sing.
52. Be the life of the party.
53. Never apologise for your tears or your feelings.
54. Study hard.
55. Get up early in the morning.
56. Watch the sun rise once with someone you love.
57. Once, just once, love lavishly someone more than they love you.
58. Succeed graciously and lose admirably. Hate losing.
59. Give compliments.
60. Never let a few rupees keep you from doing what you want to do.
61. Dare I say- splurge once in a while :)
62. Write letters.
63. Be organised.
64. Stand up for what you believe in. Never compromise on what you believe in.
65. Find yourself a passion.
66. Take a break from it all.
67. Smile and let it reach your eyes.
68. Say good morning cheerfully. Mean it.

Give title, win reward

Right now, I don't have anything to say. But since when has that stopped me from talking to you.

Okay so got the first para down. First paragraph kahan hai?- you ask. Sir jii, upar hai. Two lines do a para make (err or some thing like that.) Still the question remains what should I talk about? Mature topics like Union Budget (papa paise bhejo, stock market mein nuksaan ho gaya), global recession (and how long will we have to wait before asking for a raise) etc. come to mind. But then who am I kidding! For a person whose sole source of daily news is the facebook status updates of overzealous high-IQ friends such topics can safely be ignored.

I mean I am sure loads can (and will) be written on Federer beating u-know-who and winning u-know-what and breaking u-know-'em records; but let’s leave it to those who care. I am as much interested in Federer's win as you would be in estimating the length of Kareena Kapoor's hemline in Kambhakt Ishq or evaluating the sociological psychological impact of legalised lesbian weddings on young teen age boys in Bihar and South Delhi.

Did you see Khambhakt Ishq by the way? Awesome movie. A definite must watch. It is sooo shweeet. Akshay keeps making cute crass jokes and Kareena keeps pretending she can act. Between the two, they display all prominent fashion labels and make you realize good fashion is not to wear anything too much - make up, clothes - sab kam se kam hone chaiye. Barely-there types. The songs are any music lover's delight and you would want to fast forward err rewind each and every one of them. So make sure you catch it today- even if it means bunking a client call, leaving the office before your boss or ignoring your girl friends' calls.

Btw have you ever done that? Leaving the office before your boss, that is. That brings me to another question: Have you ever worked in a 'La-la' company? These days, post placements at ISB, we are all busy exchanging notes on who got the cooler laptop, stupider boss and grosser coworkers. Sometimes we also talk about our roles as well and how much strategic impact will we be making to the company, its bottomline, its clients, its customers, the Indian economy and the world at large. (We are all not that petty all the time you know.)

Anyhoo (I like this word. Anyhoo. Say it aloud in your mind. Stress on the hoo part. Hold the ‘oo’ longer than 2 seconds. Doesn't it make you smile? No. Well okay it must be just me then. I find ‘anyhoo’ cute.) Any hoo, while making these comparisons and comparing notes sometimes a phrase crops up. 'Meri toh Lala company hai yaar, damn it'. The speaker with a pained look etched on his face looks around for support and comfort – much like I did while watching Kambhakt Ishq (mast movie hai, dekhna zaroor). Immediately concerned voices come up with stuff like:

Stuff 1:(confessional 'me-too same-boat-sailing' counseling) "Yarr meri bhi" and both start comparing the lala-ness of their respective companies and we watch waiting for the bigger lala to emerge victorious.

Stuff 2:(motivational 'recession-going soon, resume banai-ing, job badal-ing, yaar’ counseling) Economist is quoted and so is Wall Street Journal (Well, not really. Simply because we assume whatever our analysis is, it must match the experts. And if it doesn't, we are positive they will correct their misjudgements soon.) The discussion then veers to resume rebuilding tips, cursing placement season, are there news jobs in the market, cursing placement season, how we should renetwork again, cursing placement season, debating when recession will get over, cursing placement season. Incase you haven’t figured out my contribution in all such discussions is - yes you got it- cursing placement season.

Stuff 3: (mocking 'Really!-how unfortunate-my company is great-check my latest blackberry-company ne diya hai' counseling) Yes, sometimes someone comes up with that and it is always greeted by cold stone silence, awkward glances, shaking of heads, an occasional disapproval cough, clandestine abusive smses aimed at the speaker and few ‘oh-hmmms’. We all 'hmmm' to this monologue and then move on to topics that are slightly less apealing than KK's hemlines. But yes, the damage is done. Mental notes are made and exchanged that this guy shouldn’t be invited to the next meet. People try to recollect who got the bozo here in the first place. Silently the group stares at the unfortunate dude and he squirms, avoids eye contact for the rest of the evening. Typical in-group/outgroup thing this is.*

But ain’t I digressing. My original question was: Have you worked for a ‘lala company’? ‘La-la’ here is not the truncated ‘tra –la-la’ of the Buffalo Soldier song. The'Lala' here is…

Shh …cant talk now. Zoom TV (‘isko dekho’ tagline wala ) is playing suuperhit Kambhakt Ishq’s most melodious song of 2009 – Bebo Main Bebo. Have to watch this. Will continue the ‘lala’ post later.

Bebo main bebo..dil mera le lo.. la-la-la-lala..la-la-la lala

*will explain the ‘ingroup-outgroup’ phenomena later.**

** Bebo ki song aa rahi hai yaar abhi. Dekhne de.

GCS and 10 cents philosophy- Part 2

Refer part 1.

I have decided to hex up (ahemm) the tag. If you don't do it soon, you will be spammed silly by zealous co workers, your mother will get on your case about your sleeping habits, soccer will be dominated by a single club, Yuvraj will drop all sitters in the next 10 matches and you will fall in love. The last one trust me is one of the worst things that can happen to you. Dont ask me why, ask Chaos who said so.

To make things easier here is my list of 50 things I am thankful for.

Below stuff + moi life = Thank you thank you thank you

Incase you missed going to world's top 15 bschool (showcasing ISB!) and didnt get the above equation, let me simplify.

The stuff mentioned below plus my life equals to 3 thank yous. There hope you get it now.

Oh you did go to my ISB! Let me further simplify the equation given above. The list that is given below contains things mentioned in a point wise linear manner. These things individually or in group or both are present or were present in my life at some point in time. The period of time of their existence is irrelevant information and can be ignored for the purpose of today's dicussions. The time factor is like sunk cost. Remember first term, Accounting 101, Prof. Mohan's class. Anyway these things ( present individually or in group or both ) err me am thankful for. If the explanation doesn't make much sense remember I am from ISB too.

Stuff:

1. google
2. plastic money
3. high heels
4. lip gloss
5. missed calls dena
6. P. G. Wodehouse
7. My masseuse
8. hot chicken tikkas served with onion salad, lemon wedges and chilled coke
9. a fully loaded big pricey car
10. transparent/white nail paint
11. my favourable first impressions
12. Elizabeth Arden’s Splendor (she doesnt make it anymore :( )
13. cartoons - calvin and hobbes/tom and jerry/ he man
14. combo offer: evening time + breeze + long aimless drives with him
15. combo offer: rainy evenings + chai + friends
16. friends that forgive me for forgetting their birthdays
17. Plain naans (what I order everytime I go out to eat)
18. people who let me crib and those who encourage it
19. dev anand + kishore kumar jodi
20. My rationalization skills
21. texting + smileys
22. pocket money
23. to do lists
24. happy endings
25.being snooty
26. vacationing
27. Masala Omelette + Buttered Toast + Mixed fruit jam on the side + Tea
28. 40s, 50s and 60s hindi film music
29. winning the ‘ovarian lottery’
30. the book on my night stand
31. Sinefeld and similar comedies
32. fast elevators
33. Ctrl C + Ctrl V and ofcourse ctrl Z
34. opposable thumbs :P
35.chocolates + choco chip icecreams
36. fluffy pillows, softy mattresses, my blankie and sweet dreams
37. people who love me for who I am and the ones who tried their best to
38. for the truth in the dictum : Time heals
39. tissue papers
40.Hope

I know the list stops at 40. the next 10 will be published after collating all your responses. So people "write"!!! and please be quick about it.

A late reply

I am a troubled soul. You possibly can't tell that looking at me- all chirpy and vivacious every time we run into each other but deep down inside today I am a troubled soul. My soul, dear friends, is troubled.

Before you start wondering what is wrong and go through the entire drill of - "Is she okay? Do I call and check? How much does an STD cell to cell call cost? Maybe an sms is the right thing to do. No wait sms is Rs. 2 per national sms. Maybe I will just ping her next time I see her on Gtalk?" - I will just tell you what the matter is. Succinctly.

A friend of mine accused me yesterday of being a Congressi and a hypocrite. ‘You all are such HYPOcrites!’, he said. He stressed on the ‘hypo’ part for a little longer than necessary. Among the heated words exchanged which are now acknowledged as ‘deeply regretted’ were sprinklings of accusations that I have heard quite often –that I am apathetic, that it is because of people like me that the majority has to suffer and that how much longer was I willing to tolerate this unnecessary and uncalled for appeasement.

Now I didn't quite like that. I agree I am not the most active of political beings in the country. And if you are looking to give someone the ‘best citizen’ award I will not be on your list of nominations. You can also safely discount almost all I say about politics and politicians as clichéd yuppie responses. My knowledge about the Indian politic is abysmal and my inclination to changing this in near future is negligible.

But still this so called ‘Pilibhit brand of reasoning’ annoys me immensely. What is further infuriating is when people judge me for not sharing their prejudices. I mean, why should I share your prejudices when I have a truck load of my own! My friend said the C word (Congressi) as if it were a bad thing to be ; as if Congress was the genesis of all things bad happening to this country. I don’t buy that. For the record I am not a Congressi. I am not a clan obssessed follower of the party as most Congressis are made out to be. Nor am I enamoured with the Gandhi mystique. My appreciation of any political party is very limited. I am the person who in all political discussions comes out with the cliched "Chor hain sab" response and dismisses all politicians with a wave of hand. But yes, I do respect Sonia Gandhi for her grit, her ethical, standards and her resolve.

Generations of my family might probably swear by Congress party but I have not inherited their political enthusiasm. My views on politics reflect the same lackadaisical ambivalence that is characteristic of all my other views. But still if push comes to shove my leaning would be towards Congress than parties who favor communal polarization. What took a gentleman 16 years and Rs. 9 crores to prove was something I was already aware of. I had in fact visited Ayodhya many years back and had seen the make shift temple that exists there. I had then been proudly shown the preparations that were being undertaken for making the new temple.

But S. said his stuff with a lot of vehemence and a lot less sense. He gave me the usual - "toh tum kya Itlay jaa kar PM ban sakti thi. Hum log bahut tolerant hain." Now I never discuss politics with friends especially friends who don't share my political views. But if in a discussion, I would rather people stick with facts and rationality than mere rhetoric and unexplained bias.

But this isn’t the troublesome part. The issue troubling me since last night is that I did not have a befitting reply ready. All the things I wrote just now well I didn’t say any of that. I just let the other person speak his mind, made some feeble excuse and hung up. Somehow arguing then didn’t make much sense and escalating this discussion seemed a tad foolish. And this is troubling me. I wish I could go back and argue my facts. I cant now. Hence, this post. :)

Grilled chicken sandwich and 10 cents philosophy

I stood on the seventh floor balcony of a high rise today waiting for my grilled chicken sandwich (from here on acronymed as GCS) dinner. The city lights looked dazzling. There weren’t any high rises blocking my view and I could see numerous homes, small shops, busy roads all lit up bright. I stood facing the airport and I saw a plane land and another takeoff. Turning right at a distance, I had the Hussain Sagar with its necklace road and to my left was a good friend with misguided tastes in food. I mean watermelon juice with GCS! My stout refusal to drink that stuff didn't go down that well till I explained my eating mantra: always stick with stuff that fattens you up. Nothing that's healthy ever tastes nice. If you don’t believe me try sprouts, soya nuggets and goat milk. I have never tried the last one and I am quite positive it would be an enjoyable experience for you. Let me know how did it go.

Standing there looking at the city, I felt the standard cliched emotions that we feel sometimes while waiting for our GCS and wondering what drink our friends are ordering for us. I could spy a small section of a busy road and could see plethora of vehicles rushing through to wherever they were supposed to be. I focused on the same and wondered what the man on the scooter that just zipped by was thinking? Or why was that car in such a rush?

I wondered rather predictably - how each and every of the myriad lights in front of me denoted a human life as intricate and complex as mine. How each of those people would be so wrapped up in their daily struggle for survival that they would never take time to ponder on the irrelevance of it all. How maybe they had for a moment thought about the irrelevance but then chose to move on. How we carefully everyday nurture our illusion that we are in command of what happens to us. How we fret away the present for the future. How losing love is heart breaking because we simply assume that we will live forever and in that long life this person will be missed everyday. And how fooled are we by randomness. I contemplated my insignificance in the grand scheme of things and wondered how much more time will my GCS take to get ready?

Then fifteen minutes and half a GCS later I thought what makes all this brilliant is that I am experiencing it. It is the ‘I’ that makes it so. Maybe all my emotions are cliched and all my thoughts are trivial. But the fact that I experienced the world with them makes the world what it is. This is my story, my song and no matter how I chose to live it – the fact that I do makes all the difference.

Immediately following this thought was the realization that this is too cliched. I mean scare some one a little, make them face their mortality and everyone becomes a philosopher for 15 minutes. The transiency of these emotions made me decide to hold on to them for little longer. So then came the next round of expected affectations. “Lets be grateful for what we have”.

And this is what I want to blog about. :)

So please identify 10 things you are thankful for. I am tagging you. It is a tag so you gotta do it otherwise for/over the next 10 days - your land lord will evict you, you lover will dump you, you will be forced through sit for long boring meetings with no coffee or gtalk, you will never find an empty cab when you need one and whenever you switch on a music channel you will only catch music of Himesh bhai. And lets not make it standard stuff like mummy papa nana nani dada dadi bhaiya bhabhi pinky and phrens. Get creative, people!