shhh....

 
Philosophical discourses, marathon hours of television watching, some more hours of sermonising, more tv watching - this is how I spent my Deepavali weekend. No visit to Vizag, no calling upon relatives, no outings nothing. Just pure vegetating. That is life at its basest.
posted by Hash at 11:36 PM

 
Sat'day Evening 7:45
The train chugs out of the Central station with a heavy heart rather labouriously. Before getting to his seat, he made sure who his co-travellers are going to be from the list pasted against the bogey. So the disappointment didn't come as a shocker when he was greeted by an all-male coupe. Never mind, it's not the first time and it can only get better from here. He glanced around the place and his sight spilled over onto the adjoining coupe and suddenly his eyes lit up. That's definitely a girl, who also happens to be in her twenties and more importantly looks not very ugly. The journey can't be so bad from here. The train also, as if in response to his blithe thoughts, picked up speed and let out a wild siren full of excitement and energy. After a while, by which time the passengers have made themselves comfortable and spread themselves in their seats, he turned around quite non-chalantly and stole a glance at the girl. But before he could turn around their eyes met and owing to the dimness of the light he couldn't be certain as to her reaction.
posted by Hash at 11:40 PM

 
An eventful weekend it had been. On Saturday I watched two movies - 'Tagore', a telugu flick and 'Pirates of Caribbean'. Both were thoroughly enjoyable. However, with the telugu film, I had problems listening to the dialogues above the loud din created by the more vocal Chiru fans inside the theatre. POC was an out and out fun film. Nothing much can be spken about the storyline which anyway was wafer thin but the graphics more than made up for the deficit. Swashbuckling tales of the pirates never fail to enthuse the crowds. Throw in a dash of gallantry, an element of mystery, a good-looking girl and you have a hit on hands. Rahul had a special reason to be even more ecstatic about the film as it had 'Jhonny Depp' in the cast. I was content watching the heroine though. It is the same girl who acted in 'Bend it Like Beckham'. Now I realise what I missed having failed to watch that film.
Coming back from the theatre in the night I sat before the television to watch the telecast of an old cricket match in which the Indians emerged victorious.

posted by Hash at 12:57 AM

 
The urge is once again at its peak only to fizzle out as soon as I sit before the computer. It's truly frustrating not to be able to express oneself. Words play truant and fingers turn numb for no apparent reason. The trouble lies in the fact that it is not the theme or idea which is driving me to write but the obsession to excel at the art of expression. Alas, I am only too aware that such an attempt will not be very successful. Nonetheless it is better than just waiting for the brain wave to strike.
posted by Hash at 11:38 PM

 
Beyond the elementary...
Arthur Conan Doyle will always be known for his protagonist's detective skills rather than his own literary talents. There are characters like this in the world of books which outgrow their own creators just like Frankenstein's monster though all may not be so monstrous. While I was reading the novel 'Beyond the city' I understood how much little we see beyond the pipe smoking Holmes when assessing Doyle. It could do with the phenomenal success and popularity of the reclusive which have enthralled many a reader.
posted by Hash at 3:23 AM

 
Korean War
A ceasefire was signed on 27th July, 1953. But the embers still smoulder. The two Koreas are technically at war to this day and North Korea's secretive (now a public knowledge) nuclear progamme not making things any easier. The group of six nations, USA, Japan, Russia, China, North and South Koreas, sat around the table to negotiate a way out of the current fiasco. However no party is confident of a breakthrough. The best outcome of this round of discussions, to quote one Chinese official, could be to decide a date for the second meeting. So much for optimism. In the US State department, the hawks are not too enthused about this latest overture to engage the 'rogue' elements as they see it as a sign weakness to cow down to the nuclear blackmail of the communist regime. Nevertheless, it is the only safe option at least for the time being.
posted by Hash at 12:37 AM

 
"Who is the greatest Briton?"
Sir Isaac Newton, according to the recent poll on BBC World. The nationals of all the Commonwealth nations were allowed to participate in this exercise and the poll threw up a couple of intersting results. For one, I believed Sir Winston Churchill to top the list but the former Prime Minister had to be content with only the runner-up position. If, only the British were allowed to vote may be Churchill would have made it to the top. Most of the former colonies would have voted against Churchill for his haughty stance against granting independence to the colonies. His opinion about the Queen's subjects in the distant was not exactly in flattering light and often imbued with racial slur. No other person in the entire imperial history of Great Britain would have believed with more vehemence and arrogance the racial superiority of the Whites as a race. His acerbic comments on Gandhiji are all too well known. But no one can deny the person was extremely witty, though mostly sarcastic, and a great statesman. His credentials as a war-time journalist, his literary exploits are no small attributes.
The only regret I had about the list was the third position. It so happened that our fat bull dog was on top of the delicate and charming princess, Diana...No pun intended ;) Now don't ask me how Diana ended up so high edging persons like Shakespeare and Darwin. Survival of the fittest I should say.....
posted by Hash at 5:57 AM

 
Time just goes by waiting for none, lost forever never to return. The irony of the entire situation is that we wait for the free time and when we actually get it, we device ingenuous ways to kill it. In fact it is time which is killing us insiduously making us utterly pathetic. To raise above this you need not just strong character but the stomach to work hard as well.
"What has given birth to such despondency?"
"Three days of watching the idiotic programmes on television"
"Why don't you do something to resist from it instead of whining about it now?"
"I have tried hard and I alone know the efforts which went into it."
"May I know what those efforts are?"
"Of course you may. After every session of watching I resolved never to bother about the tube and after struggling for half an hour with boredom I am forced to resort to the abominal stuff. May be I just lack the drive the will to impose my will on myself."
"That doesn't speak well for your aims and aspirations. A weak willed will never succeed in life and even if success comes it would be in spite of you and such kind of achievement is no achievement at all."
"Do you believe that I am ignorant of it all?"
"Does it make a difference whether you are blundering deliberately or accidentally?"
"Let me make a diligent effort and see if things work out better. Thanks for listening me out."
"No problem. Bye"
posted by Hash at 5:30 AM

 

A mere concidence????

I remember very vividly when Saleem bought the music casettete of Lagaan and was playing on his system. All of our wing mates were ensconced in his room and listening to the track, 'ganana ganana gan...' when all of a sudden, literally out of the blue, there was a huge downpour. It's not very ususal that you get rains in Chennai during the month of August that too when the sky had been pretty clear the whole morning. But it rained to the pleasant surprise of one and all. The same thing happened in the month of January when we were playing the song after a long time. This may sound slightly superstitious to you but you can't dispute a fact......
posted by Hash at 6:02 AM

 

It's hot...

The heat wave conditions in Andhra Pradesh have been a cause for serious concern with as many as 1,200 people succumbing to the inclement weather. Most parts of the state have witnessed temperatures above 45 deg c with Kothagudem recording the maximum of 52 deg c. Compounding this problem is the absolute scarcity of drinking water in many regions, besetting the government authorities with a herculean task of providing relief. The people are already frustrated with the scorching heat and the lack of basic amenities is not making things any easier. The state is already reeling under the situation brought about by last year's drought and any delay in the setting of the monsoons this year is going to make matters worse. The IMD proclaimed that the South-West monsoon, on which much of the agriculture depends, will set during June 8 -10. But not many people are convinced with the forecast of the department as their past record is not really very good at speculating. There are many instances where the Mets went wrong, that too by a huge margin. Even they have lost confidence in themselves and wish fervently that the rains do set in early to cool the flared tempers. But the early setting of the monsoon alone will not solve the problem. It has to be consistent throughout the period unlike last year where the whole month of July went dry after hopeful bursts in June.
More than fifty years after the independence we are still relying on the vagaries of nature. India has been lucky through most part of this half-a-century with the rain gods smiling on it more often than not. But a nation which dreams of becoming a superpower cannot rely on fickle elements for its very survival. Alternatives have to be found and quickly before it's too late. Sometime back there was a proposal to revive the 'Interlinking of Rivers' project. Debates are still raging on the economic viability of such a massive project, wherewithals to complete the task, the effects on the environment, social ramifications that will crop up etc. This is a tedious and dirty discussion but one we can't escape. With the ground water levels also going alarming low an expedient has to be found and the onus is on the government to take up the debate with seriousness. Other short-term options like rain-water harvesting should also be given a look in. Politicians should come above their narrow party affialitions to work together for the benefit of the common man. However, this is easier said than done. The situation is nothing short of a calamity and people who matter have to heed this call.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Hope the Indians don't disprove it.
posted by Hash at 5:49 AM

 
The travel to my new office building is excruciating. The roads are horrible in the first place and to aggravate the torture the bus drivers care a damn for sensitivity. They wield the steering wheel with absolute indifference and turn it in tune with the song playing on the radio. If it is a peppy number one can start counting the number of broken bones in the body. May be I should wake up early in the morning to be in time for the company bus which starts at 7:30am. One is assured of a seat, a good view from the window and if one is lucky, Martina Hingis also would have boarded the same bus. Wondering what Martina is doing in Chennai? Well, that's how a particular girl in our office is referred by me. She is not a dead ringer but resembles the tennis star quite remarkably especially around her jaw region. And just like MH, has her mouth partly open all the time. Ok, we have digressed from where we started ;) Don't you think spending one hour in the suffocating bus early in the morning is the worst form of torture? Hope this realisation descends on the top management and they change the timings to suit my lifestyle. A very humble plea, isn't it? :P
posted by Hash at 5:15 AM

 

The card

It's been more than a year since we got introduced to each other. Over this period we have kept in touch through letters, phone calls and visits. It was just a matter of time when one of us will pop up the 'question' or so I thought till recently. She didn't give me the opportunity to ask her whether she liked me or not. Even before I could muster enough courage she gave me a card and said that I was the first one to get it from her. I opened the card and saw that it was her wedding invitation. My good wishes to her.

posted by Hash at 4:27 AM

 

Roland Garros

French open has started and a few seeds are already shown the door by newcomers. Agassi survived a scare in the second round to live another day. But not so lucky was Federer who crashed in the very first round. On the other hand there is no stopping the power houses of the women section. Both the Williams sisters steamrolled their opponents to enter the second round. If only Anna had even a quarter of their ability...tsk..tsk...wishful thinking. Anyway, it doesn't matter as there is no television in our house. ;)

posted by Hash at 3:37 AM

 

Fur Elise

Beethoven's Fur Elise was playing on my jukebox sometime back. Whenever I listen to this track I feel as if I'm transported to a surreal place, floating on the notes and lost in ecstasy. Take my word, it's a great feeling...
posted by Hash at 1:07 AM

 
The weekend had been quite eventful for me. With all my roommates leaving for their respective home towns, I was left to myself for four days/nights. Nothing worth mentioning had happened in the first two days. But on Saturday morning, around 3 am (I can't vouch for the precision of this as I was quite sleepy), I heard the doorbell ringing. I was annoyed with the disturbance and waited for the bell to go silent. However the relentless buzzing sound forced me out of my bed and into the hall. It was then that I noticed the time - it was three in the morning. This sent a chill down my spine. Who would have come to visit me at this unearthly hour? Just the previous day anju warned me about the existence of ghosts. Could this be my frayed psyche playing tricks on me? Suddenly I felt the need to go to the toilet. I felt a slight tremble in my legs and hands also started shivering. Then there was a shuffling noise in the ground floor and some voices could be distinctly heard in the dreadful silence of the night. I started chanting whatever I remembered of 'hanumaan chaaleesa'. I am an atheist but fear drives away sanity and one tries to clutch on to anything for assurance. In all this activity I failed to notice that the bell had stopped ringing for quite sometime now. My brain started thinking that if the ghost is knocking on the door then it can not be powerful enough to break open into the house. This thought gave me some courage and in the newly realised security I was smug enought to go back to my bed and slept closing my ears as tight as possible. I don't know when I fell asleep but when I woke up it was broad daylight outside and sunshine was streaming into my room through the open window. Was it a dream? Or did it happen really? Well, there is no way I can find it out but does it really matter?
posted by Hash at 5:29 AM

 
There is silence everywhere. Not a soul was to be heard in the stillness of the night. As if to break this weirdness the church bells started chiming. Tossing about in his bed, subhash stretched to reach for the timepiece to check out the time. It was two in the night and still there was no sign of sleep. Even though he had a very hectic schedule in the morning he found getting into sleep a laborious task. Finally he gave up his unsuccessful attempts and got out of his bed. Groping for the switch he stumbled upon something slimy and was startled into a frantic jumping. The switch was located after some struggle and the room was presently flooded with blinding light. He closed his eyes impulsively with his eyes and waited for a while before opening them tentatively. With his eyes slowly adjusting to the intensity he eked out his way to the hall.
.....to be continued
posted by Hash at 10:14 PM

 

They did it...They did it

The WI pulled it off. Drakes and Banks made the impossible possible letting the crowds burst into ecstacy. What a feeling it would have been for the caribbean people in the stands! As I mentioned earlier my only regret is that Lara hasn't contributed much to this historic victory. Anyway, hope this acts as an elixir to the ills of the WI Cricket.
posted by Hash at 10:06 PM

 

Will they, will they not?

The West Indians have come agonisingly close to victory with just 47 runs separating them from a record breaking triumph. If they achieve their target they would not only redeem themselves for their passive performances in the recent past but also would enthuse new life into the WI cricket. However, it is not an easy task. Australians are one of the most pugnacious sides and one can be assured that they would not go down without a fight. They have world class bowlers in mcGrath and Gillespie who can run through most of the sides with little sweat. Brett Lee would also have made it alongside the above mentioned bowlers but for the reservations of the author with regard to his action. Nonetheless, he picks wickets and that is what which matters at the end of the day. So the final day of the last match of the four-match series is going to go down in cricketing history as one of the eminent clashes about which cricket lovers would discuss even long after the actual match was over. My interest in the match would have been heightened if Lara were still at the crease. But alas, what we have instead is Chanderpaul who is no less gritty but the same cannot be said his class.
I place my money on Aussies to emerge victorious. But as the cliche' goes, anything can happen in the game of cricket. So just sit back and enjoy...

posted by Hash at 2:49 AM

 
I wiped the slate clean to make a fresh beginning. I am not foolish enough to believe that this attempt is going to be very much different from my previous aborted unsuccessful one. But at least it's an attempt in the right direction and there is nothing wrong in being an optimist, which I'm as of now. Till this goody-goody feeling lasts I shall strive to post as many articles as possible, expressing my views, opinions, distastes, approvals, disapprovals and whatnot. Please feel free to comment whatever you like/dislike and the more disparate the audience the better. So here is wishing myself and my blog good luck....get, set, go....
posted by Hash at 2:32 AM