November 20, 2007

A not so funny incident...

Had a working day on saturday. One of those comp-off days in office. Was not feeling like doing anything much. One cannot. When it gets into your system it is a saturday, you just cant. So I started off from office soon after lunch, thought it was time I headed home. It was a warm afternoon. Humid. Was in warm clothes. The morning had been quite cold. Heavy lunch. All these were conducive for me to dose off in the bus, happily, with my mouth slightly open.

I was suddenly woken up by the zig-zag motion of the bus. Was dazed. It took me a few minutes to register what was happening. There was a small bus ahead of the one in which I was, which was moving in a zig-zag way to stop this vehicle. Then the vehicle ahead came to a sudden halt. Our driver also applied breaks suddenly. Within a few minutes lots of people outside the bus, inside the bus, on the road, lots of vehicles behind lined up on the highway. I was not very sure what had triggered this. The scene was like from a movie. I desperately wished I wasnt there. Crowds of this kind scare me, make me uneasy.

I was sitting in the third or fourth row from the front. I could see some people outside the driver's window asking him to get out. I was traveling in a government bus. The smaller bus was a private one. There could not have been more than ten passengers in that one. I felt sick. People from the bus started getting down. There are a lot of people from my place who work in the suburbs and travel to work daily. There were many such people heading home in this bus. Many looked like office go-ers. They were getting irritated by the delay caused in their getting home on a saturday evening. Many got down. I do not remember exactly how long it all lasted. After a few minutes saw a man running away from the side of the bus with his shirt torn! An enthusiastic lady sitting beside me informed that it was the driver of the smaller bus. She was straining her neck all the while as if it was a movie shooting going on. I did not even get up from my place next to the window. I asked her to just sit down. I felt she should not be so excited when the only emotion that I was feeling was fear. She gave me a look like I had violated her human rights. Even she seemed scary for a moment.

Was holding my knapsack close to me. I was expecting all these mad people to put the bus I was in on fire..I was thinking of Godhra! I was thinking of all the Gods I ever knew. I was thinking if I could fit into the window and jump out if at all they started burning the bus. There was no way at the door of the bus to escape, there were many crazy men blocking the way. I was feeling sad imaging the children and women in the bus who may die.. I was making offerings to many Gods. I would have gone nuts had it lasted even a few more minutes than it did. Finally I realised the whole fight was for a very petty issue. Had I seen why the fight had begun, my imagination would not have run wild.All those people who were standing at the door of the bus, looking like hooligans were the same office go-ers who had got down the bus. They had their sleeves raised and the faces full of aggression. Enough to make me not recognize them. After God-knows-how-long the bus started moving. I heaved, thanked all my Gods. Felt grateful just to be alive. I do not know what was the cause of my fear, was it ignorance(I was sleeping when the action was happening and saw only the drama unfold), was it the mad crowd(am a misanthropic in many ways!)..but it all looked unbearable when it lasted and funny much later!

November 13, 2007

Directionally-challenged self!

Had a friend of mine, treat me for an ice-cream. Reason - by chance found out we are on the wrong road.

People who know me also know that I am not gifted when it comes to roads, directions, and new places in general. We(my friend and I) were going to a buddy's place for a function. Of the two, I was the one who had been there earlier. Despite the fact, like a true friend, who accepts you as you are, this friend of mine did not expect me to remember the way. And like a good friend, I thoroughly lived upto the expectations! Only when we came to the sublane where the apartment was, I was very glad to identify the exact building(Phew!). Then after enjoying ourselves with company of good-old-people-from-hometown,you know all the warmth and bonding and all that and then ofcourse the good food, it was time to leave. When we reached the main road, there was a V-shaped deviation. My friend took the wrong one, and I managed to tell him so. All I said was something like "hey it doesnt look like this is the road we came from, just a passing thought..", he stopped at the side and complimented on my feat in his own humble way!I Was happy, obviously, I am not as directionally challenged as I make out to be. Then I seemed to get into my elements with the compliment(Ok it was no compliment, just a remark, a casual one). Mid-day sun,it was scorching hot, the road was somewhere on the outskirts of the city where there are no trees on either side of the roads-unlike the typical bangalore style and unlike the driver I did not have a helmet.. And I wanted ice-cream, cause I deserved one - this is what I told my friend. I was at my asseverate best and convinced the childhood-friend of mine that an ice-cream was the one thing in life we both need to have at that moment in life!! We searched in vain all along the road( make it "I"). Then finally we almost reached my abode in bangalore, when I suggested the most expensive ice-cream parlour I know (what can I do if that place happens to be near where I am put up- I exactly gave him the same reason). He treated me to an ice-cream for overcoming a major mental block, accidentally. A small celebration to make me feel good about life on a very hot afternoon....

OSO....

Saw "Om Shanthi Om" during the weekend. Can watch it once, second time would be a little too much. No story line(did not expect a great story, so was not disappointed)..some good comedy, some masala, nice songs, am a great fan of Sharukh's six packs(WOOOW!!!) - he may be old,he may not be conventionally handsome - but still I like him(reason - same old one, cant explain no clue), liked the songs and music..Deepika looks great, Kiron Kher is funny as the Filmy Maa..A typical Farah Khan's movie...She seems to understand the movie world, and really appreciated her sense of comedy(rarely was stupid rather than funny)..One thing was the 70's look..people must have had great amount of patience and all the time in the world during the seventies, so much elaborate-everythings - clothes, hairdo, make-up..hmm..

Plan to watch Saawariya this weekend. Heard it isnt that great, but want to watch Ranbir...

I'm-possible!!!

There are some people on the face of this earth(fortunately very very few and far) who get on my nerves and are talented enough to manage to stay there when I am willing to let them get off. The only way I know to deal with these people is to avoid them. But there are certain places in life when they cannot be avoided. "Get off my nerves please" is what I want to tell them, clear and loud. They just dont seem to get the message. Hmm such is life...Take a deep breath and relax, I tell myself. One such person told me "You are impossible". May be thats precisely what I want to be for him. But the point is, what on earth makes people bother me when the only mistake I made was mind my own business. This seems to be a big offence in life..Funny people! - Ok folks, one small confession, I really dont want to be liked by a few homo-sapiens in particular. I choose not to be liked by them.Crazy me, but I do not know why!!!

Must Dos to remain sane...

1. Mind your own business. You do not run the show and have no control of what happens, give your best and keep going. 2. Read books. Rea...