Wrinkly faces..

Aging has a funny effect on people. Just to clarify for me aging would be going from 20s to 30s(Sorry, grandpa! Your story is still not funny yet).  We start losing our hair thanks to all the cheap gels we smeared on during college. We develop a stubborn beer belly (non drinkers, yours called a paunch. Live with it!). We get less aggressive and start forgiving people which frankly could just be hormonal changes. And all these things make us believe that we are getting mature and wiser and we have left their old self behind for good. In reality, we are just turning into big fat sissies.

 In the middle of all these growing up, when we are just about to reach that stage where we start embracing all the harsh realities of life, start believing that those college dreams were all a ruse and put up our rose tinted glasses for sale on ebay, something comes up. It punches (with a distinct ‘dhishoom’) a message on our face saying, “Boss, no more hiding behind your past failures and skeletons. No more justifying yourself just to sleep peacefully at night.  Get up and go for what you always wanted just like old days. Take it or go back to your current life which you were so despised 10 years back. ”


If we are smart enough we take that chance, not just to win what we couldn't get all those years back but also to relive the sleepless moments which made us believe we could be anybody we want. That we might own a fancy car, we might be the head of a company or we can get a US visa one day (it was still a realistic dream those days). Consistency is not one of life’s well known traits and a loser just might still win. 

Still if it doesn't work we shouldn't fret about it. Yes, it would hurl like hell all over again. But as long as we are ready to take then punch when it gets there and take it on our wrinkly face (Metaphorically, of course!) we just make it one day. 

Another City Passes By..

My last few days in Bangalore went by too swiftly to let me realize how I much I was about to miss that city. At that time I was way too distracted by the lure of the glitzy big city I was heading to. Bangalore came during a time when I just left the aegis of home and jumped into the fire of the “real world”. Well the real world turned to be overrated but Bangalore I fell in love with.

The city was magnificent. It had great weather, trees all around, a college which was ready to take me in and the smell of a new city ready to take the mantle of greatness from other metros. Over the last seven years it did waver a lot from it initial promise. But, lot of things got their sheen back after a small hiatus.

Bangalore was place where I learnt the ways of life. I turned from a pampered gullible child too scared of seniors on the first day of college to a guy who fought hard to get his way in the workplace. It certainly gets the credit of changing almost everything about me. I got my taste of rock and beer from the evenings I spent head banging in haze or listening classic rock and jazz sipping ice tea in Java City. It lets me boast of the great concerts of Satriani and Maiden I went to. It has to be blamed for the black rock band tees I wear all the time and all the kannada curses I spew out when I am disgusted.

It was my friends in Bangalore who taught me how to tuck in a shirt properly, made me understand the tricks of a good bottoms-up and the difference between classic milds and kings. It was my friends in Bangalore who encouraged me when I had another crush and lightened me up when I realized she too was committed. The list just goes on and on. Seven years is long time and with all such memories it’s hard not to miss the city.

It’s true, in time the glamour of Mumbai will replace some of the fond memories fade away. Until that time comes up every time I lazily sit in my balcony staring at the vast sea, it will be the memories of Bangalore which I will be cherishing.

Pic courtesy: http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/South%20India/Bangalore/BangaloreSunset1.jpg

Life, Somewhere else..

"Why did you volunteer for Rangashankara?" I wonder what do I say to that. It had nothing to do with any aspirations of trying to be an actor, writer or a director. No had no intention of hitting on any actress too. No I didn't. The simplest answer I generally give is, I was getting bored and needed to pass my time somehow. But thats certainly not all.

It was for the sheer fun of doing something I was not meant to do, I was not expected to do. About doing something I was not good at but wanted to be. It was about being part of something which was not another trash people ignored. It was about getting a feel of how a theater works. It was about seeing how a whole festival is pieced together from scratch and turned into this magnificent collage of performances from so many different parts of the world. It was about meeting people. People who are so passionate about theater that they don't bother about the fact that they having a hard time making end meet. They are hardly bothered about the fact that they don't have the time to go partying and getting sloshed. Sit with them and they can talk about their work for hours. That certainly never happens in our offices, do they?

The days I spent there, I did all all sorts of work there was to be done. It certainly was something I would like to do and cherish again at some other level. But the whole experience was also a bit about feeling good about myself.

Judge The Book, Always...

It’s funny that to really know one’s colleagues, the first thing one has to do is take them out of the office. It’s a fact I realized on last Saturday’s team excursion to a resort. Well for all lonely travelers out there, it was a kind of a place you would hate to go without a set of good friends. The food was good though. But more of that later.

Anyways, coming back to the surprises of the day. I could hardly imagine the usual reserved and “always sticking their nose on the monitor” colleagues of mine will turn out to be so brilliant and funny. It was fascinating to see that the usually serious Lead is also a nice actor and director when I saw his performance in Mad-ads or to find that this usual coy girl is also an amazing gracious dancer. Oh! Give them beer and see them dance. These guys could give any professional a run for their money with their ground-breaking moves. All through the day, some turned out to be painters, some guitarists, some mimics, some just absolutely crazy and some unusually nice when a bit tipsy.

It’s weird how easily we create an impression of the people around us. We hardly consider fact that not knowing about their lives doesn’t mean they don’t have any. This is true especially for our seniors who have to be more serious and responsible in the office. After seeing them in a more informal occasion, one does tend to see them with more admiration. It just validates an old saying that we all have different facades in our individuality. They just come out in different situations, never at the same time. To bring out these hidden fronts of someone we just to put these people in the right place, among the right people and maybe give them a bit of the right dose of good beer :P.

A 'Legendary' Saturday...

Good weekends are hard to come across these days. I believe it should have the right combination of good music, good food and bit of awesome beer. That’s exactly what my last weekend was all about.

It started with attending a talk by Richard Stallman on GNU and Free Software Foundation. It was kind of eye-opener although I was expecting some Microsoft bashing (I hope my Avanade bosses don’t read my blogs :p). Anyways, the day got even better when we were greeted by a new band in Java City. Although not as good as their usual band listening to Floyd and Dire Straits was a nice change from the usual play list. The grand finale was in Purple Haze, Kormangala which included a good dose of beer and again awesome music.

So this was our schedule for Saturday which fueled us with enough of ‘good times’ to last at least another week of drudgery in the office.