I am Sorry I can't Vote!

Election campaigning are at its full swing.  Reminds me of my hometown Bhopal where my friends use to be very opinionated around this time for whom they would vote & of course with their facts & figures clear. Discussions at home over dinner or with friends over coffee were quite usual.
The Rickshaws that use to pass ten times a day with bursting speakers, funny picture portfolios of the candidate & more hilariously rhyming slogans in a typical voice.  “Khaaiye Samosa Aur Kachori..Yaad rakhiye Suresh Pachori”

Small town has its own charm, a rave that runs during election days. Since the time i have got my senses i have seen my family prioratizing to vote first thing in the morning of that day. Those 'deshbhakti' songs playing in the area adds to the effect. It use to make me feel as if I am participating in Sports day & want my ‘Sapphire house’ to win. Election result day was like a Parents -Teacher meet. 

I remember the first time I voted. I was excited as hell! I agree I had to run around to get my voters id made. But I specially took an off from my college in Mumbai. Travelled to Bhopal to Vote. In my ward at that particular time I was the only young girl. The volunteers were equally excited to guide me. I went inside in that corner & I took my own time to check out all the buttons & symbols. To my shock there were many symbols I had never seen in my life. (Exactly how the so called politically & socially active youth today who know nothing beyond  A Modi  AGandhi  & Now A Kejriwal)
I was so proud to show that mark on my figure that my Dad even called the local MLA to inform that my daughter came all the way to vote for you.  May be I was over enthusiastic.

I pity life of people staying in bigger cities. How they miss the charm of being ‘Socially Active’.
Their frustration to travel for hours, cope up with an expensive lifestyle, to crave for peace & yet to pretend intellectual. Oh I so don’t blame them. But let me also tell you, involving yourself in National Politics is no more considered intellectual. It’s assumed to be an obvious part of your life like A Shahrukh Khan & Salman Khan are. And trust me it’s equally entertaining. The Blame games, comedy, fight & love.

It’s the first time that I can’t vote since I have got that authority to vote cz I have no changed Surname documents & I can’t travel to Bhopal on that day, I really feel guilty. But I feel guiltier for my friends here. 70% of my friends in Bombay who are highly educated, apparently of my age or more have no voters id card & nor have they ever tried to register themselves.  They don’t know the name of the MLA of their area, but they definitely know the filmstars who have filed nominations in these elections.

There was a time when all these things use to irritate me. But I guess not anymore. I have seen these friends clubbing, watching repeated episodes on television & going picnics on weekends.  I certainly hereby realize you are no one who can bring in any change in anyone.  I don’t want someone to label me as a person who blabbers & goes. High time they realize their priorities on their own. And there is no harm if they have realized that chilling over a weekend is more important. But all I demand is they should be upfront about it rather than writing status messages for the same.

So done with hearing I want to vote for Modi because he has changed Gujrat.

I want to vote for Kejriwal  because I want to give a new person a chance
I want to vote for Rahul Gandhi because he is young.

Their are friends who have pointed me "Oh my God you havent been to the Sunburn"

Babes i wana tell you "Oh my God you have never voted! 

Seriously!
Grow up. There is so much more beyond that.

Happy New Year

I logged in facebook this morning as a regular ritual & saw flooded status messages of New Year resolutions.  Whereas few cribbed about what’s so new about this day!

I personally have always been an adherent fan of following such funny beliefs what I was taught as a kid & they are still harmless & tagged with a lot of positivism.

My Dad use to wake me up on Jan 1^st early morning with a lot of notions like if I sleep till late today, I will have a lazy year, if I’ll skip bath today I’ll have an untidy year & so on..

This morning when I woke up I promised myself to write a piece which was pending since long, read a page of a book to get a hang of it & to go for a jog which never happened!

We tend to analyze the whole year with up’s & down’s.  2013 was brand new for me.  I got married, relocated, new friends, new family, new habits, and new lifestyle.  I can’t be judgmental by saying what was good & what was not so good about it. But all I can say is I grew in this span with an understanding to adjust with others & let others adjust with me. My friends are getting married & few are delivering babies. Life is indeed running at its fullest!

I miss being a small townie, I miss the warmness. I realize this city (Mumbai) is an artificial entity & people are frustrated at every point of time. But then this city makes me dream to grow & compete.
This city made me self-strong & also selfless. I no more think about how my father taught me to help the society. I think about when I will wear that big rock solitaire like my neighbor, when I will drive that fancy car, when will I move to a sea face apartment. Life has started revolving more around me & I have no guilt about it either. From a satisfied person

 Now i crave for more. Life takes strange turns!

 

 
I went to see my first live cricket match. With no interest in the game & the players, I fell in love with the simplicity & humbleness of the Iconic star of the game Sachin Tendulkar.  I couldn't believe it was happening in real that tears were rolling from everyone’s eyes, pin drop silence & that excitement to hear the man himself.  It wasn't the victory, it wasn't the game. It was sheer hard earned respect which forced me to be a fan of that player. 

Another deferential memory of the year was when Arvind Kejriwal was appointed as the CM of Delhi later this year. It was such a motivational chapter for all dreamers across the nation including me.  ‘Dream, work & achieve’ emerged as a doable phrase.

So it’s time to get going with more inspirations & with more fancy dreams to hit 2014!

ManSoon

Going back to the memory lane
Monsoons were never just about the rains.

Bunking lectures & the drives with friends.
Coming back home fully drenched,

Rubbing lemon on Bhuttas & the steaming roadside chai
Is all what you dream of in a small town country side.

The joy of sudden holidays & the walk to remember
Gone are those days with last December.

This Monsoon in a new & bigger city
Was all about traffic & frustration. Oh what a pity!

I dream big here but I do small
Being away from a small town makes me realize what have I missed afterall!

To be or not to be

Hey,
Its been an year that this blog of mine hasn't been updated! A year that has surprised me widda lot of good changes.
Writing for me never meant to update anyone. It’s purely a strong run of emotion that forces you to scream through words! For the first time trying to scream by hand!

The Thought of losing someone.

Few days back, I threw my phone in anger while arguing with my brother,
The argument faded in few hours but the regret of losing my phone went prolong.

I lost touch with an old friend because I was blessed with an ego to figure what went so wrong.
I repent my fingers that types so fast to complete a missing argument on texts
and not realizing may be silence for the moment would suit the best.

A broken lie, years back took a sudden reality in my life
Wondering am I suppose to take care of all such things or avoid as they are passing by.

A dog that was sleeping under my car depart his life when I reversed,
Unable to figure was it a moment of sadness or guilt for months.

The raising expectations from the people you love,
The fight that scares you to lose it up.

The mood that swings with a slight of negative thought
And screws the happiness of even things that I haven’t yet bought.

I say I don’t do it intentionally but the fact is I yet repeat it.
Knowing that God is within me, I pray selfishly when I feel defeated.

Rockstar!

While witnessing a different era in bollywood, it’s quite funny to argue so strongly for movies.
There was a time when hit movies were universally liked. E.g.:- DDLJ, Hum Aapke hain kaun, kuch kuch hota hai. These were clearly stated movies, with high emotions & budgets , predictable endings & popular star caste. Things have changed. Films were a business then & are passion now.

The last few ultra hyped movies I saw this year were Delly-Belly, Bodygaurd, Mausam & Ra One.
All of these movies were either produced or Directed by a father for a son or for a Brother etc. And so in some or the other way these fresher’s got a fresh unrestricted approach + Passion as a motive in the making process of the film. E.g. – Delly Belly was not a new story but was entertaining with a fresh, young approach & the productive marketing definitely helped. For some it was an appalling movie, for me it was pure entertainment. Similarly for some Ra One was a hyped up film & for me it was a larger than life & a different experience, Mausam again was a deep thought of love but too unrealistic for our imaginations. Ironically I am still clueless what was that great in Bodygaurd. But then after so much effort no movie is bad & moreover its bollywood! Where the face value still works. I see a different genre all together where the target audience is not segregated with age. To cut it short, these movies are not massy. In a single family you may find two people a fan of a movie & two hating it to the core.

Similar situation happened when I went to watch Rockstar. Directed by Imtiza Ali & character played by the youth Icon Ranbir Kapoor. I was desperately waiting for this movie to release since quite some time mainly because A.- I met Ranbir Kapoor personally & he was super convincing about his work. B. I am an Imtiaz Ali fan. And C. It was a musical movie & that too soul touching music by A. R. Rehman & my fav Mohit Chauhan as the main vocalist.

The movie was a revolutionary experience. Ranbir Kapoor’s raw acting greased with the apt costumes, hair style, and location simply enhanced the different approaches of his character.
I could see myself floating in a trance mode because every phase of the actor’s life was backed with beautiful lyrics & music that could connect. The unconditional juggle between passion & love was deeply felt. It was a movie of a sort because every expression may that be of sadness, desperateness, love, loneliness, lust had a language which was put across marvelously irrespective of a joint motive that said- I give a fuck to the world.

Strangely I suffered with no sympathy, neither when the actor was a dumb & he left his house nor when the actress was on bed. The story flowed in a way as if it was a part of life.
As a typical Imtiaz Ali film, it had those moments of fun before interval with which one could connect while being in a no named relationship & the realization that happens late in life when it actually destined to happen.

There come few scenes when the actress wants to hug the actor & these are placed right before when she’s about to get married & also when she is married. So like an adamant bollywood audience, everyone was expecting her to be caught at that moment & story will take a turn. But I think the story telling has grown from that segment. That placement of hugging sequence with no requirements, dialogues, and lust had so much story to tell itself.

The innocence that was maintained in the character throughout who became a world famous rockstar was believable for a change, may that be through his acting skills or the story line.
For me apart his journey to be a rockstar that happened because of the love story drawn in was totally credible. I could compare the unrefined & unconditional love showcased from DevD. Which was again a movie loved by few & hated by many.

The main dispute was the abrupt ending. And again for me it justified. If the actor & actress lived happily ever after & there was no pain left, the rockstar in him would have died. Or even if it was exposed that the actress died, the sympathy wouldn’t have got me that hangover as I am experiencing now. The connection of the first & the last scene was incredible. For me the conclusion was a dream. It was a magical & divine experience left open for the audience to relish, Cz jo bhi main kehna chahoon barbaad kare alfaaz mere!!

Live, Laugh, Love!

One of those days, when you recall
what went wrong & why you can’t blame
what made you act so bloody lame

Why do you fear to be carefree anymore
Why are you alone & not with the gang of four

The wholesome company of yours that you use to enjoy
Is also something you wana run away with, Why?

The non living existence that makes you hooks
why so love with the crayons & the colorful cover books.

The changing thoughts in a moment & the irritation that builds
and within the next moment the guilt you face, nearly kills.

Why is it so difficult to relish the charm of failure
is it the dream that creep or the reality that letdown

Million Questions with limited answers
the judgmental you & the brain as a dancer.
With the Music that has no sync with your life
but still you try hands-on to Jive.

Why being happy on your accomplishments
did you share my piece of punishments?

Why being a Saint, when the evil is the one who actually laughs
when I see the world with these pair of mean eyes, I could see myself nothing more than a dwarf.

Me & Myself

How great it feels, when suddenly you choose to do
something you wanted to & knew you are awful at.
When I splashed the colors with a brush in my hand
there was a coat of contentment that I could feel on my face & see on the canvas.
The journey started with consciousness at the first layer & happiness with intensifying colors.
The mixing of colors on my pallet to the growing impatience to see the finished product,
There wasn’t any moment of thrill that I missed out on while doing this oil color painting of Buddha.
Hobbies help us to be a good human, with the in depth dedication & joy of learning.
Find yourself & you will find happiness :)