Curves and Colours



Curves and Colours



What I do in my spare time 3!

Scenery

Still Life

Still Life

Dennis the Menace

Dennis The Menace

What I do in my spare time 2

Calvin and Hobbes

What i do in my spare time...

Butterfly

Love don't live here anymore...

You bang the door, leave; I'll see your face for breakfast in the morn!

Why do we disagree on every point?

 

Hands on my knees, head over my hands. I weep...

I know no one’s coming through that door to night.

 

Thoughts run in my head, will be a better wife I say to myself...

If only you could get one chance to voice out!

 

I’ve been listening to you all my life

It’s been weeks, months and years

 

Now it’s my turn, I will speak

I see only walls they hear me speak

No regret if the door does not open tomorrow

I’ll have my pie with the wall

 

Everyone fighting, screaming, tears and cries!

All I see is love don’t live here anymore...

The world is getting smaller...and colder.

My colleague is sitting right across the table and I ping him on Gtalk to converse..

I don’t have time to catch up with a childhood friend..

Used to plan to meet, fix up a time and honour the promise,

We didn’t have mobile phones, we could not check if the other person would come,

I would wait under the tree fully aware, my friend will come

Life is classy, fast and easier..

But it lacks the warmth, the feeling of seeing a person face to face, a friendly embrace.

Emotions are valued less, time at work and money replaces human interaction

Feels like I speak to the computer more often than I do with my near and dear ones!

Life is getting faster and time for friends shorter..

If I were to chose my life 10 years back over all the technological advancement I am exposed to now..

I would choose the former..

Nightmares about nonsense!

Me: "Hey! It's been long!"

That irritating voice in my head: "What?"

Me: "I haven't posted anything on my blog!"

That irritating voice in my head:  "Thats ok! (sounds bored) who reads your blog anyway?"

Me: Don't be rude. "You know I like writing to an imaginary audience :)"

That irritating voice in my head: "Well! Nice way to avoid disappointment :P"

Me: "It's not that people are not interested in reading my thoughts..."

That irritating voice in my head: "It's about the fact that are your thoughts good enough to be read!?"

Me: (thinking...)

That irritating voice in my head:  "Hey! That's my job! You go write your rubbish.. You are at your best when you write nonsense!"

Kiss of Rain

Its not dew, nor just a drop of water

Its fresh, straight from the sky, the thought of it makes me feel cooler.

I sniff the air, the soothing smell of wet mud gets stronger

And I wonder why some of the best things in life are for free :)

Its a tingling when the drops roll down my hand

I know I can stare at the sky and for a long time just stand.

Children run to play, people rush out

I stop the car, tumble out to enjoy the downcast clouds.

Days get shorter,  travelling is not easy

I am unable to get up from bed, I feel so lazy!

Its amazing how the first rain affects

Never again does the downpour give you the same effect.

ATMs, Piggy Banks and me

I jingle the coins in my pocket, I know I have only a few.

Is it going to be an ice-cream or the new locket; definitely something new!

Such moments are very rare, when I have little money to spend without a care.

Times have changed and how! It's nothing like only adults can handle money.

I see a toddler clutching a wallet, his mother is trudging far behind.
His hands can barely reach the slot. But he knows what to put to get cash in hand!

Stands at the atm slot next to me, can't believe what I see. Punches in numbers faster than my eyes can fathom; raises his toes, gets cash in a jiffy and is out before I'm done!

Shopping!! (Train Travels ...)

Her feet are sore, nails chipped, bangles tinkling.. baby at the back! She can balance 3 boxes on her head; one above the other. She has a train to catch.. Only there is no destination. She has to get her earnings for the day.. else her baby goes hungry. so does her family back in the hutment.

Hundreds of such women throng the Mumbai local trains for their livelihood. Selling trinkets, junk jewellery, hair clips, clothes, table mats, railway pass covers, cosmetics and eatables. One can find anything from a safety pin to a salwar kameez being sold in the trains. It is amazing how I cannot find the right coloured hair clip in the best of stores.. but sometimes manage to find one in the train!

Office goers, housewives, collegians, students and the self employed, there is a mix of all age groups, all professions who bump into each other on Mumbai local trains. A woman and shopping goes hand in hand! This common interest gets all of them together and the lady selling wares too. Even if you don’t buy.. it is interesting to watch. Bargaining is a common practice. And you are a fool if you agree to pay the price originally quoted! :) Generally, you can shop for something if you have 5 rupee coin with you.

Love Mumbai trains for the train shopping!

Train Travels...

Am descending the stairs at top speed! The train screeches to a halt. I rush in. The train is almost empty. I don’t realise this. I still make sure I get a seat. So does a lady in green, child in tow and a toddler dragging himself. The only support to his nimble feet: tugging at her pallu.

I generally read a book, also have earphones plugged. I hear my music loud. I usually cannot hear a thing being said by fellow passengers. Perhaps silence is the best way to observe what sound does not reveal.

The saree is untidy. The kid is dirty. The baby is muddy. Baby cries. Toddlers sniffs. But wait! Its not sadness! Baby is active, his eyes darting from left to right! He is hungry. So is the kid. Out comes a bundle of loosely wrapped newspaper. In it is the favourite snack of Mumbai people. "sukha Bhel".

It’s interesting how as a kid I would have excitement flooding my eyes only if I was given something really special. This kid has the same amusement, sparkle in the eye and happiness stuffing his face with bhel. He drops it down, there is sev all over the place. He chuckles! He smiles! He holds it out to me. He wants to share.

Mother is having bhel, occasionally pops some into the baby's mouth. Can you feed the baby bhel? I wonder.. He seems to be enjoying it though. He has stopped crying.

I look around. All seats occupied with glum faced travellers. None is smiling. Expensive looking sarees, leather bags, jewellery and perfumes. No happiness on the face.

The mirth I saw in those kids was unique and incomparable to the stoic expressions of the others in the train. It takes very less to make this trio happy. Mother is smiling, baby chuckling, kid laughing. Bhel is over. Time for them to alight. Saree blurs, baby is hoisted up and that is the last I see of them.

I smile.

Why do I write?

“Why do you write? “ Someone asked me this morning. To write is one thing, to converse is another. What then bridges the gap for written conversation? Why should someone read what I write? And like it or dislike it? What interest us? Is it human desire to know what other feel? Or to find what if others thoughts match up to one’s own?

Discussions, debates, arguments meetings, chatting are all ways to know one another. It’s this communication that keeps the world alive. Incidents are shared to form stories leading to memories. We like company! :) We may not agree with someone’s viewpoint! But the fun is in knowing that another opinion to the same stuff exists!

What lies ahead...

Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. I can alter today to my benefit to have a happy history. I can plan tomorrow and solve part of the mystery. But plans don’t always materialise! History is not always pleasant either! But wtf! I am happy I tried.

To try is not to fail but to achieve to some extent. Goals cannot always be well defined. It kills the excitement of tomorrow... But like many, I want to have the cake and eat it too! :)

Get your hands dirty or you are never going to know what you are good at and what you suck at! ;)

To be bad at something is not wrong. To not know what you are good at is a waste of a life. Thinking is hard work... especially to the ones who are not used to it... The more I run away from thought the more rusted my mind gets... Its only when water flows continuously that the path is free of blocks... A freeway can get you speed but one needs to control the direction...

Driving one’s life to a destination is not the goal. To find a beautiful way throughout the journey to the destination is.

Ways to begin.. - Scene 1

Aaaare yyouuu haaappy beeeingg a ...ree...u ... Bang! Bang! BANG! I woke up with a start. "Ill pay tomorrow! Leave the damn thing on the door step!!" I scrambled out of bed, in time to catch the last of the water in the tap.. Power cuts! Now this! no water in the whole of the state.. no rains.. no vegetables.. prices are rising..

I grabbed the newspaper with the brush still in my mouth. 'Govt. announces water cuts in central suburbs from November' screamed the headlines. Some murderer is absconding. Gold prices have risen. India lost the cricket tournament. Yet again. Phew! I tossed it aside.

I hurried away, dodging the clothes on my bed. 2 steaming cups of tea and fifteen minutes later as the sun scorched the road mercilessly, I trudged ahead, thoughts of the entire day that lay in front of me. "LBS??" The auto wala shook his head. Three autos later, I realised I am on the wrong side of the road. I have to cross the road to get a rick to my destination. I cursed Mumbai autos and proceeded to cross the road.

A couple of swear words, a couple of breaks and honking later, I proceeded to alight, the gate if front of me. "Bhaiyaa, I do not have change". "Madam, I have just started my day". I bit my lip, and dug into my wallet. Lies is such a common thing. One is so lazy to try, and finds it better to lie instead! Seven coins spilled out of my wallet and tinkled their way to the ground.. I made a face. Having my lie exposed is not funny.

There are many ways to a manic monday.. the above is one of those! :)

Changing what is, wanting what isn't.

Clanking sounds and shuffling feet,

honking horns and angry voices.

Metal and cement, glass and lead,

All is fast, yet so dead.

Dew and mist, bees and birds,

dawn and dusk, leaves and trees

people meet and birds tweet,

All is scarce, yet so sweet.

My mind wants these and not whats there

If there's a way to getting it, do tell me where.