A Routine Day at College

"Shit Shit Shit.. one more attendance gone.." i managed to breathe out to myself, as i skidded to a screeching halt just when the door slammed shut right at my face. "Crap!", I blurted out. The sexagenarian yet moronic security incharge, passing by from behind, nodded in discontentment at me. I immediately thanked god for i didnt mouth the f-word, else he would have surely suspended me from college.

Sensing the drama, IJK grinned at me from the other side of that door made of wood, with a small glass window in the centre. I tried to explain - "Mam, my cab got late", as if i was audible inside. Obviously guessing what i was animatedly trying to tell her, she passed that wicked smile again, but this time with a seemingly taunting comment. Just as i was trying to decipher what that could have been, the door creaked open. And she stood there - one hand on her waist, the other, gripping the door handle tightly, waiting to slam it again at my face.
"Did your cab got stuck in a jam? Or did it have a flat tyre? Oh I know, it must have been that girl... you got late because of her, right?". I knew this was coming. "Uhh.. Err.. Well... we forgot to pick up a person, so we had to go all the way back!", I knew she'd slam the door hearing that. "Uhh... please send those five idiots out, else i'll get bored...", THUD!

"This is the limit man! I was only 20 mins late", i shrugged. "Why did the first lecture have to be of IJK"?
I managed to pass the rest of the 20 mins left of the lecture by loitering around the college. Entered the library (surprize surprize!), to flip through the newspaper; "What! No DT (Delhi Times)!", i gasped, "What kind of a library is this!", and left. Didnt really have anything to do, so decided to utilize the rest of 10 mins in the loo. Oops, sorry, "Rest Rooms", as they call it! Stared at the mirror for quite some time, eased off and washed hands twice for no apprehensible reason. Soon, a sudden rush in that dingy lavatory suggested that it was 9:20. Time for the next lecture.

I was again greeted with that familiar grin, this time from those 'idiots' aka friends aka classmates. "Why does everyone greet me with that half-cheek up smile everytime?", I demanded despite knowing the answer. No one cared to reply. The stupid grin on their faces just emancipated into an even sillier burst of laughter. "Shutup, you morons!" i retaliated, and looked for a seat next to them. The moment i got seated and the white-board came into view, i saw her...

"What! IJK again!", i felt like banging my head against a wall.
"She's taking this lecture too", Hitesh broke the good news to me. I desperately searched for a wall. "Continuous one hour and forty minutes of IJK!!! Thank God she didnt let me attend the first one!", i felt almost victorious. "Thank your cab you fool!", Shuchi, seated to my left, corrected me.
"PRANAYYYY"... screamed IJK, deafening me for a second.
"Yes Mam", i responded, trying hard not to laugh, but failing miserably.
"Please find better excuses from next time", she continued in her trademark tantilizing manner.
"I'll try mam".


P.S. Just to tell you, IJK stands for InderJeet Kaur.

Twice Bitten, Never Shy!

Okay, so guess am on a tag-replying spree! Thanks to Sherry, i have got this really interesting tag... It's called 'The Musical Tag'! Dhan Tada!!!
It goes like this:

Put your MP3 player/Media player on shuffle.
For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
You must write the name of the song no matter what.

So lets begin. Winamp is open as always... Lets see what the llama has in store for me!

1. If someone says "Is This Okay?" you say?

Ye Jo Des hai tera, Swades hai mera...
(I guess that meant - 'Yes, its okay!' duh!)

2. What would best describe your personality?

Bleed it out - Linkin Park
(Please! M not soo loud, and dont shout at the top of my voice!)

3. What do u like in a guy/girl?

Labon Ko - Bhool Bhulaiyya
(hmm... probably it meant that i like the lips! Okay, i agree.. coz 'lips don't lie either'!

4. How do u feel today?

Aaoge Jab Tum oo Saajna - Jab We Met
(whatever..!!)

5. Whats your life's purpose?

Sajni - Boondh(Jal)
(Ahh! Thats the only purpose left in my life right! - my sajni!!!)

6. What is your motto?

Kholo Kholo darwaze - Taare Zameen Par
(Finally... An appropriate answer! This song indeed sums up my mission in life - to be happy and understand ur true self, be free and to spread the happiness all around. 'Kyun is qadar, hairan tu... Mausam ka hai mehmaan tu!')

7. What do your friends think of you?

Tum Se Hi - Jab We Met
(Oh ho! Such adulation! 'Mujhse' hi din hota hai, surmayi shaam aati hai!)

8. What do u think of your parents?

(Can't believe this...)
Maa - Taare Zameen Par
(This is a song immensely close to my heart. Frankly, I have cried endlessly listening to this song. I am loving this tag!)

9. What do u think about very often?

Pehli Nazar Mein - Race
(Ye tu mujhe devdas bana raha hai! I don't think of such lovey-dovey things all the time!)

10. What is 2+2??

Bol Na Halke Halke + Bol Na Halke Halke = Inaudible Whispering!
Mat bolo isse achha!

11. What do u think of your best friend?

O Rey Piya - Aja Nachley!
(Nahiiiiiiiin! Ye sunne se pehle mere kaan kyu nai fat gaye!)

12. What do you think of the person U like?

Hey Shona - Tara Rum Pum
(Aaha! There you go. Bingo! Tumhe pata to hoga, tumhi pe main fida hu!)

13. What is your life story?

Daastaan-e-Om Shanti Om - Om Shanti Om
(What! Now do i have to search for a 'shanti' and kill a 60yr old producer! Ye meri daastaan nai hai!)

14. What do u want to be when you grow up?

(How I wish I had 'Papa Kehte Hain' in my list!)
Aashayein - Iqbal
(Well... not bad!)

15. What do think when you see the person u like?

Panchi - Jal
(hehe! does that mean that i wish to fly away at her sight! 'Panchi hu.. udne do!')

16. What do ur parents think of you?

Mera Jahaan - Taare Zameen Par
(Ishaan was way too cute... m not even half of that! And neither am i dyslexic!)

17. What will you dance to at your wedding?

Aye Hairathe Aashqui - Guru
(Waah! I can already visualize... Me and Ash, taking the wedding bows, agni ke saat phere lete hue!)

18. What will they play at ur funeral?

Bum Bum bole, Masti mein dole - Taare Zameen Par
(:coughing: i'll deal wid them in my next reincarnation! Imagine! they are celebrating, shaking their bums! arghh!)

19. What is your hobby/Interest?

Dum Laga - Dil Dosti Etc.
(Hmm... Quite true!)

20. What is your biggest secret?

Mehfuz - Euphoria
(Ohh.. crap! The word is out! Its no longer a secret that 'teri aankho ke chipe dard mein, aansu ki tarah mai mehfuz hu'! Damn!)

21. What do u think of ur friends?

Mai Mast Hu - Boondh(Jal)
(Arre you all are 'mast' yaar!)

22. What do u post this as?

Azeem-o-shaan Shehenzhah - Jodhaa Akbar
(:rolling on the floor:!!! hehe hehe haaaa ha!)


That was all...
Well! It was surely damn fun! Thnx Sherry for that tag!

Ouch! The 'tag' bug bit!

Well! Like many other fellow bloggers in blog-istan, i too have been bitten by the 'tag' bug. And the bug being, none other than Mishtizaa (check out http://www.whimsicalmews.blogspot.com/). Thank you dear, not only for biting me, but also for enlightening me about what exactly this 'tag' thing means! Okay now don't give me that look! I admit that despite those endless hours i spent on blogging and reading other's blogs, during the past 70 days, I did'nt really care to find out what a 'tag' is, untill ofcourse, i met my messiah!

So, finally, here it goes...

Life Ten Years Ago -

Was damn fun and carefree. I was just about 11 years old and in 5th or 6th grade. Middle school somehow gave a feeling of seniority to me! Though i used to cover all that up with my silly acts. School was damn fun. We studied religiously but played even harder! I still remember, how eagerly we used to wait for the 'games' period. By the time the day at school ended and i returned home (thanks to the 'nanda' school bus), my grandmother often failed to recognize me. Hair all messed up as if i had just had an electric shock; Tie hanging along my back, belt buckle oscillating in air; Shirt all tucked out of the pants and shoe laces conspiring to toss me off the ground! And adding to her fury, i straightaway put the TV on without even changing my clothes!

I was a kid back than! Well i still am, to a large extent!

Life Five Years Ago -

I was in 11th then. And those were quite exciting times. I inadvertently, fell in and out of love. There were crushes abound as the bubbling hormones in my body did'nt quite seem to loose their fizz! Waise i grew up to be quite diligent and well-behaved, and you can say, a bit chivalrous. I was adjudged as the Student Editor of our school magazine. I still can't forget our english teacher, Rama Joshi mam's intermittent bursts of hyperactivity! But she was really sweet to me. Being a part of the school office bearers team was damn fun. In the name of official meetings, we bunked classes and had samosas in the canteen, and that too for just Rs.2! Just Imagine!!! Hehe! This was the time when i made friends for life. One of the best times of my life, and probably the most self-satisfying as i achieved a lot during that period.


Life Tomorrow -
Tomorrow, as in 29th Feb, is although a once-in-a-four-year date, but it really won't discourage me from following the same routine - waking up at 10, doing all unavoidable things till 11, loitering around and killing time over the net for the rest of the day. And yes, i will whole-heartedly try to make some headway in my major project.
But if you consider 'tomorrow', as in the years to come - only time will tell! And let it be, coz i'll just like to give my best in whatever i do and will try and stay happy as ever!


Five Locations I'd love to run away to -
1. Another Jal Concert!
2. Yet another Jal Concert immediately after the first one!
3. (Ok.. No Jal this time) Hmm... Sikkim, Munnar, Andamans or Ladakh. Gimme a holiday anytime!
4. College! Yes, you read it right! I want to make most of my last few days at college!
5. C-4E market for a hot plate of momos and chowmein, along with banta(limesoda)... a deadly combo!


Five Bad Habits I have -
(But I don't have so many! Not fair!)
1. Killing time over the internet, doing practically nothing at all.
2. Munching, munching and munching... something or the other, all the time.(I am a big time foodie!)
3. Licking fingers after meal. (Someone has made me realize that i should'nt do it.)
4. Always laughing unnecessarily and uncontrollably. (Though i have worked hard to improve on that!)
5. Sleeping in class lectures. Well you can't really call it a bad habit. Its actually Disaster Management!


Five Things I'll Never Wear -
1. Body Hugging wear - M too fat for those
2. Transparent ones - They are yuck and in any case, i dont have the body for them
3. Bell Bottoms - I hate them!
4. Leaves and twigs
5. Attitude (What an answer! M an genius!)


Five Biggest Joys at this moment -
1. I have my laptop, my music, and my internet connection... all working perfectly for me!
2. M writing this really interesting post which seems to be never ending! And it actually appears like a feat to have written such a huge text already!
3. My loved ones are all around me, or just a buzz away!
4. I can smell aalu-methi being cooked! Yumm!
5. Biggest of em all - Its a holiday tomorrow!!! So i can sleep till late!


Something to achieve by next year -
Happiness and contentment in every respect.


Something that impacted me last year -
Lots. There's one thats coming to my mind - Taare Zameen Par. It gave me my first blog topic!


What will i miss about 2007 -
Its novelty factor. The fact that it was the most happening year for me. Life took many turns. I hope 2008 will be as exciting!


Five things I want to do before i die -
1. Own the best home theater system in the world
2. Venture out into the Brazillian forests and inside the Pyramids
3. Become adept at guitar playing
4. Sing for a music album and in front of a thousand live audience
5. Finish off this post! Hehe!


Am i through with it! Phew! This was LONG! But fun, for sure! Thanx misthtizaa once again.
Ok.. Now i suppose i have to bite other blabbering bloggers.
Umang and Gauri... your turn!

Har Jagah Hai JAL

Amidst soaring crowds and roaring loudspeakers, braving the cold and withstanding the cacophony of some RJ-cum-Anchor-cum-Nonsense, stood I, waiting anxiously for the musical journey to begin. The wait was almost killing me, but i knew that it was soon going to happen. Something that i had always waited for, something that turned out far, FAR more mesmerizing than i had thought. Here I was, living my dream, attending my first ever 'JAL' - Live In Concert!

For those who don't know (i hope there are'nt be many), Jal is a Pakistani Soft-Rock Pop Band and the entity behind the two biggest campus anthems in the Indian Subcontinent - Aadat and Woh Lamhey. Apart from these two, they have produced gems like Bikhra Hoon Main, Teri Yaad, Panchi and Dil Haarey. They hit the jackpot when Aadat leaked via the Internet and found fans from around the globe. And when they released their first album Aadat(named after the song Aadat only) in 2004, it became a rage overnight. After a long hiatus, they are back with their new album. the 2nd one, called Boondh - A Drop of Jal. And believe me, they are all set to recreate history.

The concert, held at NSIT New Delhi, began with the immensely melodious and lyrical ballad - Teri Yaad, one of my personal favourites. They then went on to sing Woh Lamhey which got the crowd swinging in flashback mode. All the memories, of old friends and of lost love became reminiscent. Not letting the tranquilizing feeling stay for long, swoosh came the hard-core rock number - Rangon Mein, which all of a sudden transformed the environs into a radioactive chamber oozing out tons of contagious energy which left no one ungripped. Vigourous headbanging and unrelentingly loud vocalizing didnt seem to tax even a wee bit on the seemingly inexhaustible amount of energy that had got infused in the crowd. The roller-coaster never deaccelerated from then on. The crowd went mad and the management, haywire, when Goher (the Lead Guitarist and Co-Vocalist), came into his own and performed Dil Haarey. He bowled the crowd over with his histrionics with the guitar and won hearts with his sugar-coated voice.
The evening assumed boiling point as the band obliged the crowd, incessantly shouting-'Aadat' 'Aadat'! The Lead Vocalist, Farhan, beautifully took over and hypnotized the audience with the depth in his voice as he crooned the haunting track - the last for the evening.
Alas! It all had to come to an end. And even with people disregarding their paining throats and helplessly shouting 'Once More', the band bid adieu to the audience. Ahh! No grudges. That one and a half hour made my day, and week, and month! And if i get to attend one more such event, it'll make my year!

The hangover is still there, two days past the golden night. And i still can be found crooning 'Dil haarey pukaarey tujhe.... Man jaa rey manale mujhe' in the college, during a class, in the loo, on the roads, in the cab, mid-way during sleep, and everywhere elsewhere!

24th February 2008 was surely a night I'll cherish for a long long time!


Watch the video of a part of their performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwhDzMxvOTE

Know more about Jal :
http://www.jaltheband.com
You can download audio and video clips of their songs from the website. Do check out their new song 'Sajni' from the new album, also availible on the site.

P.S : For the unawares, 'Har Jagah Hai Jal' is an awsome track from their first album Aadat.

My Unsatiable Appetite for Gadgets

Before I begin describing the 'agony' i have long been going through, lemme tell you guys something about myself. Coz if i don't, i doubt whether anyone would care to express even slight condolences.

Writing this post, is a tech-freak --not because he's doing a trash-bin worthy Engineering Degree in I.T.-- but because he is simply in love 
with all those geeky and sexy thingies like MP3 players, Mobile Phones, 
Audio/Video Systems and what not!
So its not infrequent for me to fall in love with a gizmo. And then,
begins the ordeal. The toy toys with my brain and disturbs my sleep.
It forces me to spend endless hours on the net, reading reviews after
reviews and helplessly staring at the photographs of it's various poses, silently admiring the beauty of the object of my desire.
I desperately wish I could touch it with my hands, feel its presence around me, and find it it's righteous owner.
The urge to rob a bank gets unresistable at times.

Its not that my wishes have been entirely ignored, but its kinda complex. I'll clarify. I call this 'Provide and Rule'. This is a philisophy which my bread-earners(or gizmo-earners) seem to be following in attempts to distract me off my current gadget-love. And hell! It works.
It works in two steps:
1. Provide Pranay with some-other, and potentially cheaper (still better, free) gadget which he least expects to get, and,
2. Rule out and infact ruin the chances of buying him the gadget 
that he really wants.
Fantastic na! Uff! Anyone experienced at robbing banks?!?!?!

So back in 2005, when i desperately wanted a down-right gorgeous pair of speakers, i actually got an iPod Shuffle. See... u get the trick!
Last year, when i asked them to replace my ancestral computer with a new one having state-of-the-art configuration, they shut me up with my brother's used laptop!
And last month, i asked my brother to get an aphrodisiac mp3 player by Creative (coz i wrecked my iPod), he bribed me with - hold your breath - pen drives!

Here, I'd like to mention that my family takes very good care of me and they have given me everything - things which i have'nt even asked for! May i take this opportunity to request them not to shower so much blessings upon me... I'd be more than happy if they just give me the basic needs of an average youngster like me. A new mobile phone would only go a long way to improve connectivity and closeness with family even when i am away. A camcorder will ensure that our beutiful memories are captured in high definition! 
And, a small, rudimentary mp3 player so that I can pass time during 
the long and tiring commuting hours.
Main zyaada nahin maangta (I don't demand much)! Do I?

The Sound of Sleep

(Did'nt get anything else to write about, so ended up writing this piece of poetry... One of my first few attempts at it. Don't ask what happened to the previous attempts!)

The world so quiet
And a chill in the air,
making ears numb
for even the silence, to hear

The sound of the clock
ticking towards a new day,
hypnotizing me
like a mother's canorous lullaby

Of days gone by,
of times to come
The people i love,
and those i shun
I see everything
and I see myself
They whisper something
so pure, so fair
so blunt, yet so dear

I dream and I gaze
into the life of my own
The feats i achieved
and the skills, still to hone
The nights, so blue,
And days with a happy hue
The afterthoughts of the events
And that feeling of déjà vu
Of love hidden deep
And promises to keep
Always reminding me of myself,
The sound of sleep

The Goan Odyssey : Part 3

Paradise Lost?

Let's get it straight - There's something terribly wrong with Goa and it's people. I know this may have come as a shock to many of you, but sadly, this is what i percieved during the last two days of my Goan Odyssey.

In Goa, most businesses thrive solely upon tourism. And most businessmen realize that its the fairer ones from the other side of the world, who bring in most of the moolah. At a restaurant, Indian customers are compelled to make-do with rickety plastic chairs, and a glass of water for them is dillydallied endlessly; while the foreigners enjoy an enviable view of the beach, seated on cusioned sofas, with waiters faking accents incessantly: "Anything aaelse ma'am?".
In the name of hospitality towards the foreigners, they end up being hostile towards the visitors from their own country. Did i hear anyone say 'Atithi-devo-bhava'!

The goras are entitled to a free entry in all the hippest clubs in Goa. But when we (poor, fellow Indians) asked the entry rate, the already sulking gatekeeper replied surlily, "Eight Hundred per person". A look at the well endowed (all at the wrong places!) bouncers, and we merrily restrained ourselves from arguing over the blatant partiality, else they would have kicked us right into the sea. And after that awful 'banana' experience (refer to Part 1), we were in no mood for anything remotely 'sea-waves'!

Shopping, we thought, would be a relaxing activity after all that excitement. But as we soon realized, 'relaxation' was almost a distant dream in this vacation!
We had to buy some souvenirs for friends back home, so we headed for street shopping in Calangute. "Hmm... these earrings are nice", my friend decided, "I think i'll buy this for my sis. How much?". Pat came the reply: "Only Rs. 550". And our jaws dropped open. We did expect exorbitant prices as the first quotes, but this was ROBBERY! "At a Delhi street shop, such earrings wont cost more than 50-70 bucks", we retaliated. "Jab lena hi nahi hai, to aate kyu ho! (When you won't buy, why do you even come!)", the vendor shut us up. There was no use bargaining, as we kept getting all kinds of derogatory remarks - "Disturb mat karo. Customers(read foreigners) se deal karne do"; "Wapis rakho usse... Rakhna bhi nai ata properly".
All the politeness and respect, was probably reserved for the foreigners only.

Call it attitude problem, or call it patronizing the west. But romanticizing the fair-skinned hominids, at the cost of the not-so fair ones, might drag us back into the imperial era.