Listen to Balu !

Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

Old Mother Nature's recipes

That brings the bare necessities of life

[Step Wiggle Step Wiggle ... Shake Shake ... Scratch Scratch ...]

Was watching Jungle Book last evening ... fell in love with Balu all over again. And, sigh, missed my Ka who is stored away in a box in Blore. But fret I will not ...

So just try and relax, yeah cool it

Fall apart in my backyard

'Cause let me tell you something little britches

If you act like that bee acts,

uh uhYou're working too hard

And don't spend your time lookin' around

For something you want that can't be found

When you find out you can live without it

And go along not thinkin' about it

I'll tell you something true

The bare necessities of life will come to you

[Step Wiggle Step Wiggle ... Shake Shake ... Scratch Scratch ... Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle]

Hooooorah! We Won!

Last night Aks and I watched clips of the India-Pakistan 20-20 Finals. Again!

I can actually sit through the entire match all over again and cheer with the same level of enthusiasm, go through the same trepidation in the final over of the match and celebrate it like it's just happened!

The Men in Blue did more than just come back from their shameful exit in the World Cup.

For the first time in ages their body language reflected their confidence. Their aggression on the field was mind blowing! In all their matches. Did you see Sreesanth's reaction when he got Hayden's wicket in the Semis?! I loved it. I loved to see everybody so charged up after they got Afridi and Misbah's wickets in the finals!

Much as I enjoy the game, I love the quirks, squabbles and the banter that comes along with the game. The victory trot, the wild hugging, the screaming and the captain not just leading the team on the field but in these revelries too ... that's passion. That's showing you cared enough to win. That shows how much you put in to get this cup. Damn the 'gentleman's game' that cricket is supposed to be ... if you can win it being the 'boys' that you are - so be it !

Yeeaaaaaaaaaayy!! WE WON !!

This weekend vs. Next weekend

In the group mails we exchange, this bit of conversation between two friends made me stop and wonder that while I might be clear about my fundamentals of the English language (or so I'd like to think :-), could I be crisp in my explanations to a third person of the nuances of certain expressions.

Here is the mail thread that started on, and I stress on the weekday it started for reasons you can read in the link below, Tue, Sep 11th 2007, which triggered off this post :

R : P, aata kya Adirondacks? Next weekend… ( P, coming to Adirondacks? Next weekend...)

P : you mean Sep 15th or Sep 22nd?

R: Next weekend kya hota hain? (What do you think next weekend means? / What do you think I mean by next weekend? / Don't you know what next weekend means? )

Just out of curiosity I googled to see if this confusion prevailed among others too and the search results amazed me!

I also came up with a small list of words/ expressions that I recently started noticing in my emails and which have the potential to become a discussion over a mug of beer. Each expression is a link that tries to explain the difference. You can read if it piques you or, like me, you can come up with your own reasoning and justify them till the other person gives up !

This weekend vs Next weekend

Game vs Sport

Thankyou Vs Thank you

Especially or Specially

Who vs Whom

Fall Colors - 1st cut

Here are snapshots of the first fall colors of the year.

Location : Lapland lakes, Adirondacks, NY

Look what I found !

When was the last time you saw this clip !? YouTube zindabad!

It’s a SIN to :

- Not laugh when someone cracks a joke.
Oh yes, you can beat him/her up because the joke was rotten or abuse him for making you listen to a bad joke but laugh because it’s not easy telling a joke.

- Tell someone that they have put on weight.
‘Different’ is the word to be used. No matter how close you think you are to this person, never ever remark on the weight thing. And delete the word ‘chubby’ from your vocabulary.

- Say ‘you never call me’.
Well, you could have picked up the phone and called up if you wanted to be in touch. And oh, there is no such thing as , ‘I always call’. If you’ve always called then why stop?

- Criticize your friends friends.
It’s bad enough to criticize your friends. Criticizing your friends friends is even worse coz you don’t realize what a spot you are putting your friend into.

- Turn your vices to virtues.
Let me be honest here – most vices are perception based. Here are just some vices which tick me off when people go gloating about :
1) “I am soooooooo lazy”.
2) “I can drink like a fish“.
3) “I can watch TV all day long”.
4) “I love gossips.”
5) “I am brutally honest”.

- Say “why didn’t you tell me about it earlier!”
Hell, because :
1) I didn’t want to.
2) I didn’t think you were important enough.
3) Maybe, I was so damn busy that I freakin’ didn’t have time to put my thoughts together let alone tell you about it you nut !!

- Never pay a compliment.
There HAS to be something nice that one can notice and say to a friend / colleague / acquaintance / family. Why be miserly or be so wrapped up in your own achievements, possessions etc that you can’t find time to recognize goodness in others? I have always believed that a small compliment goes a long way to strengthen bonds.

- Tell someone ‘you’ve changed’ when his/her reaction to something you say is not what you expect it to be.
C’mon, face it … EVERYONE changes. I would be a damn fool to expect a friend to be the same since the last time we met / talked. Hell, I am not even the same person I was yesterday. My views, my attitude, my likings can all change overnight and yet that gives you no authority to judge me or accuse me of ‘changing’.
Brings to mind this quote by Maugham : “We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.”

- To not call or show up if there’s been bereavement or any kind of unfortunate event in the lives of people you know.
I think most of the times people don’t call up / show up because they feel uncomfortable dealing with a situation like this. Not knowing what to say or do can be quite tricky, true, but there is nothing like a call or an arm around your friend’s shoulder in such times of distress. You can say the most clichéd things (“I am there for you”, “don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything”, “be brave” etc ) as awkwardly as you want and it will be appreciated beyond words.

- To forget to congratulate your friend / family for achieving any kind of milestones in life.
Can’t really advocate this one because I have been a sinner myself. But I strongly believe that joys double when shared.

- To be indecisive / keep it hanging.

I hate it when people can't make up their mind about a simple thing like, replying to an invite. Yes / No are perfectly acceptable answers. Save your indecisiveness for other tougher decisions in life that need serious pondering.

To be continued ...

Jaise ret ...

जैसे रेत
मेरे उँगलियों से फिसल रहें है लम्हे कुछ ऐसे
जैसे रेत
मेरे आंखों में चुब्भ राहे हैं हालात कुछ ऐसे
जैसे रेत
हर झोंका बदल रह है आशियाँ मेरा
जैसे रेत
किस्मत से देखता हूँ शाम वहीँ का सवेरा
जैसे रेत
सुनता हूँ बच्चों कि खिल्किलाहत
जैसे रेत
छुपा लेता हूँ सीपियों कि मुस्कराहट
जैसे रेत
दो मनचलों कि आगोश देख खुद को भूल जाता हूँ
जैसे रेत
खाता बक्श, दो मनचलों को जुदा कर जाता हूँ
जैसे रेत
खुद पे महल बन्ने कि इजाज़त देता हूँ
जैसे रेत
लहरों में खो कर भी उठने कि जुर्रत कर्ता हू

[
Jaise ret
Meri ungliyon se fisal rahein hai lamhe kuch aise
Jaise ret
Meri aankhon mein chubbh rahe hain halaat kuch aise
Jaise ret
Har jhonka badal raha hai aashiyaan mera
Jaise ret
Kismat se dekhta hoon shaam wahin ka savera
Jaise ret
Sunta hoon bachchon ki khilkilaahat
Jaise ret
Chupa leta hoon seepiyon ki muskuraahat
Jaise ret
Do manchalon ki aagosh dekh khud ko bhool jaata hoon
Jaise ret
Khata baqsh, do manchalon ko juda kar jaata hoon
Jaise ret
Khud pe mahal banne ki ijazat deta hoon
Jaise ret
Lehron mein kho kar bhi uthne ki jurrat karta hoon
]